Mloukhiya

Ingredients

• 1.4kg bone-in chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks)
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 2 green cardamom pods
• Salt
• 1.4 liters water
• 800g frozen minced molokhia (jute mallow) leaves
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp ghee or butter
• 2 tbsp ground coriander
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Cooked white rice, to serve
• Pickled onions, to serve

Before you cook

• Quarter the onion.
• Mince the garlic finely.

Steps

1. Put the chicken, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, cardamom pods and 1 tablespoon salt in a large pot.
2. Cover with the water and bring to a boil.
3. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer the chicken for 40 minutes, until cooked through.
5. Lift the chicken out of the pot and set it aside to cool slightly.
6. Strain the broth into a clean pot and discard the onion, bay leaves and whole spices.
7. Shred the chicken meat off the bones and set the meat aside.
8. Bring the strained broth back to a gentle simmer.
9. Add the frozen molokhia leaves to the simmering broth.
10. Stir the leaves until they melt into the broth, keeping the heat just below a boil.
11. Simmer the soup gently, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
12. Melt the ghee in a small pan over medium heat.
13. Add the garlic and ground coriander to the ghee and fry for 1 minute, until golden and fragrant.
14. Ladle a scoop of the hot soup into the garlic pan so it sizzles, then stir.
15. Pour the garlic mixture back into the main pot of soup.
16. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt to taste.
17. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and warm through for 2 minutes.
18. Serve hot over white rice.