Rice with beef, onions and eggplant, cauliflower, or fish (Maklouba)

Maklouba: it means flipped over as once this dish is cooked, you flip the pot over on to the dish and all the goodies reveal themselves! I usually make it with either eggplant, cauliflower or fish, but I guess you could use a combination as well. When I use fish I only need fried or BBQ fish instead of meat and just use water to cook the rice with.

• 1kg meat, either:
• stewing beef 
• lamb shanks or other cubed lamb, 
• fish - cod, snapper, sole or any white fish works well
• 2 cups of rice (basmati or long grain works well)
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 medium eggplants or 2 heads of cauliflower 
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cracked cardamom pods
• salt to taste
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (grapeseed, olive or any cooking oil you prefer) for drizzling and sauteing. 
• 1 tub (750g) of plain Balkan style yogurt

Cube the meat and sear over high heat in a deep pot; add 5 cups of water and all of the spices and let it simmer until meat is really tender (approximately 2 hours).

Meanwhile, if using eggplant, slice the eggplant in rounds, about 2 cm thick. Lightly salt the eggplant and either deep fry or brush it with oil and bake in the oven until browned & cooked, approximately 1 hour at 350°F). If using cauliflower, cut it into florets and drizzle with olive oil and bake until golden.  Again, approximately 1 hour at 350°F.  If using fish, salt and pan fry the fish until cooked and golden.

Once the meat has cooked, remove the chunks and set aside. Drain the broth to remove any residue and measure out 4 cups.

Lastly, to assemble, saute the onions in large pot until golden but tender. Then add the two cups of rice and give it a quick stir. Finally add all the meat, the cooked eggplant, cauliflower, or fish and the 4 cups of broth (or just water if using fish). Adjust the seasoning at this point and ensure the broth is over-spiced to compensate for spicing the rice. Bring everything to a rapid boil and then immediately reduce heat to the lowest setting. Cover and continue to cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until rice is fully cooked.

To serve, flip the entire pot of maklouba on a large platter. Arrange nicely and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts or almonds. Serve with plain yogurt.

Serves 4.