Gather your mise en place; get together all of the equipment needed for the recipe and gather your ingredients.

Pick the molokhia leaves from the stems. Set aside any large or tough stems.

Rinse the leaves several times in cool water, moving them around with your hands. Drain well, then chop the leaves finely or coarsely.

Quarter the onion. Mince the garlic and chop the cilantro.

Measure out the chicken ingredients, spices, broth, lemon juice, rice, water, oil, and salt.

Place the chicken, onion, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, salt, and water or chicken broth in a large pot. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked.

Remove the chicken from the pot and let it cool until it is easy to handle. Strain and reserve the broth if you are using it in the molokhia. Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces with two forks.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cilantro and stir for about 1 minute, until fragrant.

Add the chopped molokhia, ground coriander, 7‑spice, salt, and pepper. Stir for about 5 minutes.

Pour in the vegetable broth and stir. Simmer gently for 20 – 30 minutes, until the leaves are soft. Add more broth if you prefer a thinner stew. Stir in the lemon juice and taste. Adjust the salt, spices, and lemon as needed.

Rinse the rice in a colander until the water runs mostly clear. Place the rice, water, oil or butter, and salt in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then cover and By applying heat and evaporating the water content you are decreasing in volume and concentrating flavour.reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15 – 18 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Let it sit, covered, for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

To serve, spoon rice into bowls and ladle the molokhia over or beside it. Serve the shredded chicken on top or on the side, with lemon wedges.