egyptiansoup
Molokhia
Egyptian jute leaf soup with garlic, coriander, and chicken — emerald green, deeply savory, ancient.
Prep
15 min
Cook
60 min
Servings
6
Difficulty
Medium
4.7
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Egyptian jute leaf soup with garlic, coriander, and chicken — emerald green, deeply savory, ancient.
Molokhia is one of Egypt's most ancient and beloved dishes — a thick, deep-green soup made from finely chopped jute leaves (molokhia/mloukhieh) simmered with chicken stock and finished with a fragrant takleya (toasted garlic-coriander oil). It has a unique slightly slippery texture and earthy, savory flavor. Served over rice with chicken or rabbit, it's a soul-warming, deeply traditional dish.
Serves 6
Place chicken pieces in pot with water, onion, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, and salt. Bring to boil, skim foam. Simmer 45 minutes until chicken is very tender.
Remove chicken pieces, set aside. Strain stock through fine sieve. Return clear stock to pot.
If using frozen, partially thaw — should still be partially frozen for proper texture.
Bring stock to gentle simmer. Add molokhia. Whisk vigorously to break apart. Cook 15-20 minutes — DO NOT BOIL or texture will break. Soup should be thick and emerald green.
Heat ghee in small skillet. Add garlic, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium-low heat 2-3 minutes until garlic is golden and fragrant. Don't burn.
Pour sizzling takleya directly into molokhia soup. It should sizzle dramatically — that's the signature moment! Stir to combine.
Squeeze lemon juice into soup. Adjust salt.
Spoon rice into bowls. Place chicken pieces on top. Ladle generous molokhia over. Serve with bread and lemon wedges.
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NEVER let molokhia boil hard — it breaks the texture and turns brown.
Frozen molokhia is widely available at Middle Eastern markets — fresh is rare outside Egypt.
Use rabbit (traditional), beef, or seafood instead of chicken.
Add ground meat for shorba molokhia.
Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat gently — never boil.
Molokhia has been eaten in Egypt since pharaonic times. The name is Arabic for 'royal' — it was reportedly a Pharaoh's favorite.
Middle Eastern markets, frozen section. Look for finely chopped frozen molokhia in plastic bags.
It almost always means the soup was boiled hard after the leaves went in. Keep it at a bare simmer from the moment you add the molokhia, and whisk it in rather than stirring gently so it disperses evenly.
Yes — swap in a good vegetable or beef stock and skip straight to adding the molokhia and takleya. The garlic-coriander takleya is what gives the soup its signature aroma, so keep that step regardless of the protein.
Per serving (500g / 17.6 oz) · 6 servings total
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