Molokhia (egyptian

Molokhia is eaten across Africa and the Middle East, but its roots trace back to ancient Egypt, where it’s still a beloved staple. In the Egyptian version, the leaves are stripped from the stems, minced finely, and simmered with garlic, ground coriander, and chicken stock. In the Levant (Syria and Lebanon), it’s made with whole leaves and paired with vinegar-onion sauce and toasted pita. I’d used the molokhia plant in Japanese cooking for years but first tasted molokhia soup while working in a Saudi Arabian kitchen alongside Egyptian, Syrian, and Lebanese chefs. Its simplicity floored me: deeply savory, refreshingly herbal, and naturally thickened by the namesake ingredient.

Why This Recipe Works
What is Molokhia?
Ingredients
How to Make Molokhia
Serve This With
📖 Recipe
Comments

Why This Recipe Works

Aromatic broth sets the foundation. Simmering chicken with warm spices like cardamom, cinnamon, and bay leaf infuses the stock with layers of umami and flavor.
Taqliya adds depth. Garlic and ground coriander are mashed and sautéed to create taqliya, the aromatic backbone of molokhia. Blooming these ingredients in oil amplifies their savory punch and balances the viscosity of the greens.
Chopped molokhia transforms texture. In contrast to Lebanese molokhiya, this Egyptian recipe is made by mincing the molokhia leaves, which gives the soup its characteristic body. It also breaks down fibrous stems, making the dish smoother and easier to eat.
Roasting the chicken delivers contrast. Simmering the chicken renders out extra fat from the skin, making it easy to crisp in the oven, adding a texture and flavor contrast to the silky soup.

What is Molokhia?

Molokhia ( ملوخية), also known as Mulukhiyah, 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. 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.

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.

Ingredients

Lemon Juice - Cuts through the soup’s richness and provides a bright contrast to the herbal molokhia leaves.
Fresh Molokhia - The star of the dish, these leaves provide body and a deeply herbal flavor. Frozen molokhia can be used if fresh is unavailable. It also goes by the name bai po in Thailand, nalta sag in India, saluyot in in the Philippines, and moroheiya in Japan.
Chicken - Simmered to create a rich, collagen-laced broth and roasted for crispy skin to complement the velvety soup. For vegetarians or vegans, just substitute some vegetable stock for the chicken stock and serve it with roasted veggies such as bell peppers, zucchini, and eggplant.
Onion - Adds sweetness and depth to the stock as it breaks down during simmering.
Garlic - A key aromatic in the taqliya that brings pungency and depth.
Green Cardamom - Infuses the broth with a warming, slightly citrusy fragrance.
Cinnamon Stick - Adds gentle spice and earthy sweetness to round out the broth.
Bay Leaf - Brings a subtle herbal note that lingers in the background.
Ground Coriander Seeds - Offers a lemony, earthy balance to the sharpness of garlic.
Egyptian Rice - Molokhiya is usually served on top of rice, and using the stock from the chicken to cook the rice makes it ultra flavorful.
Clarified Butter - Infuses nutty aroma and a silky finish to the final taqliya topping.

How to Make Molokhia

Start by simmering the chicken with onions, cardamom, cinnamon, and bay leaf. Skim the foam off the surface to keep the broth clear. Once the chicken is cooked through, transfer it to a bowl and cover it to retain moisture. You’ll be using the stock for both the molokhia and the rice.

While the chicken simmers, prep the molokhia. Strip the leaves from their stems and give them a good wash to remove grit. I like to mince them finely using a mezzaluna, but a food processor works well too. Don’t over-process-the texture should be soft, not puréed.

Make the taqliya by pounding garlic, coriander, and salt into a paste with olive oil. Divide this into three portions. The first gets smeared over the chicken skin before it’s roasted until golden. The second is sautéed to season the soup. The third is browned with ghee for the finishing touch, infusing the whole dish with toasty garlic aroma.

To finish, gently simmer the minced molokhia with stock and taqliya until the soup thickens slightly. Add lemon juice to balance the earthiness. Serve the soup alongside rice cooked in the same spiced stock, with roast chicken nestled on top. Pour the hot molokhia over rice and chicken at the table so every bite is soaked with flavor.

Serve This With

To round out the meal, I like to serve this with a few mezze-style dishes that complement the comforting richness of this molokhia recipe. Loubieh Bi Zeit (green beans stewed in olive oil) offers a tangy counterpoint and echoes the slow-cooked warmth of the dish. Mutabbal brings smoky richness , while Labneh adds cooling creaminess that softens the garlicky kick. A bowl of fresh Tabouleh lends crunch and acidity, and Muhammara delivers sweet heat and texture from walnuts and roasted peppers. Together, they make the table feel generous and alive-perfect for sharing.

📖 Recipe

Units

Ingredients1x2x3x

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, then washing them 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 them 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 ⅓ 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 ½ 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 on 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.

Nutrition Facts