This month’s Saudi cooking post is going to talk about some traditional ways which Saudi families prepare and serve molokhiyah.
Molokhiyah is actually a vegetable native to Egypt but it is very popular throughout the Middle East and especially in Saudi Arabia. Molokhiyah is very much the Middle Eastern equivalent for spinach. And like spinach, it is a vegetable good for ones health as it contains calcium, carotine, minerals, vitamin A, B1 and B2.
Young green leaves and shoots of this fast growing vegetable are picked for cooking use. They add flavor and viscous texture to soups and stews similar to one using Okra in cooking. Molokhiyah can also be harvested and dried for later use in winter. In Saudi Arabia it is typical to buy it either fresh or frozen.
Molokhiyah, fresh or frozen can be prepared in a variety of ways such as a soup, stew or vegetable of its own. In my home it is prepared most often as a stew. 
Personally I prefer using frozen molokhiyah although Mama Moudy, my Saudi Mother-in-law will always prepare hers using fresh molokhiyah. So here goes on how I prepare a tasty molokhiyah stew which my family enjoys.
Ingredients:
Package of frozen molokhiyah (which has been placed out of freezer until semi-thawed)
1 onion
1 tomato
3 or 4 pieces of preferred meat such as chicken or lamb (my family prefers lamb)
Pure virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons cumin
2 Tablespoons Adonis Seven spices
Salt/pepper to taste
First of all take a large saucepan (with accompanying lid) and pour enough of the pure virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Chop onions into very small pieces. Place onions into the saucepan, turn on stove and let onions begin to cook and tenderize on low heat. While onions are cooking chop tomatoes into small pieces as well. Stir onions occasionally to keep from burning or sticking. Add more oil if necessary. Once the scent of the cooking onions is strong, add the chopped tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and seven spices. Let the onions and tomato cook until onions carmelize and tomatoes have been pretty much absorbed so that remainder is like a thick paste. Toss in the preferred meat and add small amount of boiling water to ensure meat will not stick to pan. Cover pan with fitted lid. Cook meat over low heat until it has been cooked through. (if using lamb, make sure it is cooked well). Check occasionally, stir and add more salt, pepper, cumin and seven spices. Last, add the molokhiyah. Cover pot with lid checking and stirring occasionally. Let mixture cook for at least 25 minutes on low heat.
Molokhiyah is enjoyable when served with white rice and warm pita bread. Some like to serve the molokhiyah atop the rice while others like to have it separate with the molokhiyah in a bowl where one scoops it up to eat with pieces of pita bread.
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I love Middle Eastern cuisine! sounds Yummy!
My family really enjoys this one.
Thank you for posting this. I have a package of frozen molokhia and I wasn’t sure how to cook it. It’s been in there since last Ramadan!
I am not a huge fan of this but the boys love it. My wife makes it using “masteka”. It makes a difference.
In English the vegi is known as “Jews Mellow” although I cannot say I have seen it sold anywhere in the USA besides Middle Eastern/halal shops.
Kathryn,
Glad that this post was of assistance to you.
Abu Sinan,
I’ve never been a fan of spinach so while I will cook molokhiyah because my family enjoys it I rarely eat it myself.
Molokhia is one of those dishes that I hated as a child, but grew more tolerant of as I grew up. Everyone around me loves it, especially my wife, who is know to take hour long road trips just to taste her mother’s. My granny used to do a special kind of molokhia where lentil is added and the leaves aren’t chopped up, but left as is. It’s called “molokhia mowaraga” (lit. leafy molokhia). I once had molokhia with shrimp in an egyptian restaurant, which was surprisingly good.
nobody cooks molokhiya like my mom, hmmmm delicious
I love it! I just showed my husband this blog post and now he’s homesick!!!
I’m enjoying all the comments and if anyone has differing ways of preparing molokhiyah, please share!
I am like Saudi Jawa, not a fan of Molokhia although I do try to eat it. The taste is good, but I get disgusted by the look of the soup with all the fine chopped leaves.
The none chopped Molokhia recipe is something I can tolerate better.
@Carol,
Next time you talk to Manal on the phone ask her about her way of making it. Whilst you are on originally Egyptian dishes………..you ought to do one on “Foul madames”.
Abu Sinan: guess you missed this post: http://americanbedu.com/2008/10/28/how-i-like-to-eat-foul-in-saudi-arabia/
Saudi in US: you should have told me you eat molokhiyah when you visited us and I would have prepared it!
Even if I don’t cook myself, I do enjoy reading recipes and I like middle eastern cooking.
glad to hear that Jerry. My son actually enjoys cooking and finds it to be relaxing after a stressful day.
Yummy!!! We make it a bit more simple, but one thing I do like about how we make it (by ‘we’ I pretty much mean my husband!) is that we blend it before serving. I really find the texture much better after doing that! The other main difference is that we use more garlic- yummy!
Great post – I love to see how people make this. I have some in the freezer; I may try your recipe tonight!
The texture of foods is extremely important to me and Molokhiya just doesn’t make it past the cut. The sliminess outdoes okra by a country mile.
The Syrians have a way of preparing it that I rather like, though. They saute it, adding no water whatsoever. That stops the slime from developing and it leaves the pleasant flavor of the molokhiya to shine through.
In Egypt, I was always being offered molokhiya with rabbit. It seemed such a waste of good rabbit…
I like the idea of blending up molokhiyah. I can see blending it and adding some additional veggies like chopped red bell peppers, some garlic, some green onions, garlic and making a tasty molokhiyah dip!
John’s mention of rabbit reminds me of how pigeon and quail are considered delicacies in Saudi Arabia. Again, Mama Moudy is the Queen of those recipes!
Do you have a recipe that uses eggplant as a substitute for beef? I have found that my family cannot tell the difference, so whenever a meal calls for beef I substitute eggplant for it. Much healthier, and they have yet to catch on. Sneaky, eh? Oh well, what they don’t know won’t hurt them. Thanks for this great site, I’ll bookmark it and come back regularly. Bon appetit!
Hi Joe and thank you for your comment. I have made mousaka at times simply with eggplant and potatos without beef. I also like slicing eggplant lengthwise in thin slices (maybe 1/2 inch). I will then spread some olive oil atop and after that pasta sauce, very small pieces of diced onions, green peppers, mushrooms, cover with grated fresh parmesan cheese and broil in the oven. It’s my own version of an “eggplant” pizza.