Molokheyia bil Samak // Ground Molokhia and Anchovies Soup

Have you ever heard about Molokhia before? I didn't notice until Sefa posted a recipe Waraq Molokheyia bil Dajaj (translated as Molokhia Leaves with Chicken in English) at her multiply.

Molokhia Leaves (picture courtesy of gourmetsleuth.com)

According to gourmetsleuth.com, Molokhia leaves (also known as egyptian spinach, jew's mallow, nalta jute, tussa jute, corchorus olitorius) - a type of edible green found in the Middle East and used in an Egyptian specialty "molokhia soup". The leaves have a mucilaginous (thickening) quality that helps thicken the soup. The ingredient is rare if at all available in the U.S. fresh but it can be found canned and sometimes frozen in Middle Eastern grocery stores. However, I didn't need to go to Middle Eastern grocery stores to get frozen molakhia. I saw molakhia by accident, when I went to Superstore to look for frozen mixed berries.

I modified Sefa's recipe by adding dried anchovies instead of chicken and using vegetable broth canned. Vegetable broth canned can be found at Asian grocery stores, which has a nice aroma and also very tasty for your wonton soup.

Molokhia Package// Thawed Ground Molakhia

Vegetable Broth

Category:		Soups & Stews
Style:		Middle Eastern

Ingredients:
1 package (1 2/3 cups) frozen ground molokhia, thawed
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp ground corriander
2 long red chilies, angle cut
500 ml vegetable broth ready to use
1/2 cup dried anchovies
fresh lemon juice as desired
olive oil to stir fry

Onion Pickles
1 small onion, thinly sliced
vinegar as desired
lemon juice as desired
hot water as desired

Directions:
Molokheyia bil Samak:
1. In a small pot, add 250 ml vegetable broth and dried anchovies until anchovies tender.
2. Stir fry garlic and cilantro until fragrant. Add chilies, coriander, ground black pepper, and salt as desired; stir evenly. In this case, I didn't add any salt.
3. Add ground molakhia, stir. Add anchovies mixture and 250 ml vegetable broth, cook for 10-15 minutes. Serve the soup with warmed rice and onion pickles.

Onion Pickles
Combine all ingredients for the pickle.

My turn to pick some lucky ladies to get the award of

Here they are:
mbak Arfi of Homemades
mbak Rita of Gifts from the Kitchen