READERS COMMENTS:

"It is best served over a ladle of rice in a bowl with marinated salad added as a garnish on top. Truly wonderful!"
-- Ion Mitchell, Great Britain

The best soup in the world! Ask the Egyptians. Your recipe needs a lot of improvements. It is best made from fresh leaves. Second best, from frozen leaves imported from Egypt. Much better than lamb is meat and/or chicken or rabbit. The garlic should be fried WITH the ground coriander in butter or canola (as the olive oil would be too strong), One cannot substitute MELOKHIA leaves for any other green leaves !!!
--Raymonde Harrouche, United States

§ Home § Search § Any comments?

Portrayed in Pharonic tomb paintings and still the staple of the Egyptian people, this soup is probably for curiosity seekers only. Melokhia is a member of the mallow family, and it cooks up into something pretty slimy that, to a non-cognoscenti, looks a lot like the dark green of pond scum. Worse, what you thought would be the saving grace of the cayenne only serves to give you a nasty bite in the back of the throat once you get a mouthful down--and you're left, dazed, with bad breath. As you can tell, not my favorite--and I'm not alone. The 11th century Caliph Al-Hakim once banned it because he thought it was so awful. I was able to find the dried melokhia leaves at a local market. Maybe I should have tried alternatives with fresh spinach, chard, or beet greens mixed with parsley. Anyway, here it is for you brave ones out there. Serve hot to 4-6 people, if they like it.

• ½ pound raw lamb or chicken
• 2 onions, chopped small
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper
• 6 cups water
• 3 ounces dried melokhia leaves, crushed between your palms (or substitute 1-2 pounds of spinach, chard, or beet greens mixed with parsley)
• 6 big garlic cloves
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons coriander
• ½ teaspoon cayenne

Garnish: 3 onions, thinly sliced, soaked in 2 Tablespoons vinegar

Boil the meat, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper in 6 cups of water--skimming, then simmering for 2 hours. Remove the meat, chop fine, and reserve. Strain the stock.

Bring the stock back to a boil. Crush the leaves between your hands into the stock, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, crush the remaining garlic with some salt, then fry it in the oil until it is golden. Stir in the coriander and cayenne. Set aside until the leaves are cooked.

When ready to serve, return the meat to the pot, stir in the spices, and let simmer for a few minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately--and pass the onions soaked in vinegar on the side.