Pieces of meat and liver are cooked in their broth then sautéed in ghee and Omani spices of cardamom, clove, and cinnamon, a traditional Omani dish served with rukhal bread and honey.
Maqli is one of the Eid-table dishes in Oman: meat cooked in its broth then sautéed in ghee and spices until it browns, with the liver added at the last moment.
We cook it at home as the Omani households have handed it down, cooking the meat slowly until it softens then browning it with cardamom, clove, and cinnamon, and serve it with thin rukhal bread and a little honey that balances the heat of the spices.
Put the meat pieces in a pot with the water, half the onion, the pierced dried lime, and half the salt, and cook over medium heat until it boils, then lower the heat and cover the pot for about thirty minutes until the meat is tender and a little broth remains.
In a wide skillet, heat the ghee over medium heat, and sauté the remaining onion with the garlic and ginger until it softens and turns golden.
Add the cardamom, clove, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, black pepper, and turmeric, and stir for a few seconds until the spices become fragrant without burning.
Add the cooked meat with the remaining broth, raise the heat, and stir until the meat browns, the spices cling to it, and most of the broth dries up.
Add the cut liver and the rest of the salt, and stir gently for only about five minutes until the liver is done and stays tender, for liver toughens if cooked too long.
Lift the skillet off the heat and serve the maqli hot with thin rukhal bread or a whole-wheat loaf and a little honey on the side, as is the Omani custom.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar, while the glycemic load (GL) measures how much a full serving raises it. Together they give the complete picture.
A low value (≤55) means a gradual rise in blood sugar — the most suitable range for diabetes and insulin resistance.
Glycemic load reflects the impact of the full serving. To lower it: take half a serving, or pair the recipe with a source of protein and fiber.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet per FDA food-label reference values — your daily needs may be higher or lower. Values are derived from the recipe's ingredients via the USDA database.
The most common problems when preparing Omani Maqli (Spiced Sautéed Meat and Liver), and how to fix them:
Add it only in the last five minutes and remove the pot as soon as it is done, for liver, unlike meat, toughens with long cooking.
Cook it longer in its broth over low heat before browning, and add a little hot water if the broth dries up before the meat softens.
Reduce the ghee and use just one spoonful, and cook the meat in its own water without extra oil, for the broth alone is enough to cook it before browning.
Keep it in an airtight container for up to two days, and reheat it gently over low heat so the liver does not toughen and the meat does not dry out.
Freeze the sautéed meat for up to a month, and it is best to add the liver fresh when reheating so its texture stays tender.
| Original Ingredient | Tested Substitute | Ratio | Flavor Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| lamb | lean beef | same weight, 400 g | beef needs a little longer to soften, and the flavor is lighter |
| ghee | vegetable oil | same weight, 20 g | it lowers the saturated fat and makes the dish dairy-free |
| liver | leave it out and add more meat | replace it with 100 g of meat | for a pure meat dish for those who do not like liver, and it lowers the iron and cholesterol |
| black dried lime | lemon juice | one tablespoon at the end of cooking | it gives the same acidity without the bitterness of loomi |
| Ingredient | Half amount | Full amount (base) | Double |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamb | 200 g | 400 g | 800 g |
| Lamb liver | 50 g | 100 g | 200 g |
| Chopped onion | 75 g | 150 g | 300 g |
| Ghee | 10 g | 20 g | 40 g |
| Salt | 1.5 g | 3 g | 6 g |
Add the liver only in the last five minutes, for liver cooks quickly and toughens and dries out if left on the heat too long, and cook the meat in its broth first until it softens before browning it.
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