What is chicken maqluba?

Chicken maqluba is a traditional Middle Eastern rice dish, layered in a single pot and then turned upside down onto a platter to serve. Maqluba actually means "upside down" or "turned over" in Arabic. The layers go in a set order. Tomato at the base, then seared chicken, baked aubergine, and spiced rice on top, with the rice cooking in the reserved chicken stock so it soaks up the flavour of everything beneath it. Once it has rested, the whole pot is flipped to reveal the layers, with the tomatoes now crowning the top.

What spices are used in chicken maqluba?

Maqluba is traditionally seasoned with a warm blend of spices, most commonly allspice, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, and black pepper, sometimes with bay leaves or cloves added too. This recipe keeps things simple, using allspice, turmeric, cinnamon, and black pepper mixed into the rice, along with salt and pepper to season the chicken.

How do I prevent chicken maqluba from sticking to the pot?

To prevent maqluba from sticking, use a heavy-bottomed pot and brush a generous layer of butter over the base and slightly up the sides. Cover it completely with tomato slices, edge to edge with no gaps, so the butter and tomatoes together form a barrier that the rice never touches. Add enough stock to submerge the rice by about a centimetre, bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and leave the lid on undisturbed for the full cooking time. Resting the pot off the heat for ten minutes at the end is the final safeguard, letting the layers loosen and settle before you turn it out.

How do I know when the rice is fully cooked?

The rice is fully cooked when it is tender with no hard centre, has absorbed almost all the stock, and you no longer see or hear liquid bubbling at the bottom. After the low, covered cook, lift the lid and taste a few grains from the middle. They should be soft but still hold their shape. Gently push the rice aside with a spoon to check that no liquid is pooling at the bottom. If it is, cover and give it a little longer. Once the grains are tender and the stock is gone, dot in the last of the butter, then take the pot off the heat to rest.

Chicken maqluba

1 hour 30 mins cooking time

Strap on your apron and make chicken maqluba. This Middle Eastern classic is served upside down straight from the pot, revealing tender chicken, baked aubergine, tomato, and spiced basmati rice beneath. Scatter toasted nuts and parsley over the top before you serve.

Chicken maqluba

1 hour 30 mins cooking time

Ingredients

4 servings

330 g basmati rice, washed until water runs clear
500 g chicken pieces
4 large aubergines, peeled and sliced into thick strips
3 tomatoes, sliced
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp whole allspice
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp ground cinnamon
700 ml water or stock
4 tbsp Lurpak® Spreadable Slightly Salted
Handful of toasted pine nuts and almonds, for garnish

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Method

Mix all spices with the washed rice and add 1 tbsp. of butter and set aside.

Sprinkle some salt over the sliced aubergines and set aside for 20 minutes to release the moisture.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large pot, sear in melted butter over a medium-high heat until browned. Add the water until fully submerged, then let it come to a boil for about 20 minutes.

Once the aubergines have released their moisture, pat dry with a kitchen towel. Bake in the oven until browned for 20–25 minutes.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside, reserving its water (or stock).

To start layering, brush some butter on the base of a pot. Place all the tomato slices evenly, followed by the chicken pieces, then the aubergines, then the rice. You can add another layer of aubergine between the rice.

Add the stock (or water) over the rice, making sure it is submerged by about 1 cm. Allow it to come to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cover to cook for 40–50 minutes, then add 1 tbsp. of butter to make the rice fluffier.

When you add the final tablespoon of Lurpak® butter to the rice, dot it in small pieces across the surface rather than dropping it in one lump. Spread out, it melts down evenly through the top layer as the pot rests.

Remove from the heat and let it rest in the pot for about 10 minutes before flipping.

When you flip, set a large flat platter over the pot, grip both together and invert in one smooth, confident movement. Leave the upturned pot in place for a few minutes so everything settles into its shape, then lift it straight up without tilting, so the rice keeps its dome, and the tomatoes stay put on top.

Garnish with toasted nuts (which are toasted with a tbsp. of butter), chopped parsley, and serve with a side of cucumber yoghurt salad.

FAQ: Questions about this chicken maqluba

This upside-down chicken maqluba just takes a little know-how. Below are answers to the most common questions people ask, including how to keep the rice from sticking to the pot when you flip it and how to tell when the rice is ready.

Chicken maqluba is a traditional Middle Eastern rice dish, layered in a single pot and then turned upside down onto a platter to serve. Maqluba actually means "upside down" or "turned over" in Arabic. The layers go in a set order. Tomato at the base, then seared chicken, baked aubergine, and spiced rice on top, with the rice cooking in the reserved chicken stock so it soaks up the flavour of everything beneath it. Once it has rested, the whole pot is flipped to reveal the layers, with the tomatoes now crowning the top.
Maqluba is traditionally seasoned with a warm blend of spices, most commonly allspice, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, and black pepper, sometimes with bay leaves or cloves added too. This recipe keeps things simple, using allspice, turmeric, cinnamon, and black pepper mixed into the rice, along with salt and pepper to season the chicken.
To prevent maqluba from sticking, use a heavy-bottomed pot and brush a generous layer of butter over the base and slightly up the sides. Cover it completely with tomato slices, edge to edge with no gaps, so the butter and tomatoes together form a barrier that the rice never touches. Add enough stock to submerge the rice by about a centimetre, bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and leave the lid on undisturbed for the full cooking time. Resting the pot off the heat for ten minutes at the end is the final safeguard, letting the layers loosen and settle before you turn it out.
The rice is fully cooked when it is tender with no hard centre, has absorbed almost all the stock, and you no longer see or hear liquid bubbling at the bottom. After the low, covered cook, lift the lid and taste a few grains from the middle. They should be soft but still hold their shape. Gently push the rice aside with a spoon to check that no liquid is pooling at the bottom. If it is, cover and give it a little longer. Once the grains are tender and the stock is gone, dot in the last of the butter, then take the pot off the heat to rest.

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MASTERING RICE

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Cook up chicken maqluba, the upside-down rice dish for sharing

Exceed every expectation with chicken maqluba, the upside-down rice dish for sharing. The name means "upside-down" or "turned over" in Arabic, and the dish lives up to it. Cooked in layers in one pot, it flips out whole, so lifting the pot away reveals browned chicken, aubergine, tomato and spiced basmati rice underneath. It is a dish made for a full table, the kind you carry out to a crowd and divide between plates.

If you enjoy cooking rice dishes that bring people together, you should try a saffron risotto, some stuffed arancini rice balls, or a lamb kabsa that layers spiced meat with fragrant rice.

Browned aubergine layered between tender chicken and spiced rice

Good things come to those who layer. The aubergine is baked until its edges caramelise, which drives off any bitterness and leaves it sweet, soft, and almost silky. The chicken is seared until browned on the outside, then simmered slowly until it turns tender and juicy all the way through.

On top, the basmati absorbs everything below it, from the savoury meat juices to the sweetness of the tomatoes and the aromatic spices. Because it all cooks in one pot, the flavours travel between the layers, so a forkful pulls a little of each at once.

Aromatic notes from allspice, turmeric, and cinnamon

The scent gives it away long before the lid comes off. In other words, chicken maqluba does not wait for the flip to make an impression. Allspice tastes like a mix of clove, nutmeg and pepper all at once, and paired with cinnamon's woody sweetness, it gives the rice its warmth. Turmeric adds an earthy, slightly bitter note beneath the gold colour, while black pepper brings a sharp, peppery bite. By the time it reaches the table, every grain of rice carries a little of all four.

A classic Middle Eastern one-pot dish

Maqluba proves you do not need a stack of pans to feed a crowd. One of the great one-pot dishes of the Middle East, its roots reach back centuries across the Levant. Everything cooks together in a single pot, then it is carried to the table and flipped in front of family and friends.

It is commonly served at celebrations and festive occasions, including during Ramadan, though it suits an ordinary weekend just as well. That mix of simplicity and spectacle is why it still earns its place at the centre of the table.

Put your mark on the recipe

Chicken maqluba takes well to small adjustments. For a crisper base, give the tomatoes and butter a few extra minutes in the pot before you build the layers. Fry the aubergine rather than baking it for a richer result, or layer in extra aubergine between the rice for more in every serving.

Adjust the spicing to taste and hold back the cinnamon, or add a pinch more allspice. Swap in fried potato, courgette or carrot alongside or instead of the aubergine. Or switch the pine nuts and almonds for pistachios, or add fresh herbs other than just parsley to finish.

COOK, BAKE AND SPREAD WITH

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