If you are currently staring at the title of this recipe and wondering what the heck is mouloukhiye? I will explain for you because this recipe is worth trying! It is full of flavors and very healthy warm meal for the whole family.
Mouloukhiye commonly known as nalta jute or toss jute is a leafy green plant that is cooked as a tangy garlicy stew with chicken or beef and even rabbit meat in some country of the middle east and Arabic word. The way of cooking this green stew and which protein to add to it varies from country to country but today I am going to share with the Lebanese version of mouloukhiye, my favorite one since childhood.
The Lebanese mouloukhiye is cooked in chicken broth with a lot of vinegar, lemon juice and garlic. And of course, chicken! We served it with rice, here I am using brown basmati rice, but it is usually served with white rice you choose any rice you like. And to make the enjoy the absolute perfect Lebanese mouloukhiye you must not skip the delicious onion dressing and Arabic toasted pitta bread crumbles on top!
As I mentioned above this leafy green stew is a warm rich in flavor meal that is also healthy. The mouloukhiye leaves contain a lot of fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and selenium. As well as a lot of vitamins like vitamin C, E, K, A, B6 and niacin. It is rich with antioxidants and a perfect balanced meal for the whole family.
The other famous way of cooking the mouloukhiye is the Egyptian way because the recipe is mainly originated from there. But the Egyptian version differs greatly from the Lebanese one as in texture, some ingredients, and the way of preparation. The Egyptian mouloukhiye is made with minced leaves and more like a soup served aside the chicken and rice.
The mouloukhiye can be prepared with fresh leaves in the season of mouloukhiye or frozen or dried one that you can find in the grocery store. I usually use the frozen ones. The dried ones need a lot of soaking and preparation before start cooking and the fresh, well! I don’t always have access to fresh ones. I am lucky that my dad always plant some fresh mouloukhiye and my mum always make sure to remove some for me aside and store in the freezer so I can bring back with me from Lebanon because she knows how much I love mouloukhiye. you can use any form you prefer or find available in your area.
Some people insist that the dry leaves are the best to cook with, but honestly, I tried the three ways: fresh, dry and frozen and I didn’t find that much difference in taste. The fresh is always my top one of course and if I don’t find it I go with the frozen because it is easy to work with and I can finish cooking in now time with no need for preparations ahead like the dry ones. Go with whatever you find or prefer if you have options but make sure you buy the whole leaves not the minced ones because the Lebanese version of mouloukhiye need the whole leaves one not the minced like the Egyptian.
Now just one more point I need to highlight before starting the recipe is the secret for an amazing successful Lebanese chicken mouloukhiye. it must be not slimy. The way you start cooking the mouloukhiye is very important so you dn’t end up with a slimy sticky green stew. And the trick for having a perfectly cooked not slimy stew is a lot of vinegar and lemon juice. So be sure to use your best vinegar and not to skip this step because it is essential for the success of the texture of this recipe.
if you like to explore more, check out my other Lebanese-inspired delicious recipes.
So now you know what is mouloukhiye and what to focus on, let’s start cooking this delicious Lebanese meal.
Lebanese Chicken Mouloukhiye stew
Ingredients
For the chicken and broth:
- 1 whole chicken with bone and skin (see notes)
- 2 big onion peeled but kept whole
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 leaves bay
- 1 piece dry lemon
- 5 whole cloves
- 5 pods cardamom crashed
- 1 tsp whole black peppers
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic
- 6 cups of water or more to cover the chicken
For the mouloukhiye stew:
- ½ cup red grape vinegar
- 1 big lemon juice
- 1 bag 400g fresh or frozen mouloukhiye leaves
- 1 head garlic,peeled and minced (you can use less if you like)
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander chopped (you can use frozen also)
- 1 small red chili chopped (optional)
- Salt to taste
For the onion dressing:
- 1 medium onion diced
- ¼ cup red grape vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp sumac
For serving:
- Brown or white basmati rice
- Arabic pitta bread toasted and broken into smaller pieces
Instructions
For the chicken and broth:
- First start with cooking the chicken and preparing the broth, because we need both for the stew. Start by cleaning your chicken and washing it. Add some oil to your deep cooking pot or pressure cooker or even you can use your smart pot. Toss your aromas and let is infuse for couples of minutes with the oil than add your veggies and stir for couple of minutes. Add your chicken and all the remaining seasonings and cover with water, until the chicken is fully submerged in water.
- If you are cooking in a normal pot, bring the mixture to boil, scrap any white foam from the top. Lower the heat and simmer covered for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the chicken is fully cooked, depend on the size of the chicken. If you are cooking the chicken like me in the smart pot or pressure cooker, close the Lid and set the pot on manual/high pressure for 25 minutes.
- After the chicken is done cooking, quick release the venting button, open and remove the chicken aside to cool down so we can shred. Strain the broth and set aside to use later. The two whole onion we used in the broth, don’t throw away. Discard all the aromas and veggies used in broth except the onions, save as much as you can from the onions and set aside because we are going to use it in the stew for super extra flavor! (see notes)
- Shred the chicken to smaller pieces and set aside to add later to the stew.
For the mouloukhiye stew:
- In a deep pot, that we are going to cook and assemble the whole stew in it, so be sure it is big enough. Add some oil on medium heat, add the garlic and stir until you can smell the garlic, add the coriander, and mix it through for a minute. If you are using chili add it here and stir for a minute. Roughly chop the onions that we saved from the broth and add to the pan. Mix all together and simmer for two minutes. After it is done remove from pan and set aside so we add later to the stew.
- In the same pot, on medium heat, time to prepare the mouloukhiye leaves, and this step is crucial, so you have a smooth not slimy stew so follow it carefully. Add the vinegar, lemon and only ½ cup of the chicken broth to the pot. bring it to boil (this sauce will be very sour but that how it suppose to be to remove the sliminess from the mouloukhiye), after the sauce start to boil add you’re your mouloukhiye leaves gradually and mix until they are wilted. Cover the pot and let it steam for 5 minutes so all the leaves are steamed. Remove cover add the onion and garlic mixture we prepared before and mic it through for 2 minutes.
- At this point we can add the remaining broth to the stew. Add the broth and mix. I usually add 5 to 6 cups until I am satisfied with the constancy of the stew. It should have a soup kind of constancy, but you can adjust to your liking.
- Add the shredded chicken taste and adjust the salt and lemon if you like to add more. Mix and simmer the whole stew together for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover until serving.
For the onion dressing:
- Just chop your onions, sprinkle the sumac on top of it and rub it with your finger until the onion’s cubes are covered. Mix the water and vinegar and add the onion to it.
For serving:
- Prepare some basmati brown or white rice according to package. I always prepare mine with the chicken broth leftover, it adds so much flavor.
- And toast some Arabic pitta bread.
- To assemble and enjoy the mouloukhiye the Lebanese way. Put some warm rice in your serving plate top it with the mouloukhiye stew, sprinkle a generous amount of the onion sauce on top and finish it off with toasted Arabic pitta bread broken into small pieces. And dig in! enjoy!
Notes
- If you don’t want to use a whole chicken, you can use any part of the chicken you like. Breast or thigh whatever you like or available in your house. But I like to prepare the broth with bone and skin on cut of meats for a deep flavor and more nutritious broth.
- The trick of the onion is my mama secret trick to add more flavor to the stew, you can skip it or if you forget to do it will not ruin the recipe. But I tried so many versions of mouloukhiye and trust me this small step add a lot of flavor.
- I usually like to shred the chicken and add it to the stew, so it boils with the whole stew. But if you can also serve it as whole pieces aside.
- Make sure you don’t skip the step of steaming the mouloukhiye leaves in the very sour vinegar sauce because this step is what will save your mouloukhiye from being slimy.
- If you are preparing the mouloukhiye ahead of time. Store the rice, stew and dressing separately. Do not assemble before time. It always better to enjoy the meal fresh and warm, but the mouloukhiye stew store well for meal prep for up to 5 days, stored separately in an airtight glass container.
- Make sure you let the stew cool down for an hour outside the fridge than store it uncover in the fridge until it is completely cold before closing the lid on it. Storing warm food will short their life storage and affect their taste. Do the same for the rice.
- For the onion sauce it is better to prepare it fresh before serving but strong any leftovers for few days won’t affect it , actually it will ferment a little bit which is delicious!