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.
Units
Ingredients
- ½ 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
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 500 grams fresh molokhia
- 2 cups Egyptian short-grain rice
- 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- 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.
Harry says
Wow… nor prickly pear.. Maybe your palette isnt tuned to delicate flavours, but Im drooling over the though of Molokhia right now!
Harry says
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.
sylvia says
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
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Rosalynn Normandia says
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 dried in any Arabic or Mediterranean grocery stores or fresh on any Oriental or Asian grocery stores.
Rosalynn Normandia says
You can find it frozen in any Arabic or Mediterranean grocery stores.
Rozanna says
Where in Johannesburg South Africa can one find frozen molokhia ?
FD says
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 chickpea plant) including hummus made with peanut butter, black bean hummus that contains no actual hummus, and the stuff in the plastic tubs. The last thing I want is to have food I grew up eating become “trendy.” I hate getting lectured on my own culture by some hipster who went to google university.
Brenda says
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 mixed with the rice, it was delicious. I’m glad I tried the first teaspoon of this food rather than discreetly tip it onto the floor!
I also had the pleasure of eating lamb tangine twice, once made with couscous and again with quinoa.
I lived in Vancouver as a child but I never grew up with international foods. I did grow up eating brisket, hamburger, beef heart, kidneys, liver, tongue & chicken legs & wings – all of which were the cheapest cuts of meat. We drove to where we could catch our own fish & dig for clams, oysters & crabs.
I agree with FD about watching over the years as foods all of a sudden became popular by marketing. I remember going to the market in Toronto on a Saturday near closing to buy a 5-lb bag of chicken wings for $2.50. A few years later chicken wings became a hot item in the pubs & bars as a snack food as well as a contest item to see who could eat the spiciest, hot wings. Now -a-days chicken wings are too expensive for the amount of meat bought.
What I am glad about is that because we are such a globally mixed world, I’ve been able to buy foods that I tried when I was travelling 45 years ago. People who emigrate to the west are able to buy foods that they grew up on in their birth country. Westerners have been introduced to foods that are much healthier even if marketing has put a spin on it. Yes some of the marketing has changed some foods to a point of being unrecognizable. I much prefer eating a combination of plain hummus with tahini & lemon as the flavour is much better.
One unfortunate aspect of the global spread of foods is the introduction of western fast foods with high fat content throughout the rest of the world. This has only served to reduce the consumption of healthy foods & increase the consumption of a higher, unhealthy fat diet. The problem of western obesity is now being seen in other countries.
I choose to believe that the sharing of healthy cultural foods will make our Western diets much better.
The internet is the best source for learning about other cultural foods, especially Arabic foods, and to locate where the foods can be purchased.
During this global pandemic & voluntary physical/social isolation, take some time to browse the internet to find new foods & recipes to try for dinner. It’s a lot of fun!
Keep safe & keep healthy.
Brenda
Alex P. says
This is funny but true. westerners think they know it all just from Google. “I hate getting lectured on my own culture by some hipster who went to google university.” Worst they skyrocket the price to prove a point it now discover by one their Columbus.
Sue says
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
Umm Ayah says
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 so crazy over it, she’s picky. I’m hoping to win her over because I want to cook this recipe again..I think a good compromise would be to omit the cinnamon stick, it may have overpowered and sweetened it too much for her……one thing that should be added though is the toasted vermicelli to the rice!!!! Makes it Egyptian and delicious….must be mandatory to eat molokhia with Egyptian rice&vermicelli!!!!!!!!!
klebefolie says
That was delicious! I just made it. My husband and I both loved it. Thanks for the recipe!
Marc Matsumoto says
I’m so glad to hear you both enjoyed it! Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know😁
John A . says
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.
Marc Matsumoto says
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!
Frances Kawala says
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 . . .
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Frances, good luck with the Molokhia. It’s so expensive to buy fresh here, I may have to look into getting some seeds.
Anna says
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 you please advise me as to how I can obtain the seed so I can grow it here in Canada?
Thank you,
Anna
PS Marc: Does the ingredients for the Molokhia that I described above sound like a modified version of the dish or is it a Lebanese recipe? I don’t remember tasting any cardamom, cinnamon or coriander.
Marc Matsumoto says
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 cardamom.
Doaa says
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:)
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Doaa, I’m glad to hear you approve! Thanks for stopping by to let me know😉
Joyce Mutungi says
This vegetable is eaten in western Kenya as mrenda by the Luyia and luo people groups. Very nice served with ugali and any meat
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Joyce, thanks for the education in Kenyan cuisine. I love hearing how the same ingredient is used in different cultures around the world!