My Maglouba

My Maglouba was a success! Fahad ate only from it!!! and warmed my heart of course by doing so :) I didn't follow the recipe as it is written in the book ( I got it from Senses 2 the KFMB cook book for this Ramadan), I had to add my touch to it and from what I remember of the Maglouba I used to have at my parents home. The extra ingredients in bold is what I added to the recipe. 2 eggplant cut into round slices. ( I used only 1) 2 1/2 cup of Basmati rice washed and soaked 2 medium onions chopped 1/3 cup of oil, you can add more if needed 1/2 kilo of lamb stew meat. (I sliced off the extra fat and sliced the meat into smaller pieces) 1 tsp of sweet spice 1/2 tsp of black pepper 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder 1 can of green peas 4 1/2 cups of hot water 1 can of chopped tomatoe in juice (Del Monte) 2 tbsp of tomatoe paste 4 garlic chopped 2 maggi chicken stock cube (which I put in everything I cook ;p) extra salt to taste - Mix spices with meat and set aside - Fry eggplants until browned and set aside. Remove excess oil, just keep a little. - Fry onions and garlic until soft. Add the meat cook for a couple of minutes, then add 1/2 cup of hot water with maggie cube. let it simmer on low heat for 3o minutes. -Add tomatoe paste and canned tomatoe and peas, let it cook for 5min then add the eggplants. -Add the rice on top of the meat & eggplant mixture, slowly add 2 cups of water, let it cook until the water gets low, then add 1 cup at a time or until the rice is cooked. I advise that you check on the rice regularly. Have a bowl of yogurt with chopped Cucumbers on the side as sauce with the rice ;)

Next time I will try a chicken Maglouba ;)

Oh!!! On my way out I passed by AlMu3alem to buy a Qancha. I saw one of my relatives, an old lady allah yehadeeha, and she peeked into the trolly I was pushing and was confused to find a round stainless steel Qancha. She looks up at me.

"7ag shino hathi?"

"I'm making Maglouba today for fotur."

"Mashallah 3alaich! yegoloon 6aba'7a! "I give her big grin, but then she continues, "Basich bal3a yal ba6a! la te9eereen mithl yaditich allah yer7amha!"

My whole expression crumbles. Ba6a! Ba6a??? ana Ba6a??? My grandmother allah yer7amha, who passed away before I was born, was obese.

"Mshkoora! Hatha min thouqich!" Humph!

However I couldn't stop myself from laughing.