Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Mloukhia (Jute Leaf Beef Stew)
A dark, glossy Tunisian stew of powdered jute leaves slow-cooked with olive oil and beef until silky and almost black.
Tunisian · medium · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 240 min
~414 cal · 40g protein · 4g carbs · 25g fat · 1g fiber · 1g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Mloukhia is one of the most distinctive dishes of the Tunisian table, quite different from the Egyptian version made with fresh leaves. In Tunisia the jute mallow leaves are dried and ground to a fine green powder, which is bloomed in olive oil and then cooked for hours with water until it turns from green to a deep, near-black brown.
The powder thickens the stew the way does, giving it a silky, almost velvety body. Beef or lamb, seasoned with garlic, coriander, caraway, and , is added partway through and simmered until meltingly tender. Many Tunisian families cook it the evening before, since the flavour deepens overnight, and serve it with plenty of crusty bread to scoop up the rich sauce.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- 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 6
1 cup dried mloukhia (jute leaf) powder
3/4 cup olive oil
2 lb beef stew meat, cubed
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp paste
2 tsp ground coriander and caraway
2 bay leaves
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Whisk the mloukhia powder into the warm olive oil over low heat until smooth and glossy, taking care not to let it burn.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the heat gentle here; scorching the powder turns the whole stew bitter.
2
Gradually whisk in about 8 cups of boiling water, a cup at a time, until smooth, then simmer very gently, stirring every 20 minutes.
3
Season the beef with the garlic, tomato paste, harissa, coriander, caraway, and salt, then add it to the pot once the sauce has darkened, after about 2 hours.
4
Add the bay leaves and simmer until the meat is very tender and the oil rises to the surface, another 1.5 to 2 hours, then serve with crusty bread.
✎ Chef’s note
The stew is ready when it has turned dark and glossy and a slick of olive oil floats on top.
Tunisian slow-cooked home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Tunis. The Tunisian egg-in-tomato dish is properly ojja: peppers and garlic fried in olive oil with harissa and caraway, tomatoes reduced down, eggs cracked in at the last moment and eaten straight from the pan with bread. Shakshuka is its gentler relative and its origins are argued across Tunisia, the Ottoman lands and Yemen, so Tunis is not where to settle that question.
🗺️
Tunisia. Harissa is not a condiment on the side but the base of the pot, and UNESCO inscribed the knowledge, skills and practices around it in 2022. Sun-dried chillies are pounded with garlic, caraway and coriander, and the paste goes into couscous broth, into stews, and straight onto bread with olive oil and tuna.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Tunisia
Shakshuka bel HarissaEggs poached directly in a fiery, harissa-laced pepper and tomato sauce, eaten from the pan with bread.
LablabiChickpeas in garlicky cumin broth ladled over torn bread, hit with harissa, lemon, and a soft egg, Tunisia’s working breakfast.
Couscous bel HoutTunisian fish couscous: steamed semolina under a spicy tomato broth of fish and vegetables.
Browse all Tunisia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Whisk.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Mloukhia (Jute Leaf Beef Stew)?
A dark, glossy Tunisian stew of powdered jute leaves slow-cooked with olive oil and beef until silky and almost black.
Where does Mloukhia (Jute Leaf Beef Stew) come from?
Mloukhia (Jute Leaf Beef Stew) is a Tunisian dish from Tunis, Tunisia.
Can Mloukhia (Jute Leaf Beef Stew) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Mloukhia (Jute Leaf Beef Stew) 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 Mloukhia (Jute Leaf Beef Stew) 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 Mloukhia (Jute Leaf Beef Stew) take to make?
About 260 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 240 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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