Mulukhiyah, the Collard Greens of the Middle-East
Mulukhiyah (also spelled molokia or molokhia) is a leafy green vegetable commonly eaten in the middle-east as a stew with meat and rice. It’s roughly pronounced MUH-LOOK-KEY-YAH with a little raspiness in the back of your throat in the ‘LOOK’ part. You may hear some people calling it ‘okra leaves’ because when cooked it becomes slimy, much like fresh okra though the plants are unrelated.
Mulukhiyah, the Collard Greens of the Middle-East
Mulukhiyah (also spelled molokia or molokhia) is a leafy green vegetable commonly eaten in the middle-east as a stew with meat and rice. It’s roughly pronounced MUH-LOOK-KEY-YAH with a little raspiness in the back of your throat in the ‘LOOK’ part. You may hear some people calling it ‘okra leaves’ because when cooked it becomes slimy, much like fresh okra though the plants are unrelated.
Servings Prep Time
4-6servings 5minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
1hour 35minutes
Servings Prep Time
4-6servings 5minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
1hour 35minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Dice the onion and tomato, then heat the olive oil in a dutch oven on medium-high heat and add the onion to the pot. Cook 1-2 minutes.
  2. Add the diced tomato to the pot and continue cooking until the onions turn translucent.
  3. If you’re using dried mulukhiyah, use your hands to crush the dried leaves inside the bag. You want to crush them really well, almost to a powder, but not quite.
  4. When the onions are translucent, add the broth or stock to the pot and let it come to a boil. Then, add the mulukhiyah. You can add the frozen one directly to the pot and let it defrost. If using dried, you’ll need to add additional water or broth to help the leaves rehydrate.
  5. Let everything simmer on medium to low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour. If using dried mulukhiyah, you may need to pull out any loose stems you notice poking out. Some find these undesirable to eat. Add more broth or water to the pot as needed.
  6. Add the juice of your lemon to cut the sliminess of the mulukhiyah and salt your green concoction to taste.
  7. Serve over chicken and rice or enjoy like a soup.
Recipe Notes

TIP If using dried mulukhiyah I highly suggest adding some chopped spinach to the mix. It will bring some life back into those dried leaves.

 

Final consensus on frozen vs. dried mulukhiyah?

Go for frozen if you have the option. There’s not much of a difference between the two in terms of taste (counting the fact that we ‘doctored up’ the dried mulukhiyah with spinach). The dried mulukhiyah is slightly grainier and doesn’t taste as fresh, obviously, and was also a pain to pick out loose stems, but I wouldn’t totally discount it. Whatever you use, i’m sure it’ll taste great.