Vegetable maqluba (upside-down rice with eggplant and cauliflower)
The showstopping Palestinian upside-down rice: roasted eggplant, cauliflower and potatoes layered under spiced basmati, then flipped onto a platter in one proud move.
- 110 min total
- 45 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 6
- About $2.91 a serving
- 530 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 1 eggplant, sliced into ½-inch rounds
- 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tomatoes, sliced
- 3½ cups vegetable broth, hot
- ⅓ cup almonds, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 cup plain yogurt, for serving
From your pantry
- 6 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 530 calories, 14 g protein, 79 g carbs and 19 g fat, and costs about $2.91 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
- No Yukon Gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No tomatoes? Roma tomatoes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
- No plain yogurt? Plain Greek yogurt works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 450°F. the rice until the water runs clear, then cover it with cold water to soak.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
the eggplant, cauliflower and potatoes with 4 tablespoons oil and 1 teaspoon salt, spread them over two baking sheets and 25 to 30 minutes, flipping once, until and tender.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 27 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Roasting instead of frying keeps this lighter and much less messy.Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a over medium heat and cook the onion 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic, spices and the rest of the salt for 1 minute.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
the rice well and stir it into the spiced onions until every grain is coated.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rub the bottom and sides of a large heavy pot with the rest of the oil.
Lay the tomato slices over the bottom, then layer in the potatoes, eggplant and cauliflower.
Dolly’s tip: Whatever goes in first ends up on top, so make that tomato layer neat.Spoon the rice over and level it gently.
Slowly pour the hot broth over the back of a spoon so the layers stay put. It should cover the rice by about ½ inch.
over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Medium-high heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook 30 minutes, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
Low heatTimer: 30 min
Take the pot off the heat and leave it covered 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a dry over medium heat, stirring, 3 minutes, until .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 10 min
Set a large platter upside down over the pot. Holding both with oven mitts, flip them over in one quick move, wait a minute, then lift the pot away.
Dolly’s tip: Tap the top of the pot a few times before lifting so everything lets go. If a few pieces stick, just put them back where they belong.Scatter the almonds and parsley over and serve with yogurt.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Vegetable pilau (East African spiced rice)
60 min
Ethiopian cabbage and potatoes (atakilt wat)
50 min
Instant Pot aloo baingan (potato and eggplant curry)
45 min
Cheesy lentil and rice casserole
110 min
Vegetarian dinners ›Make-ahead and freezer-friendly ›What to make with rice and tomatoes ›What to make with rice and potatoes ›What to make with potatoes and tomatoes ›