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Lebanese Molokhia

Molokhia leaves cooked in a garlicky spicy chicken broth with cilantro

Course Main Course
Cuisine Lebanese
Keyword Authentic, Dinner Party, Healthy
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 4 hours
Servings 8

Ingredients

For the chicken broth

  • 2 chickens quartered
  • 3 litres of water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 6 peppercorns
  • 1 cracked nutmeg
  • 5 cloves
  • 3 cardamom pods

For the Stew

  • 200 g whole dried molokhia leaves
  • 50 g of cilantro (fresh coriander) or a large bunch
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • vegetable oil
  • 2 large onions
  • 2 bulbs of garlic
  • 2 green chilli
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 4 lemons
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

To make the chicken broth

  1. Make the chicken broth in advance by flash frying the chicken in a drizzle of regular olive oil on high heat for around 5 minutes until golden.

  2. Transfer the chicken to a large stock pot and add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom pods, 1 tablespoon of salt and one whole peeled onion. Bring to the boil and simmer on low heat for one hour.

  3. Once done remove the chicken flesh off the bone and set aside. Strain the liquid with a fine sieve to achieve a clear broth.

To prepare the Molokhia leaves

  1. Prepare the molokhia leaves by sorting through them removing any flowering heads or anything irregular. Blanche in hot water with a roughly chopped lemon for a few minutes and drain.

  2. Once the leaves have cooled slightly, take batches in your hand, twist and squeeze out the slimy residue. Repeat 3 times until you have squeezed out most but not all of the residue.

  3. In a seperate pan, lightly fry small batches in a drizzle of vegetable oil on medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Set aside

To make the stew

  1. In a large pot, finely chop the remaining onion and sauté lightly in the butter until translucent
  2. Peel the garlic bulbs and roughly chop. Add to the onions and sauté together on a low heat being careful not to burn the garlic

  3. Finely chop the green chillis and the cilantro (fresh coriander). Add to the pot along with the dried coriander powder

  4. Sauté everything for a few minutes before adding the fried molokhia. Sauté everything for another 5-10 minutes

  5. Add enough chicken broth to cover and the juice of 1 whole lemon. Simmer on low heat for half an hour

  6. Then add the shredded chicken, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, and continue to simmer for another half an hour

  7. Then add the juice of 2 lemons, taste the sauce and adjust as necessary before turning off the heat

  8. Serve with plain or vermicelli rice.