Mulukhiyah

Name: Mulukhiyah
Prep time: 9 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Egyptian
Ingredients: 800g Mulukhiyah; 1 chopped Onion; 300g Beef; 1 tsp Salt; 1 Litre Water; 1 Garlic Clove; 1/2 cup Olive Oil

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Beef recipe with Egyptian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 47 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

Saute the onions in the 3-4 tablespoons olive oil Add the beef cubes or the chicken cutlets, sear for 3-4 min on each side Add 1 liter of water or just enough to cover the meat Cook over medium heat until the meat is done (I usually do this in the pressure cooker and press them for 5 min).
Add the frozen mulukhyia and stir until it thaws completely and then comes to a boil.
In another pan add the 1/4 to 1/2 cup of olive oil and the cloves of garlic and cook over medium low heat until you can smell the garlic (don’t brown it, it will become bitter).
Add the oil and garlic to the mulukhyia and lower the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes Add salt to taste.
Serve with a generous amount of lemon juice.
You can serve it with some short grain rice or some pita bread.

Why this works on a weeknight

Mulukhiyah genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Mulukhiyah actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Beef Egyptian ⚡ 30-Min Dinner