Molokhia
One of the most characteristic dishes of Egyptian cooking, made in many homes. It is finely minced jute leaves (molokhia) cooked in chicken stock and finished with garlic and coriander fried in ghee — the taqliya. The soup is silky and slightly viscous, with a herby flavour somewhat like spinach. It is served with rice, pieces of chicken and lemon. The leaves are usually bought frozen and already minced, from Middle Eastern shops. Important: once the leaves are in, the soup must not boil hard, or they may sink to the bottom and the soup separate.
Your own work in that: 5 min.
- Chicken stock 55 min
- Straining 5 min
- Molokhia leaves 10 min
- Garlic and coriander 5 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake the chicken stock
Put the chicken legs, onion, bay leaf and cardamom in a pan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and skim. Salt and simmer 45 minutes, until the meat is tender and comes off the bone. Meanwhile cook the rice according to the packet.
Ingredients: 800 g skinless chicken legs · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs bay leaf · 3 pcs cardamom pods · 1500 ml water · 1½ tsp salt
Cardamom and bay — an Egyptian stock.Strain the stock
Lift out the chicken and strain the stock. Measure 1 litre back into the pan (keep the rest to thin the soup if it gets too thick). Take the meat off the bones and break it into pieces.
Ingredients: 800 g skinless chicken legs · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs bay leaf · 3 pcs cardamom pods · 1500 ml water · 1½ tsp salt
Add the molokhia
Bring the stock to the boil, lower the heat and add the frozen molokhia. Stir until it thaws and blends with the stock, about 5 minutes.
Ingredients: 400 g frozen minced molokhia · 2 tbsp ghee · 8 cloves garlic · 2 tsp ground coriander · 1 pcs lemon, wedges
Frozen straight into the stock — stir until blended.Heat, do not boil
Heat the soup gently another 5 minutes, until it barely trembles. Do not let it boil hard — the leaves would sink and the soup separate.
Ingredients: 400 g frozen minced molokhia · 2 tbsp ghee · 8 cloves garlic · 2 tsp ground coriander · 1 pcs lemon, wedges
Make the taqliya
Crush the garlic. Heat the ghee in a small pan, add the garlic and coriander and fry, stirring, 1–2 minutes, until the garlic is golden and fragrant. Do not burn it.
Ingredients: 400 g frozen minced molokhia · 2 tbsp ghee · 8 cloves garlic · 2 tsp ground coriander · 1 pcs lemon, wedges
Golden garlic with coriander — the soul of the soup.Combine
Pour the sizzling taqliya into the soup and stir. Adjust the salt.
Ingredients: 400 g frozen minced molokhia · 2 tbsp ghee · 8 cloves garlic · 2 tsp ground coriander · 1 pcs lemon, wedges
Add the chicken
Put the chicken pieces into the soup or serve them separately, as is often done in Egypt.
Ingredients: 800 g skinless chicken legs · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs bay leaf · 3 pcs cardamom pods · 1500 ml water · 1½ tsp salt
Serve with rice
Serve hot, with rice (in Egypt often rice cooked with fried vermicelli) and lemon wedges to squeeze.
Ingredients: 200 g long-grain white rice
Before you start
Where to buy
Frozen molokhia (mulukhiyah) is sold in Arab and Turkish shops and online. Dried leaves must be soaked and blended — the soup is then less silky. Without molokhia you can make a soup the same way from blended spinach with taqliya — it is tasty, but lacks the viscous texture and is no longer molokhia.
With rabbit or prawns
In Egypt molokhia is also made with rabbit stock, or with prawns in Alexandria. The garlic and coriander stay the same.
Storage
Cool the chicken soup within 2 hours and keep it in the fridge up to 2 days. Reheat it gently until hot, without boiling hard, and add fresh taqliya before serving if you like.
