Egyptian recipe
How to make Molokhia
ملوخية
All of Egypt, with roots in ancient Egypt
A thick green soup made from finely chopped jute leaves cooked in chicken or rabbit stock, finished with garlic fried with ground coriander. It has a silky, slightly slippery texture, a little like okra, and is served with rice and chicken or bread.
Ingredients
- 400 g frozen minced molokhia (jute leaves), from Middle Eastern or Asian food shops
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons ghee or butter
- Salt and black pepper
- To serve: cooked rice, cooked chicken pieces and lemon wedges
Method
- Bring the stock to a simmer in a large pan and season it with salt and pepper.
- Add the frozen molokhia and stir until it has melted into the stock. Heat until it just simmers, but do not let it boil hard, or the leaves can sink and separate.
- In a small frying pan, fry the garlic and ground coriander in the ghee, stirring, until golden and fragrant. Take care not to let the garlic burn.
- Stir the hot garlic straight into the soup. It will sizzle loudly.
- Serve at once in bowls, with rice, chicken and a squeeze of lemon.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
In 1005 the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim banned his subjects from eating molokhia.
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