One dish that is very popular in Egypt is fresh minced mulukhiyah with roz, made from fresh jute leaves. Mulukhiyah, molokhia, mloukhieh are all the same thing - a jute leaf stew common in the Middle East.
Traditionally, minced fresh mulukhiyah is cut into pieces using a rocking knife. However, this recipe takes a short cute and minces the jute leaves using a food processor.
What is Mulukhiyah in English?
Mulukhiyah is also known as jute in English. It's served as a thick soup with rice (called "roz" in Arabic) and it's usually served with chicken or rabbit.
Mulukhiyah with roz is a very common dish prepared at home across several different Arab countries. The Lebanese make molokhia slightly different from the Egyptians, as well as Palestinians.
You will see mulukhiyah spelled a lot of different ways around the web (and maybe this site as well), but it all means the same. Mulukhiyah, molokhia, mulukhia, mulukhiya, jute, and jew's mallow are all different words describing the same thing.
Fresh mulukhiyah may be hard to find in the U.S., however, it's pretty common in the Middle East. If you can't find fresh mulukhiyah, use frozen mulukhiyah.
What I Love About This Recipe
Fresh mulukhiyah with roz is quite the experience the first time making. Mulukhiyah is slimy and green, definitely not the most beautiful of dishes. However, it's absolutely delicious and a favorite dish amongst kids. This is one of my daughter's favorite recipes.
There are many ways to prepare mulukhiyah. Two of my favorites are this Egyptian recipe using frozen minced jute leaves and another is this Lebanese recipe using dried whole leaf jute.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken broth ingredients: I make my chicken broth fresh using whole chicken, onion, cardamom pods, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. My second-best option is using frozen chicken broth (that I made from a previous meal).
Mulukhiyah with roz ingredients: After the homemade chicken broth is made, and the mulukhiyah is minced, mulukhiyah with roz is easy to whip up. Below is what's needed: minced mulukhiyah, chicken broth, minced garlic, butter (or oil), and ground coriander.
How To Make Mulukhiyah With Roz
Mulukhiyah with roz takes a few steps to make because the best mulukhiyah uses a homemade chicken broth from scratch.
Make The Chicken Broth
Add the onions, salt, and pepper to the food processor. Pulse on high until the onions are blended.
Marinate the chicken with the pulsed onions by stuffing the onions inside in between the skin and the meat. Add the water to the stovetop pot.
Bring the chicken to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium heat, cover the pot with a lid, and cook for about 1 hour. Reduce the stovetop heat to a simmer and cook for another 30 minutes (continue to keep covered).
Prepare the Fresh Mulukhiyah Leaves
Remove the leaves from the mulukhiyah plant. Add the leaves to a bowl. After all the leaves have been removed, wash the leaves several times until the water runs clear. Strain. Add the leaves to the food processor.
Pulse the food processor until the mulukhiyah is minced. Once the chicken broth is done cooking, remove it from the stovetop.
Prepare The Mulukhiyah
In a nonstick stovetop pot, add the butter (or olive oil) on high heat. Add in the minced garlic. Once the minced garlic caramelizes, add the ground coriander.
Add the chicken broth and minced fresh mulukhiyah to the same pot on high heat. Bring to a boil.
Hint: The mulukhiyah will change colors as it cooks.
Continue to stir until there are no clumps and the soup is smooth. Serve with rice and a side of lime.
Tips and Tricks
Homemade chicken broth: If you need to save some time, you can use pre-made chicken broth from a box however it will not taste as good as making it from scratch. Also, you can substitute frozen chicken broth for fresh chicken broth if you have some on hand. The broth is the foundation of this recipe, so good broth equals good molokhia.
Mince the mulukhiyah in a food processor to save time. I do not recommend using a blender or hand blender.
Cook the rice using a rice cooker, Instant Pot, or stovetop pot while the chicken broth is getting made. I don't know if it's a family curse, but I always struggle with making rice that doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Most of the time I'm cooking other things, so I will forget to check on it or not turn it down fast enough.
Problem solved if using a rice cooker. I have the Instant Pot, and it has a rice cook function. It's kind of nice just to set it and forget it. I highly recommend trying it if you have one!
Substitutions and Variations
There are different ways of making molokhia. Lebanese mloukhieh is made from whole jute leaves (dried or fresh) and served with toasted bread and vinegar. This recipe is an Egyptian-style recipe, and it fries the garlic in the same pan as the molokhia.
Roast the chicken (after it's made the broth) with a little bit of salt, tomato paste, and some lime, similar to this Egyptian molokhia with roasted chicken. The chicken will be very tender and might fall apart, so another option is to shred the chicken.
FAQs
Mulukhiya is not spinach, however, it is called Egyptian spinach or Jew's mallow.
Mulukhiya is a mix between Swiss chard and spinach with the slimy feel of okra. When making it into a soup, its flavor can change drastically based on the other ingredients you add to it.
Molokhia is mucilaginous having viscous and gelatinous properties. It's similar to the slimy feeling many people have when eating okra.
Delicious Authentic Egyptian Recipes
Mulukhiyah Variations
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Fresh Mulukhiyah with Roz
Ingredients
Chicken Broth
- 3 lb whole chicken
- 10 cups water
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 6 cardamom pods
- 1½ medium onion or 1 large onion
- salt and pepper to taste
Mulukhiyah
- 2 cups minced fresh mulukhiyah
- 4 cups chicken broth for the mulukhiyah ** see notes
- 7 fresh garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoon butter or ghee
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- salt to taste
- pinch sugar optional
Rice
- 2 cups chicken broth or water
- 2 cups dry Calrose rice ** see notes
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter optional
Instructions
Make The Chicken Broth
- Add the onions, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Pulse on high.
- Marinate the chicken with the pulsed onions by sticking the onions in between the chicken skin and meat.
- Add the whole chicken to a pot. Fill the pot with 10 cups of water. Add the cardamom pods and bay leaf.
- Bring the chicken to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium and cover. Cook for 1 hour. Flip the chicken halfway. Turn the temperature down to low or simmer. Continue cooking covered for another 30 minutes.
Cook Rice
- Add 2 cups of rice and 2 cups of chicken broth to the rice cooker or Instant Pot. Add salt to taste and about 1 tablespoon of butter. Cook with the rice cooker or Instant Pot rice cook function.
- If cooking on the stovetop: Bring 2 cups of Calrose rice and 2 cups of chicken broth to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes covered, or until the rice is tender. Fluff with a fork, remote from heat, and keep covered.
Make The Mulukhiya
- Remove the leaves from the mulukhiya plant. Add the leaves to a large bowl of water and wash thoroughly. Drain the molokhiya leaves.
- In a food processor, add the leaves of the mulukhiyah and blend on high until they are finely minced.
- Chop the garlic very finely.
- In a large nonstick pot, add the butter (or oil) on high heat. Add the minced garlic. Fry until golden brown. Add the ground coriander and mix well. Pour the broth into the pan. Add the minced molokhia. While continuing to stir, bring the mulukhiyah to a boil. The mulukhiyah will rise up, so it needs to be monitored at all times so it doesn't boil over. Once the minced mulukhiyah is no longer clumpy and the color has changed, add more broth if needed. Remove from the heat.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with rice, lime, and chicken (from making the broth).
Notes
- Once the leaves have been removed and minced in the food processor, this is the weight measured for this recipe.
- Depending on the molokhia itself, it may need more or less broth to achieve the consistency desired. The amount of broth to minced mulukhiyah varies greatly, so start with less broth and adjust.
- I was told that a pinch of sugar helps keep the fresh mulukhiyah bright green.
- If using different rice than Calrose rice, adjust the liquid needed to cook the rice.
Layla
Very each to follow
Jess
I love being able to make new recipes from different cultures for my family. This recipe is perfect! Thanks for sharing!
Samantha
this is such a great recipe
Amnah
I didn't know what fresh mulukhiyah looked like until this post because I've always used the frozen mulukhiyah.