Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Molokhia
Finely minced jute leaves cooked into a green, garlicky soup finished with a sizzling coriander-garlic ta’leya.
Egyptian · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 25 min
~128 cal · 4g protein · 5g carbs · 10g fat · 1g fiber · 0g sugars · 6g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Molokhia is a soup so beloved in Egypt that legend ties it to the pharaohs, finely minced jute mallow leaves cooked into a green, faintly viscous broth that is by turns loved and puzzled over by outsiders. Egyptians consider it a national treasure, and its slightly mucilaginous texture is precisely the point.
The defining flourish is the 'ta'leya': garlic and ground coriander fried in or oil until fragrant, then poured sizzling into the pot at the last moment, releasing an aroma that fills the whole house. That garlicky finish is what separates a good molokhia from a great one.
Usually cooked in a broth of chicken, rabbit, or beef and served over rice or with bread, molokhia is home cooking at its most emotional in Cairo, the dish that grandmothers are judged by and that Egyptians abroad cook to feel close to home.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 lb molokhia (frozen minced jute leaves, or fresh)
5 cups chicken or rabbit
3 tbsp (for the ta’leya)
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 pinch
1 pinch cayenne
1 lemon, to serve
for 4 rice or bread, to serve
Instructions
1
Bring the stock to a gentle simmer with the cardamom.
2
Stir in the molokhia and cook 10-12 minutes on low, never a hard boil, which makes it separate. It should stay a thick, velvety green soup.
3
Make the ta’leya: fry the crushed garlic and coriander in ghee until deep golden and intensely fragrant (add a pinch of cayenne).
4
Pour the sizzling ta’leya into the pot, the hiss is the whole ritual, and stir through.
5
Serve over rice or with bread, with lemon to squeeze.
Cairo home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Cairo. Koshari is not pharaonic and it is not five thousand years old. The earliest written trace is Richard Burton describing lentils, rice, ghee and onions at Suez in the 1850s; a serious account routes it from Indian khichri by way of soldiers under the British; the pasta was only added around 1953 as a way of stretching it; and tomatoes did not reach Egypt until the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.
🗺️
Egypt. Koshari's origins are argued rather than settled. The rice and lentils resemble both Indian khichri, which one account has arriving with soldiers under the British, and Levantine mujaddara, while the macaroni is usually put down to Egypt's Italian community. A traveller's account published in 1855 already describes a Suez breakfast of lentils, rice, ghee and onions under that name.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Egypt meal
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Om AliDessert
HawawshiLunch
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Molokhia?
Finely minced jute leaves cooked into a green, garlicky soup finished with a sizzling coriander-garlic ta’leya.
Where does Molokhia come from?
Molokhia is a Egyptian dish from Cairo, Egypt.
Can Molokhia be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Molokhia recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Molokhia safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Molokhia take to make?
About 40 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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