Happy New Year Everyone!
As this community reaches 40,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel, I always like to do a reassessment, to see what kind of content you would like to see in the future. Other than sharing recipes, I have also done quite a few travel vlogs, as well as videos on nutrition and health. What would you like to see more of in 2020? Please leave your feedback in the comments below!
Speaking of travel vlogs, I have a new video for you today, coming out of the city of Hebron, Palestine. It was in this ancient city I had the incredible Palestinian specialty of Maqlouba, which is a large pot of seasoned rice, caramelized onions, roasted chicken or lamb, and cauliflower. The pot is then flipped upside down to look like a large savory rice “cake” which is then crowned with toasted pine nuts or almonds:
I have shared this recipe on my channel before, and I will leave you that link below as well. However, in this vlog you get to see this dish in all its glory from Palestinians themselves. I have to admit it was difficult to put this video together, because while I could have focused on this dish alone, I wanted to share the historical and political context of this city. While the old town of Hebron is rich with history and culture, it has been plagued by a debilitating occupation. Despite Palestinians suffering tremendously in this city, they still are so warm and hospitable. This is the message I wanted to share, that despite a daily existence of extreme stress and instability, there are still signs of hope and resilience among the Palestinians living there.
With that in mind, here is the video of that special day:
And to get a refresher on how to make maqlouba, you can check out this video below:
Ingredients below, Instructions in the video above! 😉
- 2 1/2 cups jasmine rice
- 1 ½ pounds lamb chops or dark meat chicken with the bones
- Garlic powder
- 2 large heads cauliflower
- 2 large onions, sliced (or 3 medium onions)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves
- ¼ of a cinnamon stick
- 2 tsp allspice, divided
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbs. Olive oil with extra for brushing cauliflower
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- Water
- 8 ounces Greek yogurt (optional)
