Mloukhieh Recipe | From My Kitchen

 

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Mloukhieh is a very popular dish in our region i.e. the Middle East.It is pronounced in more than one way depending on the area you are from. As per Wikipedia, below is the description and some interesting facts about it.

Mulukhiyah, mloukhiya, molokhia, molohiya, mulukhiyya, malukhiyah, or moroheiya (Arabic: ملوخية‎) is the leaves of Corchorus species (Jute leaves) used as a vegetable. It is a popular Middle Eastern and North Africancountries. Mulukhiyyah is rather bitter, and when boiled, the resulting liquid is a thick, highly mucilaginous broth; it is often described as “slimy,” rather like cooked okra. Mulukhiyyah is generally eaten cooked, not raw, and is most frequently turned into a kind of soup or stew, typically bearing the same name as the vegetable in the local language.

The leaves are rich in betacarotene, iron, calcium, Vitamin C and more than 32 vitamins, minerals and trace elements. The plant has a potent antioxidant activity with a significant α-tocopherol equivalent Vitamin E.

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Mloukhieh after being pan fried, frozen, then thawed.

 

Preparation: The Syrian/Lebanese version of this dish is different in texture and preparation. The mulukhiya leaves are picked off the stem, often communally with the women sitting with vast amounts of tall stemmed branches and picking it, placing the leaves on a large sheet (cloth material)left to completely dry for later use. STORAGE The leaves can be later packed dry, some southern Lebanese traditions often freeze the packaged leaves for the season and can be used throughout the year. COOKING The leaves are then fried with coriander, garlic and often RED/GREEN chilly peppers or capsicum, accompanied often with some sort of cucumber pickles. This cooking process prevents them from becoming slimy. It is then boiled with meat, such as large boneless chicken chunks or beef and lamb (with bone). Served on white rice with diced onion and brown vinegar and toasted Arabic bread.

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Simple Sayadieh Recipe (Fish with Rice) | From My Kitchen

Sayadieh

One of my favorite Lebanese/ Arabic dishes is Sayadieh, it is basically a great way to incorporate fish into our diet specially for those who are not big fish fans, aka children. Done in the orthodox way, this is considered one of the elaborate recipes, but being a full time working mom, i won’t deprive my family from such a nutritious meal because of a complex recipe, which is why i simplified it. This is an easy ‘shortcut’ method, so please don’t judge 🙂

for all dishes that have rice within the recipe, it is highly recommended to use long grain rice, known as American rice, or in our region ‘Uncle Bens’.

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Lebanese Moghrabieh Recipe | From My Kitchen

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There are quite a few popular Lebanese dishes that have a reputation of being very difficult to make, which is probably why many people wait to go to their mom’s house to eat them. Moghrabieh is one of them. Moghrabieh looks like a grain or an oversized couscous but  has more of a pasta texture made of Semolina and is  formed into small balls, you can buy a dried version (shown above) or a frozen version and wait for it to thaw. this is the carb part of the dish, the main flavors include Caraway, a spice which has a distinct and refreshing flavor, also used as base for a popular dessert called Mighli.

The other ingredients in my version of the Moghrabieh, include: chicken, preferably thighs, baby onions or shallots, chickpeas (already soaked or canned would be perfect), chicken stock (I make it from the thighs with additional herbs, onion, & garlic). I will walk you through the recipe below and list the ingredients at the end, this way you will be more familiar with the process.

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