Molokheya

a recipe by Nano
a film by Jonas Pariente


Egypt - France


8h | 16 to 20 people

Molokheya

clock 8h | 16 to 20 people

Ingredients

  • 400g of onion
  • 50g of garlic
  • 2.8kg of beef (chuck)
  • 4 teaspoons of sugar
  • 500g of tomato sauce
  • 1.2kg of frozen molokheya
  • 3 handful of dry molokheya
  • 50-60g of coriander seeds
  • 50g of fresh coriander (rinsed, without the branches)
  • salt
  • 1 teaspoon of harissa
  • the juice of 2 lemons
  • a pinch of pepper

1. Leave the onions and garlic in boiled water for 3 mins to reduce the acidity. Cut the meat in individual portions of appx. 150g Grill the meat in a pot (just a tiny drop of oil) withe the onion

2. In a large pot (“couscoussière”), put the grilled meat, garlic and onion, and pour water all the way to the top so everything is immersed. Boil it until you can take off all the skim. Leave it on low fire for about 4h, more if the meat isn’t tender enough. Take out the onions, they will be used later. Take out the onions, they will be used later. Chop the fresh coriander and add it to the stew.

3. Grill and then grind the coriander seeds, and then mix it in the grinder with the boiled onions and some garlic. Add salt (Nano use “marine salt”) in the stew as well as in the grinded mix (coriander seeds, onions and garlic).

4. Add 1 teaspoon of harissa. Add half of the grinded mix. Add the lemon juice.

5. TASTE and see if it needs more salt and/or lemon and/or grinded mix. Fry the other half of the grinded mix in a pan and add it in the stew.

6. Rinse 3 handfuls of dry molokheya, let it soak in water so the dust comes down the bowl and strain it. Add it to the stew.

7. Add more salt and lemon if needed. Add a big pinch of pepper

8. Heat the stew with a medium fire until it boils, and cut the fire off.

9. Add more salt, lemon and harissa if needed.

Nano was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1933. She has two goals in life: emptying her freezers, filling up her grandchildren’s. And so on.

Jonas is a filmmaker and digital strategist based in Paris. Before going to bed, he wonders what he’ll have for breakfast. And so on.