Maklube or Maqluba is a festive meat & rice dish that is served upside down and garnished with a colorful salad and yogurt on the side. It is a very popular dish in The Middle East and Turkey. I will show you how I make maqluba with the best tips to make it perfect!
Ingredients For Maqlube:
- 400-500 gr. beef, cut in small cubes
- 2 medium-size onion (optional)
- 3 medium-size eggplant (peeled in strips and cut in about 1cm thickness, soaked in salty tap water for 30 minutes at least )
- 2-3 medium size potatoes
- about 1 cup or more vegetable oil to fry
- 2 cups rice (soaked in hot salty water)
- salt, black pepper to taste
- About 25-28cm in diameter preferably non-stick deep pan (or after sauteing the meat take it out and place round baking paper on the bottom to prevent sticking and easy turning. )
- For the rice, I used 1 cup from the meat stock and 2+1/2 cups hot water. First add 3 cups in total, cook, and check if it needs more, you can always drizzle more hot water and continue to simmer on low until rice is cooked. Make sure it is rested for half an hour before turning over.
How To Make Maklube / Maqluba
Preparations:
- Sauté the meat in olive oil until it changes its color, add enough hot water to cover at least 2 cm high. Cook until soft
- Soak the rice in hot salty water for at least half an hour or up to two hours.
- Peel the eggplants in strips, slice in about 2 cm thickness. Soak in salty water for half an hour. Drain and squeeze the water, pat dry. Peel and slice the potatoes
- Deep fry first the potatoes and then the eggplants in vegetable oil until they have a light golden color. transfer into a paper towel to get the excess oil out
Cooking Maklube
Cut the onion in half and half again and slice.
In a medium-size wide, preferably nonstick pan sauté then onions in olive oil. Drain the cooked meat from the stock and add it to the onions. Add salt and pepper. Stir for 3-4 minutes. (If you don’t have a nonstick pan you can cut a baking paper and place it on the bottom of the pan after you sauté the onion meat mixture and then begin to assemble the layers to prevent sticking.)
Wash and drain the soaked rice, place half of it over the meat mixture. arrange the eggplants and potatoes in a layer over the rice.
Pour the rest of the rice to cover the veggies. Add 1 cup from the meat stock and complete it with 2 cups more hot water. Cook simmering until the rice soaks all the water and soft. If it needs more time to cook you can always drizzle more water over it and cook more. Let the Makluba rest for half an hour before turning it upside down. Meanwhile, make the garnishes.
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Turkish Style Beef Stir fry “SAC TAVA” / Sac Tawa
Turkish Style Chicken Yakhni With Vegetables
Preparing the Garnishing Salads:
Finely grate carrot, place in a bowl. Since the purple cabbage has layers you can grate it from the thick side of the grater, transfer it into another bowl. For the shepherd’s salad, slice the tomatoes and cucumbers into small cubes. Chop fresh herbs, mix everything together. Add lemon juice, some salt, and it’s ready. Have ready a thick yogurt in one bowl.
Assembling Maqluba:
After the maklube is rested turn it over a big tray or serving plate. Make sure it is rested for at least half an hour. 
Fill the sides of the tray with shredded veggies, shepherd’s salad, and yogurt as you see in the video and photos. Enjoy it right from the tray or serve it individually.
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