Eggplant Maqluba with Meat

Ingredients

• 2 cups Egyptian rice, soaked
• 1 kg meat, with or without bone
• 1 large eggplant, sliced into rounds and fried
• 2 tomatoes, sliced into rounds
• 2 potatoes, sliced into rounds and fried
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp turmeric
• 2 cardamom pods
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• Bay leaf
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cloves or 2 whole
• 1 stock cube
• 1/2 cup of the frying oil (from the eggplant and potatoes)

Method

1. Brown the meat with the whole spices in a little oil, add the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, black pepper, stock cube, turmeric and salt to taste. Add boiling water and simmer until tender, about two hours.
2. In a pot, layer the meat, then the tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and finally the rice.
3. Add the meat stock until it is 2 cm above the rice and bring to a boil. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and check the salt. Keep on high heat and add the frying oil; once the water is absorbed, lower the heat and cook until the rice is done. Serve with yogurt and Arabic salad.

Notes

Use a pot suited to the quantity so the rice stays fluffy and the dish flips properly.