Molokhia is a leafy plant popular in Middle East, East African and North African cuisine. In Lebanon it’s made into a stew most often with chicken and using the full leaf.  When  Molokhia is boiled, the broth thickens, and is often described as “slimy”, but there are a few things that can be done to reduce that and enjoy the yummy flavour. first when picking through the leaves make sure to remove all the leafy tops (these slim a lot), long stems and yellow leaves. Second, a good steep in boiled water or a 5 minute boil followed by a wash and squeeze will cut the thickness of your final stew in half. We use organic Molokhia sourced from the south of Lebanon. We find that the Molokhia we source only needs a simple steep during the prep process. Some of the boxed supermarket brands are more bitter and require to be boiled as an initial step before cooking with the chicken broth. The higher the quality of your molokhia leaves the better tasting your final dish will be.

In our home and in most Lebanese homes the aroma of Molokhia stew triggers warm and happy childhood memories. This is one of our comfort foods and a staple every Lebanese cook will master with a little personal touch of their own.

Prepping this dish is the most time consuming part. When I find extra energy (and time) I will prepare more than one batch of leaves at a time and freeze for future quick meals.

Molokhia {ملوخية}

Molokhia is a leafy plant popular in the Middle East, East African, and North African cuisine. In Lebanon, Molokhia is made into a stew most often with chicken, using the full leaf and served on a bed of Lebanese rice.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Cuisine Lebanese, middle eastern

Servings 5 people

Ingredients

  

• 2 lb whole chicken
• 3-4 liters Chicken broth
• 150 grams dried Molokhia
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 small green pepper
• 1 onion pealed
• 1 to tomato
• 1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
• 10 Garlic cloves finely minced
• 2 lemons squeezed

Instructions

 

• Prepare chicken and broth using the Lebanese Chicken broth {مرق الدجاج} recipe.
• In the meantime pick through Molokhia remove any leaf tops/ stems and steep in boiled water until re-hydrated (10 min); strain leaves in a colander and run through with cold water; squeeze dry small amounts at a time and set aside.

  Tips: steeping leaves is usually enough if you know the source of your product. Store-bought molokhia is usually more bitter and requires to be boiled for a couple of minutes (5) before being washed and squeezed.
• Place a large pot on medium-high heat and add vegetable oil, chopped cilantro, and minced garlic; saute for a couple of minutes before adding molokhia, small amounts at a time, and mixing, until all molokhia has been added to pot.
• Cover Molokhai with broth, add tomato, pepper, and salt;  allow to come up to a boil before covering with a lid and lowering the temperature to keep at a steady boil.

  Tip: top up with boiled water if broth does not generously cover molokhia.
• boil for 30- 40 minutes until molokhia leaves are tender.
• Add de-boned chicken and stir into molokhia.
• Serve with Lebanese rice {رز لبناني}, a squeeze of lemon and your favorite hot sauce or pepper.

Keyword Lebanese dinner, Lebanese food, Lebanese main, lebanese stew, mlokhia, Molokhia, Molokhia stew, molokhiya