Maqluba – Upside-Down Rice with Chicken

👨‍🍳 Method

1. 1
   Heat the oil in a skillet.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 2
   Add the cauliflower florets and fry, until partly golden. Remove and set aside.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the chicken and onion and fry, until golden. Add the cumin, turmeric, paprika, salt and black pepper and stir.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
4. 4
   In a wide pot, layer the cauliflower and tomatoes, then the chicken on top, and finally the rice.

   Wide, shallow pot

   💡The bottom layer will be the top after flipping: arrange it neatly and tightly, and the rice above it holds everything together.
5. 5
   Add the hot chicken stock to 1 cm above the rice, and bring to a boil.

   Stove
6. 6
   Cook over high heat 5 minutes. Turn down' the heat to very low', cover and simmer 25 minutes.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
7. 7
   Let the pot stand covered off the heat 10 minutes, then flip it confidently onto a large serving platter, sprinkle the pistachios on top.

   LidServing platter

   💡Resting off the heat firms up the rice, so the maqluba comes out whole.