Upside-Down Classic · Layered Rice
Maqluba
Photo: Arafataslan / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
The whole point of the dish is the reveal — cooks flip the entire pot in one motion at the table, and a collapsed layer is remembered as a small kitchen disaster for years afterward.
Fried eggplant, potato, and cauliflower are layered in a pot with spiced rice and chicken or lamb, cooked until set, then flipped in one motion onto a platter so the vegetables end up on top. Northern Jordan's family-run eateries serve it by the tray at lunch.
Why it's made this way: The layered, flip-to-serve technique is a shared Levantine method that took deep root in northern Jordan's Palestinian-influenced kitchens, where it remains an everyday lunch rather than a special-occasion dish.
More from Jordan
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.