I made molokheya the other day, finally. I had bought a frozen package (I’ve never seen it otherwise, except sitting in piles on the streets of Cairo, which even the organic purists would have to admit is less appetizing than sanitized in a frozen plastic bag) much earlier in the year, but somehow never got around to making it.
Molokheya is the ultimate Egyptian comfort food (actually, I guess it has to compete with kushari and besboussa (another one I made recently) and kunafa). One of our cookbooks reports that this is what the Egyptian peasants came home to eat after working on the pyramids, or what the women took out to the fieldworkers since pharaonic times.
I couldn’t tell you what it’s made of, since no one I’ve ever met has been able to give an English, or even a Latin, name to the vegetable involved. I’ve never seen anyone offer to cook or eat it in a solid form. It is always prepared as a collection of finely chopped green leaves, boiled in water with fried garlic and salt. The result is a gooey green soup, and when you add it to rice, you get a sticky mixture with a fascinating texture, and it tastes perfect – green and a little salty.
[Somehow I doubt that my American readers will grasp the deliciousness of this prospect. Most American guests, when confronted with a bowl of it, are too overwhelmed by the appearance to appreciate the taste. Like I said, gooey soup; and I have no idea what protein makes it gooey and slimey like that.]
April 7, 2008 at 8:35 pm
That sounds a little like “Greens,” a dish I used to eat growing up in West Africa. It was either Collard or Sweet Potato greens cut up really fine, and stewed in palm oil and lots of hot pepper (often with mystery meat). Served on rice, there was an interesting juxtaposition of the red palm oil and the dark green leaves on the white rice. Most Americans find West African food looks revolting, but I love it!
April 8, 2008 at 2:03 am
It sounds a lot like a Persian dish, gourmay zabzi, which is chopped cilantro, parsley, some other greens, meat, and dried lemon. It’s stewed, and eaten over rice. It’s not the most beautiful looking dish, but it’s absolutely delicious.
April 8, 2008 at 6:29 am
http://baheyeldin.com/egypt/molokheya-an-egyptian-national-dish.html Molokheya seems to be the actual name of the vegetable. Several websites agreed with you about its popularity. :-)