Mloukhieh- Jew's Mallow & Cardamom-Infused Chicken over Rice
As I begin writing this, the aromas of mloukhieh, cardamom, corriander, and garlic infuse the air, sending my stomach in mad rages. Mloukhieh, the Egyptian national dish, is extremely popular in Lebanon and is one of my favorite dishes. Mloukhieh leaves are a type of edible green similiar to spinach and in the English language are called Jew’s mallow. The plant is said to be rich in antioxidants.
Mloukhieh leaves can be found at any Middle Eastern grocer and most likely in frozen form. Although, fresh leaves were used in the following recipe, using frozen is fine as well.
Whilst in Dubai, I met up with Bishnu, an incredible private chef and he was nice enough to share his secrets on making the perfect mloukhieh:
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 60 minutes
Serves: 6 very hungry people
Cast of characters
For the mloukhieh
2kg Jew’s Mallow, fresh or frozen, chopped. If using frozen, thaw first
1/2kg corriander, finely chopped
4 large shallots, finely diced
9 cloves of garlic, pounded (add a bit of salt before pounding)
1 teaspoon sweet pepper
Salt to taste
olive oil
For the cardamom-infused chicken
1kg chicken breast, halfed
6 whole cardamom seeds
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leafs
1 oinion, halved
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 whole nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
cover with water- about 1 liter
For the vinegar dressing
1 red onion, finely diced
Apple vinegar-enough to cover
For the crispy bread
2 loafs of arabic bread, unseperated
For the rice
Use basmati rice and cook according to instructions on package
The Nitty Gritty:
We are going to use the broth from the chicken and add it to the mloukhieh. It’s important that the broth is made in advance and ready for when we start to make the mloukhieh. So, in a deep pot, add chicken and all the spices, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce flame and let cook for 40 minutes or till the chicken is cooked.
While the chicken is cooking, you can prep the ingredients for the mloukhieh. Also, prep the onion vinaigrette. Also, cook rice according to the package instructions.
In a deep, thick bottomed pot, add some olive oil, about 2-3 tablespoons worth. Once the olive oil is hot add the diced onions
Cook the shallots for 2-3 minutes or till soft and translucent
Add the pounded garlic
Cook for a minute or so, then add the corriander and stir well
Strain in the chicken broth
next add the sweet pepper and stir. Add salt to taste
Add the chopped mloukhieh (Jew’s Mallow) leaves
Stir well and cover. Cook for 10 minutes on medium-low heat and do not let it come to a boil. It’s important not to let it boil, since it can coagulate, making it indedible. Mloukhiyeh has natural thickening agents, so don’t worry if it looks too runny in the begining.
While the mloukhieh is cooking, we can make the arabic bread crumbs
Dish out into seperate serving bowls
On a bed of rice, layer the mloukhieh, then the chicken, add some bread crumbs and drizzle with the onion vinaigrette
Sahtein!
Bethx
































I can almost smell the fragrance of this dish just by reading the ingredients – shallots, garlic, cardamom and cinnamon – that’s enough to send a clear message to my stomach too!
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I was wondering if you were going to blog about this…
love this one. is their a tab where we can download the recipe?