Molokhia ( ملوخية), also known as Jute, or Jews Mallow is the name of both a plant and a dish. It has medium sized saw-toothed leaves that come to a point at the tip and have small tendrils at the base of each leaf. Nutritionally, it has three times the calcium and phospherous as Kale, and four times the amount of riboflavin. It also provides 70% of the RDA value for Vitamin C, 25% of the RDA of Vitamin A amongst a host of other minerals and vitamins. Put simply, it’s an extremely nutrient dense vegetable that’s widely eaten throughout the Middle East and Asia.
So why hasn’t it enjoyed the same kind of popularity in the US? My guess is that it has to do with the mouthfeel. Like other members of the mallow family, including Okra and Marsh Mallow, the plant has a mucilaginous texture that’s intensified by bruising and lightly cooking the leaves. While it’s a cherished consistency in many cultures, I can see how it might be a turn-off if you associate the texture with the unpleasantness that comes with a cold.
Molokhia the dish is made throughout much of Africa and the Middle East, but the origins of the dish are said to be in ancient Egypt, where it’s still popular to this day. In the Egyptian preparation, the Molokhia leaves are stripped from the stems, then minced using a mezzaluna. It’s cooked with ground coriander, garlic and stock and is often served with chicken (or more traditionally rabbit). In Levantine countries such as Syria and Lebanon, Molokhia is made with the whole leaves and is served with a vinegar and onion sauce along with toasted pita squares.
While I’ve used Molokhia for years in Japanese cuisine, I first encountered the eponymous dish while cooking in a kitchen in the Middle East where the chefs were Egyptian, Syrian and Lebanese. I was struck by how utterly simple it was and yet so comforting. Savory, and redolent of garlic and coriander, Molokhia has a verdant flavor made rich with the viscous mucilage from the leaves. In many ways, it reminded me of a marvelous green gumbo I once had at a farmers market in New Orleans.
The fresh leaves can be hard to find in the US, but I’ve seen them in Asian grocery stores. It goes by the name bai po in Thailand, nalta sag in India, saluyot in the Philippines, and moroheiya in Japan. You should also be able to find it frozen in any Middle Eastern grocery store.
For vegetarians, you can make this without chicken. Just substitute some vegetable stock for the chicken stock and serve it with roasted veggies such as bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant.
Ingredients
- 1/2 large chicken (or 1 small about 750 grams)
- 1 medium onion (quartered)
- 12 pods green cardamom
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 medium cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 500 grams fresh molokhia
- 2 cups Egyptian short-grain rice
- 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Steps
- Add the chicken, onions, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf salt and water to a stock pot that's just large enough to hold the chicken. The chicken should be completely submerged. Cover and bring to a boil, then remove the lid and skim off any scum that accumulates on the surface. Keep skimming until there's no more foam coming up. Turn the heat down to a simmer, and cook the chicken for 20 minutes.
- To make the Taqliya, combine the garlic, coriander and olive oil and salt and mash together into a paste.
- Prepare the molokhia, by removing the leaves from the stems, and then washing thoroughly to remove the grit that accumulates on the leaves. Use a mezzaluna or chef's knife to mince the leaves. You can also put the leaves in a food processor and pulse.
- When the chicken is done, transfer it to a bowl using tongs and cover the chicken with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.
- Thoroughly wash the rice and cook it according to the direction on the package, but substitute the chicken stock for the water.
- When the rice 15 minutes away from being done, preheat the oven to 230 C (450 degrees F) spread about 1/3 of the Taqliya on the chicken skin, sprinkle with salt, and then place the chicken on a roasting pan. Bake the chicken for 15 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown.
- Add half the remaining Taqliya to a pot. Fry the mixture until fragrant and browned. Add the 1 1/2 cups of reserved chicken stock along with the minced molokhia. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally until the molokhia is cooked (about 10-15 minutes). If you like your molokhia thinner, add more chicken stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add the remaining Taqliya to a small frying pan along with 2 tablespoons of ghee. Fry until the garlic has browned.
- Add the lemon juice to the molokhia and stir it in.
- To serve, put the rice in a large platter. Section the chicken into pieces and place them on top of the rice. Serve the Molokhia in a separate bowl to pour on the rice and chicken.
My mum’s friend used to live in Egypt and I remember having this as a child, I looked for recipes previously but never had much success! Thank you 🙂 I will have to hunt for some fresh molokhia and try and make this.
My husband is from Egypt and we usually buy it at a middle eastern market in the freezer
I grew up eating Molokhia, sometimes made with lamb instead of chicken. We use Barahat spice and usually add lemon juice- lots of lemon! I like you’re idea on plating it.
Moroheiya is very common in Japan. My mom used to make soup with it or just boil and serve with katsuobushi ( bonito flake) and soysause. I was so happy when I found moroheiya at the local farmers market in CA but my American family was not excited about the dish…
I ate this for the 1st with an Egyptian friend in the Middle East. She insisted. I was not impressed although I am considered an adventurous eater. It was as you mentioned the mouth feel—slimy and the look–gooey with a non-descript bland taste not worth the trouble. Therefore It will probably not appear on my dinner table even with all its high nutritional value. Nor will Nopal –Prickly Pear Cactus–same– same but give me okra–yum—yum!
I eat this for the first time in Egypt with my husband on our honeymoon this pass November. I loved it. I’m from the states but my hubby is from Egypt and it was so Delicious.
I eat this for the first time in Egypt with my husband on our honeymoon
this pass November. I loved it. I’m from the states but my hubby is from
Egypt and it was so Delicious. I’ll have to try this recipe for my hubby. I hope it will be as good as his was. =)
Hello there! I made this dish according to the recipe posted here. Molokhia is sold at our farmers market, and we are very curious to try new greens and vegetables. This worked out very well for us! Thank you for a great recipe.
i live in CA and never saw it at farmers market.. Do they call it “Moroheiya” ? I buy it frozen from the middle eastern stores.. but I only find it minced, I prefer to cook the fresh one and not so thinly minced..
Hi Lebanese, personally I prefer the Levantine style of molokhia as well without the leaves being chopped. If you live near LA or San Jose CA, you should be able to find it fresh sold as “moroheiya” at Japanese grocery stores such as Mitsuwa.
The Royal Dish of the Middle East. Bil hana ouel shefa…
I grew up eating it one of my favorite foods! I will have to go to an Asian market to find some fresh leaves.
you can add a cut up tomato it will change consistency of Molokhai so it will not be slimy. it turns more like a soup. Palestinian way
Hi Pali, thanks for the idea, I’ve never tried it with tomato, but I’ve been adding lemon lately to cut the viscosity, it must be the acidity that does it.
My mum always made it with dried leaves, she said it tasted better and much easier to break into small bits. Personally i hated as a child, but am willing to revisit. That said never met anyone apart from myself that didn’t like it.
sometime much be wrong with you, or maybe the one who made it did not do a good job . I make this my self homemade and its great. matter of fact just had it yesterday.
Wow… nor prickly pear.. Maybe your palette isnt tuned to delicate flavours, but Im drooling over the though of Molokhia right now!
The dried version unfortunately has too many stalks. It’s hard to find and my wife would get the dried version. It was never like the freish and I’d spend hours picking out stalks.
Hi Can you please let me know where Can I buy frozen melokhia. I managed to get the dried but I found it has too many stalks.Thank you in advance SYLVIA
Hi Sylvia, without knowing where you live I can’t really say, but you might find it in a middle eastern, indian or asian grocery store.
I ate this first time last week. My sister nlaw cooked it for me, she’s Jordanian by the way. You squeeze lemon on it right before you eat it and it taste so good. I used to eat it as a child in Philippines cooked as a vegetable soup but mixed in with other veggies with fish or sometimes just veggies. It’s one of my favorite, I love veggies greens and all. And I just cooked this for supper last night and my daughter liked it, it was her first time. By the way, you can find Molokhia frozen or… Read more »
You can find it frozen in any Arabic or Mediterranean grocery stores.
Where in Johannesburg South Africa can one find frozen molokhia ?
I really hope mukhlia doesn’t ever gain “superfood” status. It’s bad enough watching when Westerners discover the health benefits of, say, quinoa, and the people who have been eating quinoa in their diet for generations are priced out as Western demands increase. Or how brisket used to be the cheapest cut of beef and is therefore the cut used in lots of delicious Jewish and Central American recipes, only to see the price shoot up beyond leaner cuts as demand for it increased. Plus it’s unintentionally hilarious when I see bastardized recipes for hummus everything (hummus is Arabic for the… Read more »
Hi FD & Telena Helotova. I’m a westerner (Canada) who travelled in Africa (many countries north of the latitude of Southern Tanzania) for 6 months back in 1975. I was introduced to many wonderful foods, all of which I tried no matter how unusual or “glob-like” they looked! I was raised to always eat a teaspoon of everything on my plate no matter if I disliked it. To this day I cannot stand to eat Hubbard squash! I had the pleasure of eating Arabic foods, one of which was molokhia. It was very green and a bit slimy but when… Read more »
You can also add minced garlic if you are a fan of garlic, you basically add butter to the garlic and stir after you add salt and black ground pepper to it until the garlic turns yellow or light brown then toss it in the molokhia after you boil it on the top of the stove with either broth or plain water. It tastes very delicious
well judging by the accompaning picture in article,one must wonder what it is and in any case it is a disgusting looking glob that I wouldnt eat,alas to refuse it in all hospitality I would absent mindedly spill it all over the floor and have the maid look after it.here is a small psych test indicator of you’ll see.the more green food you eat the greener you get…….. 5 secs up.is being green a positive or negative emotive? how were you feeling as you read the article were you .well if you can be honest with yourself soem thing not… Read more »
I’ve been making molokhia for years, learned how to make it during my time in Egypt. Now I am residing in the States, I simply buy the frozen molokhia from the nearest Halal store. It’s my picky daughters favorite surprisingly. I’ve been rather sick of the same method I’ve been using these past 6 years so I tried this recipe…some similarities but wow…what a difference…I am in love. It turned out delicious!!!!!!! Putting the garlic rub on the chicken!!! The cinnamon stick and cardamom!! It made all the difference for me….my husband loved the change as well my daughter however…..not… Read more »
That was delicious! I just made it. My husband and I both loved it. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad to hear you both enjoyed it! Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know😁
I used the frozen Molokhia but it was very watery and turned grey. The fresh is only available here in Sydney Australia in summer so can’t wait to try it then. It did taste really good and I served it with Lebanese pilaf rice with toasted pine nuts. It also reminds me of the Russian sorrel soup. Will keep perfecting this a go to version of this dish.
Hi John, unfortunately the frozen kind does tend to be a little more watery, but I’m glad you enjoyed the taste. Thanks for stopping by to let me know how it went!
My Egyptian husband taught me how to cook this, but can rarely – as in never – find it in Ireland. Luckily, I was given a packet of seeds recently (thousands of them!) and it’s growing in my greenhouse! Looking forward to cooking it soon. Thanks for the recipe though . . .
Hi Frances, good luck with the Molokhia. It’s so expensive to buy fresh here, I may have to look into getting some seeds.
Hi Frances Kawala and Marc Matsumoto, I am from Canada. I first tried this dish many years ago when my friend who is Armenian, Italian and French (but lived in Lebanon) made it for me. It was delicious. I loved the onion, wine vinegar and crunchy pita bits of bread on top of the chicken, Basmati rice and minced frozen Molokhia Greens. All the textures were a perfect taste combination. Frances when I read that you grew yours from seed I had to respond. And I also read that Marc is also interested in the seed too. Can either of… Read more »
Hi Anna, Molokhia was originally an Egyptian dish, but it’s spread all over the Middle East and Lebanon in particular is famous for their version. A Lebanese chef I used to work with made his with whole leaves (i.e. not minced), and he told me that this was the primary difference between the Lebanese version and the Egyptian version. I’ve seen crisp pita squares served on Molokhia before and I think this is more a preference thing than a regional difference. As for the spices, they often use a blend called seven spice but it usually includes coriander, cinnamon and… Read more »
I’m Egyptian, this dish is one of main dishes here in Egypt. Your way of preparing it is most close to our way with taqlilah:)
Hi Doaa, I’m glad to hear you approve! Thanks for stopping by to let me know😉
This vegetable is eaten in western Kenya as mrenda by the Luyia and luo people groups. Very nice served with ugali and any meat
Hi Joyce, thanks for the education in Kenyan cuisine. I love hearing how the same ingredient is used in different cultures around the world!