4-5 servings

1.5 kg whole chicken, cut into six pieces

1 kg rice

1.5 kg eggplant

1 medium-sized onion, cut into large pieces

1 medium-sized tomato, diced

2 tablespoons salt

2 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon mixed spice (baharat, a common 7-spice blend found in the Middle East)

1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

8 cardamom pods

2 tablespoons butter

½ liter sunflower oil for frying

Water

Sliced nuts to decorate the dish

First, rinse the rice until the water runs clear, drain, and then soak it in water. Wash the chicken, then put it in a large pot with one liter of water, 4 pieces of chopped onion, bay leaf, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon sticks, mixed spice and salt. Set it over high heat until it boils, and then reduce to a low simmer until the chicken is done cooking, approximately 45 minutes (use a fork to check the texture of the chicken). As the chicken cooks, fatty “foam” will rise to the top. Remove it with a slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, peel the eggplant and cut it lengthwise. Heat up around half a liter of frying oil in a deep pan. Once the oil is hot, fry the eggplant until it becomes golden in color. Roast the nuts on low heat with a little frying oil, until they become golden in color.

Once the chicken is finished boiling and all the eggplant has been fried, now comes the most important part – the art of making maqluba. Put the ingredients in a 30 cm (12-inch) pot as follows: First the chopped tomatoes, then the chicken (don’t throw out the water) and finally the eggplant. Salt to your desired level. After rinsing the rice again and draining it, put it on the top of the eggplant. Strain the chicken’s cooking water and add the broth into the pot until the rice is covered.

Add the Aleppo pepper, salt as desired and two tablespoons butter. Set the pot over high heat until it boils, and then reduce to a low simmer and cover it with a top so that the rice absorbs the chicken broth. It is done when the rice has completely absorbed the liquid and turned soft (approximately 10-15 minutes of simmering).

When it’s finished, put a large tray over the top of the pot and turn it upside down, so that it comes out like an embellished cake. Then sprinkle the nuts on top.

After eating maqluba, I recommend drinking hot tea with cardamom, preferably with a little bit of saffron.