We came across this - the national dish of Egypt, hailing from ancient Egypt - when my 3rd grade daughter was flipping through my "New Book of MIddle Eastern Food" by Claudia Roden, curious about Egyptian culinary traditions. This recipe reflects our adaptation, based both on availability of ingredients during COVID-19 times, and to match visuals we googled to ensure we were headed in the right direction.
CourseEntree, Main Course
CuisineEgyptian
Keywordchicken soup, tadka, tarka
Servings6servings
Ingredients
2 1/2lbsbone-in chicken thighs, skins removed
1/3tspcardamom seeds (not pods!)
1cup-sized onion, quartered
1tspsalt
fresh black pepper to taste
12ozfrozen chopped spinachrecipe calls for frozen melokheya leaves
Takleya
12cloves garlic, mincedreally, 12.
2tbspground coriander
3tbspsunflower oil
1/4tspsalt
1pinchchili powderoptional
For Serving
plain rice
toasted pita breador baguette if that's what you have!
Instructions
Cook Chicken / Make Broth
Skin chicken, and put it in a large pot. Add onion, cardamom and salt, and add water until chicken is just covered with water (almost 2 quarts). Bring the pot to a boil, then cover and turn heat down to a simmer. Continue to cook for 1 hour, skimming any scum that accumulates at the top.
Meanwhile, mince the garlic, and prepare coriander, chili and salt for takleya.
Transform to Melokheya
After an hour, remove the chicken and keep it aside in a bowl. Meanwhile, fish out the onions from the broth.
The chicken should have cooled enough to touch it now. Pull it off the bone, shredding it to large bite-sizes, and then cover it with stock to keep moist. Keep aside, covered.
Reheat the broth, and when boiling, add the frozen spinach, still frozen. Break up the spinach it up as it defrosts. When the boil resumes, turn down the heat to boil gently for 10 minutes. If using melokheya, don't overcook, lest the leaves sink to the bottom.
Takleya
Make the After 8 minutes of the soup at a slow boil, heat a small fry pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir to combine, Continue cooking, stirring frequently until the garlic just begins to brown. Then add the salt and spices, and fry for another minute, until fragrant.
It's now time for the ceremonial adding of the takleya to the soup! It will sputter and sizzle as the hot oil hits the water and that is intended! But be careful, also. Stir to combine and cook for 2 more minutes to meld flavors. That's it.
Serving
Now is the fun part. You can eat it one of three ways.1) Eat the soup simply with plain rice or with fried or toasted pita.2) Eat the soup with portions of the chicken mixed in.3) Create a multi-layered version: toasted bread, topped with some rice and pieces of chicken, and the soup poured over all of it.
Notes
We read that some people will use okra to help approximate the gelatinous texture that melokheya leaves give off. Though we had okra on hand (always), we did not opt to do this, and it tasted great.
Claudia says to discard the onions, but I find them subtly tasty, reminiscent of the boiled onions of Thanksgiving tables in New England (not that I ate them as a kid, but I do now!).