Go Back

Caramelized Shallot Upside-Down Rice with Chickpeas

This upside-down rice is packed with sweet caramelized shallots, chickpeas, and aromatic spices for a comforting, golden dish that’s as beautiful as it is satisfying.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine middle eastern
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

Caramelized Shallots

  • ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 medium shallots peeled and halved (if your shallots are small, use more to cover the bottom of the pot)
  • kosher salt
  • 1 tsp sugar

Rice

  • 1½ cups basmati rice rinsed and soaked in cold water for at least an hour, then drained
  • ⅓ extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 15 oz can chickpeas drained, rinsed and dried
  • 2 tsp hawaij
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2¾ cups chicken stock or water with consomé
  • ½ cup dried currants

Instructions
 

Make the Shallots

  • Add a circular piece of parchment paper to a medium nonstick pot. Add olive oil and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, carefully add the shallots cut side down and season well with salt. Use tongs to carefully flip the shallots so that they stay together. Let brown for about 5 more minutes.
  • Sprinkle shallots with sugar and add ¼ cup of water of the pan and cover. Reduce heat to low and let shallots cook another 20 minutes. Flip them again so that they are cut side down.

Prepare the Filling

  • While the shallots cook, heat olive oil in a medium cast iron pan over medium-high heat. A chickpeas and fry about 5 minutes, until almost crisp. Add in hawaij, a generous sprinkle of salt, a few cracks of pepper, onion and garlic. Fry until onion starts to soften, around 5 minutes. Set aside.

Assemble the rice

  • In the nonstick pot, sprinkle the rice evenly over the shallots. Add in the chickpea mixture and the dried currants. Pour in the chicken stock, careful not to disturb the shallots on the bottom.
  • Tie a kitchen towel over the lid of the pot. Bring pot to a boil over medium high heat, cover with toweled lid and turn down to low heat. Let rice cook for 25 minutes.
  • Place a large platter over the top of the pot and invert the whole thing. Discard the parchment paper on the bottom. Serve hot and watch your guests enjoy.
Keyword basmati rice, caramelized shallot rice, caramelized shallot rice recipe, caramelized shallots, chickpea rice, hawaij spices, Middle Eastern rice dish, Middle Eastern upside-down rice, one-pot rice with chickpeas, Overnight slow-cooked chicken and rice with chickpeas, roast chicken with spiced rice, savory rice dish, upside-down rice, upside-down rice with chickpeas, vegetarian Middle Eastern rice, vegetarian rice recipe, warm spices