Maqlooba or upside down eggplant, meat and rice dish

This is originally a Palestinian dish but has crossed borders and is eaten in Egypt as well. My grandmother who had a close Palestinian friend used to make this and I could not stop eating! The spice infused rice with the eggplant and stewed meat make a unique flavor combination.
This recipe is adapted from the book When Suzanne Cooks, which I find to be one of the best Arabic cookbooks I've seen so far.

Ingredients
2 large eggplants
1 kg beef or lamb cubes
2 cups rice
1 large onion, sliced
1 leek, white part only sliced
3 Tbsp oil
5 cups water
5 cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
1 ts allspice
2 ts salt

Directions
Peel eggplants and slice lengthwise to make 2 cm wide slices
Sprinkle the eggplants with 1 ts salt and let it rest for 20 min
brush eggplant slices with 1 tbsp oil and place on a cookie sheet. Bake in hot oven for 7 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
In a large non stick pot, saute meat in 1 tbsp oil until browned all over, remove from pot and set aside. Add another tbsp oil in the pot and saute onion and leek slices and saute for 2 minutes or until onion softens.
Return the meat to the pot, add the water, salt and the spices. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat. Cook until meat is soft.
Arrange the eggplant slices in the bottom of a non stick pot
once meat is done, remove with a slotted spoon and place on top of the eggplants. Top with the two cups rice
Remove the solid parts from the broth and pour 2 cups broth on the rice.
Bring the broth to a boil and once it is almost dried up (rice should be bubbling) reduce heat and let the mixture cook for 20 minutes. Check midway to ensure it is not too dry. if it's dry add a few tbsp of broth.
When done, let it rest for 20 minutes then turn upside down on a serving plate.
Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and pine nuts for garnish


source: themonkeykitchen