Egyptian Chicken Molokhia Recipe

Chicken Molokhia is an Egyptian chicken soup recipe that is mixed with green jute leaves, chicken meat & broth, lemon juice, cardamom, and lots of garlic. It is served either with pita bread or rice.

Jump to:

• What is Molokhia?
• Why recommend this dish?
• Recipe Ingredients
• How do you make into a Powder?
• Things to do first before cooking?
• Cooking Instruction
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
• Other Middle Eastern Food Recipes
• Recipe Card
• Comments

When I was a kid, I lived most of my time in Kuwait, and I ate many delicious middle eastern and Egyptian food. Just for your information, there are almost 600,000 Egyptian living in Kuwait, which makes up one of the largest foreign communities in their country.

They share similar cultures to Arab locals, and one thing I learned from them is their food cultures. My Egyptian neighbor invited me once to their house for lunch, and one of the foods I find that I love so much is Molokhia.

What is Molokhia?

Molokhia is an Arabic term made from vegetable green leaves called Jute leaves or Jews Mallow. It is originally from Egypt, which starts to spread to other Middle Eastern and North African countries. To the Egyptian locals, it is considered a national dish along with Koshari Rice.

These jute leaves are found either as dried leaves, fresh leaves, or frozen packs. To me, I prefer dried or fresh leaves since it has a stronger flavor.

Because Egyptian dish is a cook in a form of soup, it is served perfectly with rice. This is also popular in the Levantine region in the Middle East, which they have their version of this dish.

Why recommend this dish?

To me, I recommend you to try Molokhia because not only it is delicious, but is healthy and nutritious. This jute leave soup has many health benefits, which are rich in Vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, and other minerals. 

Furthermore, this soup is perfect during winter or cold weather. That is because it is a hot soup which is very nutritious, and this can be eaten with or without rice. My friend told me this is good for colds and flu, which makes sense since it is rich in Vitamin C.

Because I love this Egyptian soup dish, I am going to show you the recipe of my Chicken Molokhia Recipe

Recipe Ingredients

The ingredient to make a chicken molokhia recipe is actually simple.

Firstly, I am using Chicken meat and Bouillon cubes as my protein dish, which is common in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries. I am using meat with bones since we boil the chicken, it will release the broth, which will enhance the flavor of the soup. Also, to make sure the soup has good taste, I use chicken bouillon cubes in this recipe.

Secondly, I am using a homemade prepared Molokhia powder, which is made from minced dried jute leaves. It is more convenient that way since you don't need to store it in the fridge. These green leaves can be found in most Middle Eastern or Arabic grocery stores. 

Thirdly, I am using fresh lemon juice, cardamom powder, and garlic. What makes this dish authentic Egyptian is we add a lot of garlic. Also, the lemon will add mild sourness to this dish, which will enhance the flavor of the soup. As a half Arab, we always include lemon when we are drinking soups, which blend well. 

How do you make into a Powder?

The molokiya powder I have was already prepared, which was given from my father in Kuwait. In my opinion, this is much easier since you can cook directly in the pot.

To make these leaves into a powder, you can just buy these leaves, and use your hand to manually separate jute leaves from the stem. Next, you put it in plastic and let it be exposed to the sun for up to 2 days. That is because it will dry the leaves, which you can mince into a powder.

And then lastly, you use can use either knife or a food processor to mince it into a powder.

Things to do first before cooking?

Although this is not mandatory, I will recommend that you remove the skin, and clean the chicken with salt and lemon since it can help remove the smell of the meat.

Cooking Instruction

The first thing you should do is boil the chicken for 25 minutes on medium heat. While boiling the meat, I am preparing to sauté the garlic and the leaves.

In a different pan, I fry the garlic with olive oil until it becomes golden brown. And then, I add the molokhia/jute leave powder, lemon juice, and cardamom powder directly to the pan. Make sure you put a little bit of cardamom powder since it can be overwhelming.

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Once the chicken is boiled for at least 25 minutes, transfer the cooked molokhia leaves to the pot, and let it simmer for additional 15 to 20 minutes in low heat until the chicken is soft and cooked. Serve it with any Arabic rice or bread and salads.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Other Middle Eastern Food Recipes

Here are other delicious Egyptian and Arab dishes to try at home:

• Mujadara Recipe
• Egyptian Koshari Rice
• Chicken Arabic Biryani