How to Cook Frozen Molokhia: Egyptian Molokhia Soup Step by Step

To cook frozen molokhia, add the frozen block to gently simmering stock, stir as it melts until smooth, then tip in garlic fried with ground coriander and turn off the heat: it takes about 15 minutes once your stock is hot. Molokhia is jute mallow, a leafy green that is especially popular in a number of Arab countries, and Egyptians mince it and cook it into a silky green soup served with rice or bread. This guide explains what molokhia is, then walks through the Egyptian method step by step using Cold Alex Frozen Minced Molokhia 400g, with serving, storage and freezing advice.

What is molokhia?

Molokhia (also spelled mulukhiyah, molokhiya or mloukhieh) is both a leafy green and the dish made from it. In English the plant is jute mallow, Corchorus olitorius. Britannica also lists the names Jew's mallow, bush okra, nalta jute and tossa jute, and describes an annual herb of the mallow family, grown throughout tropical Asia and Africa for jute fibre and for its edible leaves. Kew's Plants of the World Online gives its native range as the tropical and subtropical Old World.

The leaves have a grassy flavour and are mucilaginous: like okra, they thicken the liquid they cook in. The Oxford Companion to Food notes that the leaves have their greatest culinary importance in Egypt, where they are made into a soup with a glutinous quality, traditionally eaten with rabbit, chicken or other birds. In the UK it is widely available frozen from Middle Eastern grocers, often ready-minced, which saves picking and chopping the leaves.

Egyptian vs Levantine molokhia

These are the two styles you are most likely to meet:

Our Cold Alex molokhia comes minced and frozen, ready to cook, so it is made for the Egyptian style.

Egyptian molokhia recipe: what you need

For one 400g pack:

• Molokhia: one pack of Cold Alex Frozen Minced Molokhia, kept in the freezer until you start.
• Stock: about 750ml of hot chicken stock, seasoned to taste. For homemade stock, simmer a jointed chicken or chicken thighs with an onion, black peppercorns, a bay leaf and three green cardamom pods until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside, then strain. Don't wash the raw chicken first: that splashes bacteria around the kitchen. Rabbit, duck or beef stock is traditional too.
• For the ta'leya: 1–2 tablespoons of ghee, butter or oil; 5–6 garlic cloves, crushed, or about 2 tablespoons of frozen crushed garlic such as Taj Crushed Garlic cubes or Habibi Crushed Garlic; and 1 teaspoon of ground coriander.
• Optional: a handful of chopped fresh coriander, or a teaspoon of dried coriander leaves crushed between your fingers, stirred in with the molokhia; lemon wedges to serve.

Use ground coriander, made from the seeds, for the classic fry. Our molokhia's product page says it contains none of the 14 major allergens, but check every pack label for "may contain" advice: Taj's crushed garlic, for example, may contain celery and peanuts, and Abido's cardamom may contain wheat (gluten), sesame and mustard.

How to cook frozen molokhia, step by step

1. Check the pack. Read the cooking and defrosting instructions on the Cold Alex pack and follow them where they differ from this method. Many cooks add minced molokhia straight from frozen, as here; others defrost it first.
2. Heat the stock. Bring about 750ml of stock to a simmer in a medium pan. Go easy: some Egyptian cooks warn that too much stock can make molokhia split, and you can always loosen it later with a splash more.
3. Melt in the frozen block. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the molokhia. Stir gently every couple of minutes, breaking up the block with a wooden spoon, until it has melted into a smooth, evenly green soup, usually about 10 minutes.
4. Keep it gentle. Let it bubble very gently, uncovered, for 2–3 minutes, then stop stirring. Don't boil it hard, cover it or cook it for long, or it can split: the leaves sink and a watery broth separates on top.
5. Make the ta'leya. Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a small frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the garlic, stirring, until golden, then stir in the ground coriander for a few seconds until fragrant. Don't let the garlic burn, or it turns bitter.
6. Finish and serve. Carefully tip the sizzling fry into the pot (it will spit), stir once and turn off the heat. Egyptian kitchen folklore says the cook should gasp as it hits the pot, a custom called the shah'a. Check the seasoning and serve straight away.

How many does a 400g pack serve?

As a rough guide, one 400g pack made with about 750ml of stock serves three to four people over rice, though published recipes stretch a similar pack to anywhere from two to eight servings, depending on how much stock they use. For a bigger family, choose the 2 x 400g or 4 x 400g option.

What to serve with molokhia

• Rice: spoon it over plain white rice. Sella basmati such as Abu Kass Mazza or Khyber Sella Basmati cooks into fluffy, separate grains that hold their shape under the green broth.
• Bread: in Egypt it is also eaten with flatbread ('aish baladi), torn into pieces for scooping.
• Molokhia with chicken: brown the chicken from your stock in a hot oven or pan until the skin crisps, then serve it on top of the rice or on the side.
• Rabbit, duck or beef: rabbit is the traditional Egyptian treat; cook the meat in the stock and serve it alongside in the same way.
• Meat-free: the molokhia itself is tagged vegan in our shop, so with vegetable stock and garlic fried in oil it makes a plant-based meal.

More frozen Middle Eastern vegetables

Our frozen Middle Eastern vegetables range includes three more Cold Alex classics, each sold as 400g, 2 x 400g or 4 x 400g:

• Okra Zero (baby bamya): whole baby okra, the classic choice for Egyptian and Levantine bamya stew with tomato, garlic and coriander.
• Colcasia (taro root): taro root with a green mixture, as named on the pack, for Egyptian qolqas, traditionally simmered with Swiss chard, coriander and garlic in a rich stock.
• Artichoke bottoms: stuff them with spiced minced meat or rice, or braise them in a lemony sauce with peas and carrots.

Browse everything else in our frozen food range.

How to store frozen molokhia and leftovers

• Keep it frozen: our product page says to keep it frozen at -18°C until you are ready to use it, so put packs in the freezer as soon as your order arrives. The Food Standards Agency says a home freezer should be around -18°C.
• Defrosting: if you defrost it, follow the pack. The FSA's general advice is to defrost food in the fridge and use it within 24 hours of it fully defrosting.
• Leftovers: cool leftover molokhia and get it into the fridge within one to two hours, then eat it within 2 days or freeze it, as the FSA advises. Reheat it gently, without boiling hard, until steaming hot throughout, and only reheat it once.
• Rice: the FSA says cooked rice should be kept in the fridge for one day at most and reheated only once.

Ordering and delivery

Cold Alex Frozen Minced Molokhia comes as a single 400g pack, 2 x 400g (800g) or 4 x 400g (1.6kg). Our product page says it is sent frozen, with ice packs, by Royal Mail Tracked 24. We deliver within the UK only, and delivery is free on orders over £45; see our delivery information.

Frequently asked questions

What is molokhia called in English?

Molokhia is jute mallow, the leaves of Corchorus olitorius. Britannica also lists Jew's mallow, bush okra, nalta jute and tossa jute, and the plant is grown for jute fibre as well as for food. The Arabic name is spelled many ways, including mulukhiyah, molokhiya and mloukhieh, and it means both the leafy green and the soup or stew made from it.

How do you cook frozen molokhia?

Check the pack's instructions first. A common method is to add the frozen block to about 750ml of simmering stock per 400g pack and stir gently as it melts until smooth, about 10 minutes. Simmer for 2–3 minutes without boiling hard, then add garlic fried in ghee with ground coriander and turn off the heat. Serve with rice or bread.

Why is molokhia slimy?

The leaves are mucilaginous, like okra, so they thicken the stock as they cook, and a silky, slightly viscous texture is how Egyptian molokhia should be. To keep it smooth rather than split and watery, cook it gently, stop stirring once it's smooth, leave the lid off, never let it boil hard, and turn off the heat as soon as the garlic fry goes in.

Can you refreeze molokhia?

Don't refreeze a pack that has defrosted: the Food Standards Agency says you can't refreeze food once it has been defrosted. FSA guidance also says you can freeze food again once it is cooked, but you'll only be able to reheat it once after that. So freeze cooked leftovers in portions once cooled, and always follow the pack's guidance.

What do you eat with molokhia?

In Egypt, molokhia is served with white rice or flatbread, usually with the chicken, rabbit, duck or beef used to make the stock. Lemon wedges are a common extra, especially in Palestinian homes. For a meat-free meal, use vegetable stock and fry the garlic in oil.