Egypt / Soup
Molokhia
A soup of jute leaves, slippery in texture, with a garlic and coriander tempering.
Ingredients
- Molokhia leaves, fresh or frozen500 g
- Chicken1.2 kg
- Garlic10 cloves
- Ground coriander2 tbsp
- Ghee80 g
- Cardamom pods4
- Bay leaves2
- Onion1
- Rice, to serve400 g
- Lemon, to serve2
- Salt and pepperto taste
Quantities are auto-calculated from the original recipe as a guide. Items without numbers (e.g. “to taste”) are not changed.
Method 7 steps
Simmer the chicken with the onion, cardamom and bay for forty-five minutes and strain the broth.
Chop the molokhia leaves finely with a mezzaluna or blitz them to an even green mass.
Bring the broth to the boil, add the leaves and immediately drop the heat to its lowest.
Hold the soup just below a simmer for ten minutes, stirring; it thickens and turns slippery.
Crush the garlic with salt into a paste and fry it in ghee with the coriander until deep gold.
Pour the tempering into the soup — it will hiss — and cover the pot immediately for a minute.
Serve with boiled rice, the chicken and lemon, each in its own dish.
