Tolik bi hêk — Mallow or Spinach with Egg

⏱ 33 min · 🍽️ 2 Servings · 🧂 7 Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 400 g mallow (“ebegümeci” at Turkish grocers, in spring; or leaf spinach as a substitute)
  • 1 piece onion
  • 3 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 4 piece eggs (medium)
  • 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes (Pul Biber)
  • 0.5 piece lemon

Instructions

  1. Wash the mallow thoroughly in plenty of cold water, changing the water two or three times, until there is no more sand at the bottom. Pick off the leaves with their thin stems, discard the thick stalks, drain the leaves well and chop them roughly; prepare leaf spinach in the same way.
  2. Peel and finely dice the onion. Heat the oil in a frying pan with a lid (about 24 cm) and sweat the onion over a medium heat until translucent and soft.
  3. Add the mallow and salt and let it wilt, turning it over. Continue cooking uncovered until the leaves are soft and the released water has almost evaporated; leaf spinach is ready after just 3 minutes.
  4. Use a spoon to press 4 hollows into the greens and crack an egg into each one. Put the lid on and let the eggs set over a low heat until the whites and yolks are firm.
  5. To check: press lightly on a yolk with a spoon; it must be firm throughout and must not give, otherwise cook, covered, for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with Pul Biber, cut the lemon into wedges, place them alongside and serve the dish hot in the pan.
  6. Tip: Only gather wild mallow if you can identify it with certainty, and never at roadsides or on sprayed fields; Turkish grocers sell it by the bunch in spring. Nanê sêlê — Wafer-Thin Flatbread from the Domed Griddle and a glass of Çay — Kurdish Tea in a Glass go well with it. If you prefer, whisk the eggs and stir them into the mallow until everything is set firm throughout.
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Tolik bi hêk — Mallow or Spinach with Egg – Recipe and image AI-created, editorially reviewed
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Tolik bi hêk — Mallow or Spinach with Egg

A Kurdish classic from Behdinan (Duhok) in northern Iraq: Tolik bi hêk is the spring dish from the mountains around Duhok and Amêdî, cooked with wild mallow, which is called tolik, tolke or hobase there and grows along the edges of fields in spring. In Turkey it is known as yumurtalı ebegümeci, and in Iraq the mallow is called Khubbaiza. The leaves wilt down softly with onion in oil and taste mild and slightly nutty, the eggs set completely firm on top, and a squeeze of lemon freshens everything up.

⏱

Cook time

33 min

🍽️

Servings

2

🧂

Ingredients

7

View Original ↗

Nutrition

per serving

378 kcal

Calories

20 g

Protein

29 g

Fat

9 g

Carbs

Ingredients

For 2 servings

Estimated cost~€1.55 · ~€0.80/serving
  • 🛒

Instructions

  1. 1

    Wash the mallow thoroughly in plenty of cold water, changing the water two or three times, until there is no more sand at the bottom. Pick off the leaves with their thin stems, discard the thick stalks, drain the leaves well and chop them roughly; prepare leaf spinach in the same way.

  2. 2

    Peel and finely dice the onion. Heat the oil in a frying pan with a lid (about 24 cm) and sweat the onion over a medium heat until translucent and soft.

  3. 3

    Add the mallow and salt and let it wilt, turning it over. Continue cooking uncovered until the leaves are soft and the released water has almost evaporated; leaf spinach is ready after just 3 minutes.

  4. 4

    Use a spoon to press 4 hollows into the greens and crack an egg into each one. Put the lid on and let the eggs set over a low heat until the whites and yolks are firm.

  5. 5

    To check: press lightly on a yolk with a spoon; it must be firm throughout and must not give, otherwise cook, covered, for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with Pul Biber, cut the lemon into wedges, place them alongside and serve the dish hot in the pan.

  6. 6

    Tip: Only gather wild mallow if you can identify it with certainty, and never at roadsides or on sprayed fields; Turkish grocers sell it by the bunch in spring. Nanê sêlê — Wafer-Thin Flatbread from the Domed Griddle and a glass of Çay — Kurdish Tea in a Glass go well with it. If you prefer, whisk the eggs and stir them into the mallow until everything is set firm throughout.

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