Molokhia – Lebanese jute mallow stew
Molokhia or muluchiya is a well-known stew in the Levant. Molokhia leaves belong to the long-capsule jute (also known as jute mallow ), which belongs to the mallow family.
The recipes vary depending on the region. This Molokhia recipe is a family recipe from my sister, who likes to cook it for the whole family. Of course, she got it from my mother and she got it from my grandma.
I haven’t dared to try this stew yet, because if it’s prepared incorrectly, it’s a slimy mess. In this recipe, you can find out exactly what you need to do to make it tasty.
How to make Molokhia
Jute mallow is rather unknown in Western society, but is very popular in Arabic cuisine. In Egyptian cuisine, for example, fresh or frozen jute mallow is often used, while in Lebanon the dried leaves are more commonly used.
And where can you get molokhia leaves? You will definitely find them on the internet, but you should also be able to find them in Arab supermarkets.
To make the stew spicy and aromatic, you should cook the chicken stock yourself. It’s best to use a fresh soup chicken or chicken thighs, as they make the most delicious broth.
If you don’t feel like or don’t have time to cook the stock, you can of course buy some and cook the chicken breast fillets in it.
Ingredients for the stew:
- Dried jute mallow leaves
- Fresh soup chicken
- Cinnamon stick
- Bay leaves
- sweet paprika powder
- Onions
- Garlic
- lemon juice
- Coriander
- Olive oil
Preparation of Molokhia
To be honest, preparing the stew is a little time-consuming, as the mallow leaves need to be washed thoroughly. But above all, the stalks have to be removed as they exude mucilage during cooking.
For this reason, you must first pluck all the stems from the leaves – a laborious task, but one that pays off.
Once you have removed all the stems, you need to wash the leaves thoroughly until the wash water is almost clear. It took me about 7 washes.
Quick guide to preparation:
- Peel the onions.
- Place the chicken, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, paprika, salt and an onion in a pan of water.
- Simmer the stock until the chicken is cooked.
- Strain the stock and shred the chicken.
- Pluck the molokhia leaves from the small stalk and wash the leaves with warm water, squeezing them a little at a time until the water is almost clear.
- Cut the garlic bulb in half and wrap one half in aluminum foil. Wrap the other onion in aluminum foil as well and cook both in the oven.
- Peel the other half of the garlic.
- Remove the baked garlic and onion from the oven, squeeze out of the skin and chop with the other half of the garlic.
- Wash and chop the coriander.
- Fry the garlic and onion paste, add the coriander and the molokhia leaves. Continue to fry everything.
- Add the lemon juice, pour in the chicken stock, add the shredded chicken and simmer.
- Season the Molokhia stew with salt, pepper and lemon juice and serve.
What side dishes can be served with it?
Buttered rice, what else! Haha, no, you can also enjoy the stew with other side dishes such as buttered bulgur or Lebanese flatbread. Lemon wedges for a little acidity and chilli flakes for a spicy note go very well with it.
Aromatic salads such as coleslaw with mint, red cabbage salad or beet salad also go well with this or as a starter.
If you want to make autumn a little cozier, then cook Molokhia. You can of course cook the stew whenever you like. The ingredients are available all year round. I tend to prefer warm and hearty dishes in the cold seasons and light and cold dishes in the warmer months.
Whenever you want to cook the jute mallow stew, I wish you lots of fun and bon appétit.
Recipe for Molokhia – Lebanese jute mallow stew
Ingredients
For the stew
- 1 Soup chicken (1 kg)
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 3 Bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon Paprika powder (sweet)
- 2 Onions
- 100 g Jute mallow leaves (dried)
- 1 Garlic bulb (whole)
- 120 ml fresh lemon juice
- 20 g Cilantro
- 40 ml Olive oil
- Salt, pepper
To serve
- 1 x Butter rice according to recipe
- Lemon wedges
- Chili flakes
Zubereitung
- Peel the onions.
- Rinse the chicken under cold water and place in a pan with the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, paprika, salt and an onion.
- Fill the saucepan with water until the chicken is covered.
- Simmer the stock over a medium heat for approx. 1 hour until the chicken is cooked.
- Then remove the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, onion and soup chicken. Put the stock to one side.
- Leave the chicken to cool and shred later.
- While the chicken stock is simmering, pluck the molokhia leaves from the small stalk. This is important as it secretes mucilage. You should do this very thoroughly and really remove all the small leaf stalks.
- Now wash the leaves approx. 6-7 times with warm water and squeeze them out again and again – until the water is almost clear. Then wring out the leaves.
- Cut the garlic bulb in half and wrap one half (as it is) in aluminum foil. Wrap the onion in aluminum foil as well. Cook both at approx. 180 °C fan oven for approx. 30-40 minutes.
- Peel the other half of the garlic.
- Remove the roasted garlic and onion from the oven. Press or peel the baked garlic out of the skin.
- Then finely chop and crush the fried and fresh garlic with the fried onion.
- Wash and chop the coriander.
- Now fry the minced and crushed meat with olive oil in a pan for 2 minutes over a medium heat.
- Add the coriander and fry for a further 1 minute.
- Add the molokhia and fry for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and deglaze with approx. 1.2 liters of chicken stock. The leaves must be completely covered with stock. If the stock is not quite enough, simply add a little more water.
- Add the shredded chicken and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes with the lid half closed.
- Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
- Serve with buttered rice, chili flakes and lemon.
Notes
Nährwerte
Are you hungry for more stews? Then be sure to try the potato stew, okra stew or spinach stew.
