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Let's explore an Egyptian wonder and learn how to cook molokhia, the Egyptians traditional comfort food and discover.
The vegetable which gives you a flavour boost that your taste buds will addict and also your children
Simply, it is a recipe that catches the eyes and hearts.
What is Molokhia?
The most famous Egyptian dish in the Middle East and the world.
Grows in summer between June and September, it grows so easily and fast in about 60 days, increasing its abundance and being affordable and accessible for everyone.
Its name is derived from the word “Mulukia” which means royalty as it started its life as a remedy for the king and then became a national staple that is a part of all Egyptian dining tables.
Before discussing how to cook molokhia, let's first discover what it is.
It's a green leafy plant from the mallow family.
It is from an Egyptian origin and then spread all over the Middle East, Mediterranean region and North Africa then recently to the west.
The Egyptian molokhia is a soap-like recipe that is known as green soap and loved by all.
It can be dried and found at the spices shop “attar” or frozen and found in supermarkets for storage all year round.
It has a mucilaginous texture like other mallow plant family members like okra.
For more vegetarian recipes try the Egyptian Koshari.
Why do Egyptians love molokhia?
Not only did the Egyptian master how to cook molokhia, but also they adore it.
The Egyptian love for molokhia is of a special kind.
You cannot find an Egyptian that don't love it and craves it too for many reasons:
Very simple, delicious and comforting.
Basic in all gatherings, loved by everyone.
Suitable for gatherings in any occasion.
Affordable recipe that you can prepare a big enough amount for many people without paying a lot.
Perfect to feel warm in winter
Fills your stomach with a very low calorie intake.
Perfect for children that are hardly satisfied and they will be fascinated by its delicious taste compared to other vegetables such as spinach or broccoli.
Very nutritious at a very low price.
Now, it's time to learn how to cook molokhia.
How to cook molokhia?
Here is the way to obtain the best Egyptian style molokhia recipe.
Ingredients
you will need:
Minced Molokhia leaves
Broth can be chicken broth or meat broth or any poultry broth.
Minced garlic
Dry coriander
Salt
Butter or ghee
Mincing Molokhia
Mince the molokhia leaves very well with a specific Egyptian tool called “makhrata” (a mezzaluna like tool) or you can buy it already minced and frozen if you prefer saving your time and effort.
However, nothing beats the fresh taste of molokhia as the fresh leaves give you an incredible taste result that can't be obtained when using frozen molokhia, it really worth the effort.
Recently, it is popular to use your food processor to mince fresh molokhia leaves and enjoy its fresh taste in an easy way.
Instructions
Strip the leaves from the stem
Wash molokhia leaves and let dry
Mince with makhrata or in the food processor as mentioned
In a pot over a medium heat, pour the preferred amount of broth
Add to it a teaspoon of minced garlic
After being hot, add the minced molokhia and stir till it becomes homogeneous
Maintain the consistency as you prefer, if too thick add broth and if too light add molokhia
In a pan, melt butter or ghee, add a teaspoon of minced garlic and another teaspoon of dry coriander to make what is called “Tasha”
Wait for the tasha to become golden then add it to the molokhia pot and enjoy the smell.
Let it cook for 5 minutes and be sure not to boil it for a long time.
Add salt as preferred.
After finishing, be sure not to cover molokhia to prevent the separation of ingredients.
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How to cook molokhia in different ways?
Actually there are some variations in cooking molokhia among different countries or even different families as follows:
Without coriander
Adding fresh Tomato or tomato sauce: it is not very popular but some prefer it as a kind of change.
Using baking soda: to keep its fresh green colour if you have leftovers.
Lemon juice: unusually, some people like squeezing lemon drops over their molokhia.
In addition, It is popular in Egypt to cook molokhia with rabbit using rabbit broth,
Also, you can find molokhia with shrimp and shrimp broth in coastal cities and seafood lovers.
Serving options
There are many different ways to enjoy such a scrumptious Egyptian molokhia.
The most popular is to serve molokhia with white rice or vermicelli rice, you can also enjoy it with the Egyptian baladi bread, also it can be drunk as a soup.
Can also be served beside stuffed vegetables such as cabbage and Warak Enab recipes.
In the Levant area, molokhia is cooked with onions as whole leaves and served with lemon wedges.
What are you waiting to apply how to cook molokhia?
Health benefits and nutritional facts of Molokhia
Not only a delicious recipe but also nutritious.
When it comes to health, molokhia is unbeatable.
We must learn about its value not only how to cook molokhia.
It can be put in the same category with the super healthy food but with an affordable price.
Contains copious amounts of iron,magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, selenium.
It contains calcium and phosphorus 3 times as much as kale and four times as much riboflavin.
Rich source for vitamins A, C, E, K, B6, and Niacin.
It provides the body with 70% of the required amount of vitamin C and 25% of vitamin A per day.
Moreover, it contains antioxidant carotens
With this generous content of minerals, molokhia is beneficial for almost all body systems as cardiovascular system and the digestive system.
In addition it helps in sleeping well because it's content of magnesium
Cold Molokhia “Shalawlaw”
Do you know that you can eat a cold molokhia?
Surprisingly, yes there is a very famous Egyptian molokhia recipe popular in Upper Egypt and known as “Shalawlaw”.
An excellent solution to resist the high temperature there.
A recipe with an Egyptian signature that could not be found anywhere else.
Its history goes back to the ancient Egyptians as it was eaten to help them cope with the high temperature in Upper Egypt.
It makes you feel cool and fresh in addition it is a very easy and quick recipe that you must give it a try.
It is prepared by mixing dried molokhia leaves, water, onion , garlic, and lemon, then leaving it cool.
And finally, whether dry, fresh or frozen, either cooked with rabbit, chicken or shrimp, you must learn how to cook molokhia and try such a scrumptious Egyptian dish.
Trust me it is impossible to try molokhia and not fall in love with it
Fortunately, you can also try planting it on your balcony in the summer.
And by mentioning Egyptian food, we cannot forget the incredible Egyptian Hawawshi and the creamy mouthwatering Omali recipe.