Mloukhia

Mloukhia is a traditional Tunisian stew prepared with dried Jew's mallow and
beef, which is usually eaten with Tunisian Italian bread.

Servings: 6

Author:

Prep Time
6 hours

Cook Time
30 minutes

Main Course

Tunisian

🧂 Ingredients

1 Take the packet of mloukhia and place the contents in a large cooking pot on the
stove. Add about 2 cups of neutral cooking oil. Mix and stir to get the lumps
out. Then add about 2 liters of hot/boiling water but leave room at the top of
the pot. Bring to a boil on med/high heat. Add bay leaves, then turn down pot to
a low simmer and cover for about 2 hours.
2 Prepare the meat. (You can also do this the night before.) In a small bowl, mix
tabil, caraway, harissa/tomato paste, ground pepper, and a pinch of salt. Then
mash the garlic cloves to a paste in a mortar and pestle (or finely chop with a
knife) and add to the other spices. Place lamb in a larger bowl and rub the
spice mixture into the meat with a spoon. Cover and refrigerate (you can prepare
this the day ahead and refrigerate overnight).
3 After two hours, turn mloukhia pot back up and let it boil, then add the lamb
in. Let it boil for a bit then turn down heat and let it simmer on low (for
~1.5-2 hours).
4 At this point, the meat should be tender and starting to fall off the bone. The
minute the water hits the mloukhia, it has a slimy consistency. The only way to
get rid of this is to let it cook for a long time. (Total cooking time: ~3.5-5
hours) Serve with baguette and enjoy!