Kitchen of Palestine » Rice

Maqluba With Eggplant and Lamb

Eman — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 18:43:10 +0000

When I come to think of the national dish of Palestine, I think of musakhan (layered dish of bread, onion and sumac topped with chicken and pine nut). But many others would think of maqluba.

Maqluba (means upside down in Arabic) is a very popular dish among Palestinians and Jordanians alike, they get really excited when it’s served on the table. It’s basically a layered pot of meat, vegetables and rice. Cooked all together and then flipped over a serving big flat platter, making this beautiful cake-like form.

Maqluba has a couple of variations in ingredients ; some make it with chicken and cauliflower, some prefer it with lamb and eggplant, while some others make it with cauliflower and eggplant, and add other vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and green peppers. Vegetables can be deep fried or just slightly sautéed. It can be with or without meat.

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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Malfouf)

Eman — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 17:19:11 +0000

Stuffing different kind of vegetables, including vegetable leaves, with rice and meat is a distinctive characteristic of East Mediterranean cuisines. Tens or maybe hundreds of various dishes are based on this same concept.. We have stuffed peppers, stuffed zucchini, stuffed eggplants, stuffed tomatoes, onions, potatoes, grape leaves, cucumber, carrots and much more! Actually I can’t think of any type of vegetable leaves that hasn’t been stuffed, wrapped, rolled in a way or another.

Stuffed cabbage rolls (malfouf or mahshi malfouf) is not only one of these dishes, it is one of the most flavored and delicious options among them all. At least from my taste buds point of view. The Arabic name of cabbage is “malfouf”, however this word originally means wrapped up and that explains where the name of cabbage comes from.

The recipe that I am sharing today is the typical and original Palestinian way of making stuffed cabbage rolls. It is easy, simple and delicious.

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Meat Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce (Shishbarak)

Eman — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:44:11 +0000

In some areas of Palestine it is called (taqiyet elyahoodi) which means Jew’s hat, in some other areas it’s called (dinen) which means ears. However, the mainly and commonly used term is Shishbarak or Shushbarak. Although it is a very old dish that it’s believed to be originated hundreds years ago, shishbarak is still considered as one of the distinctive dishes of Levantine cuisine nowadays.

Shishbarak is a light and mild main-dish that takes hours of preparation. Mainly consists of small pieces of beef-stuffed dough cooked in yogurt sauce, flavored with fried garlic and seasoned with fresh coriander.

The recipe that I’m sharing in this post belongs to my mother’s friend Aysheh who was born and raised in Damascus, originally from Haifa and now living in Amman. She invited me to her kitchen and chose her favorite dish to share with everyone…

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Bulgur with Lentils (Mjaddara)

Eman — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:05:24 +0000

Mjaddara (Bulgur with lentils) is one of those dishes you can make even when your kitchen appears to be empty! All what you need to have is probably kept in your household. It’s no wonder that mjaddara is known as poor man’s dish among Palestinians.

Mainly made of rice and lentils, mjaddara can be also made of coarse bulgur instead of rice as in nothern area of Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. The easy recipe and the delicious taste of mjaddara are what make it very popular as a main or a side dish. A plate of mjaddara cannot be complete without crispy fried onions on the top, served with fresh yogurt or fresh salad of tomatoes and cucumber.

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