Maqluba (Arabic: مقلوبة, lit. 'upside-down') is a traditional Levantine dish[1] that is popular across the Levant including in Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon,[2][3] and Iraq.[4][5][6][7][8]
The earliest mention of the dish is found in a 13th century cookbook, Kitab al-Tabikh, written by Muhammad Baghdadi during the Abbasid Caliphate.[9]
It consists of meat, rice, and fried vegetables placed in a pot which is flipped upside down when served, hence the name.[10]
The dish has featured in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinians have described attempts to label the dish as Israeli as amounting to cultural appropriation.[11] The dish was used by Palestinian activists to mobilize people to join protests at the Aqsa mosque in the Israeli-occupiedEast Jerusalem.[12] In 2017, Israeli police arrested a Palestinian woman who had organized a maqluba eating gathering at the Aqsa mosque.[12]
Since the unsuccessful coup attempt in Turkey in 2016, the dish is seen as a "Gulenist delicacy". It is assessed as strong evidence of membership of the Gülen movement.[13]
Ingredients
Maqluba can include various vegetables, such as fried tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflower, and eggplant, accompanied by either chicken or lamb.[14] The most common are cauliflower and eggplant. All the ingredients are carefully placed in the pot in layers, so that when the pot is inverted for serving, the dish looks like a layer cake.[10][15]
Maqluba is typically garnished with pine nuts and chopped fresh parsley.[16] It is sometimes served with salad and fresh yogurt, and is often prepared for feasts and large gatherings.
^Ottolenghi, Yotam (2015). "Jerusalem on a Plate". Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies. 15 (1). University of California Press: 3. doi:10.1525/gfc.2015.15.1.1. ISSN1529-3262. Maqluba, an upside-down rice and vegetable cake that is actually Palestinian
