Middle Eastern Style Okra Recipes

BAMIEH (MIDDLE EASTERN OKRA STEW)

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, salt and black pepper; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned a light golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add the lamb, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, and garlic paste. Cook on medium heat until the lamb starts to brown, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste; cook and stir for another 5 minutes.
• Dissolve the beef bouillon cubes in 4 cups of boiling water. Pour the broth into the pot with the lamb and stir in the okra. If necessary, add water to cover the okra. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the cover and cook for another 45 minutes to 1 hour until the lamb is very tender and the stew reaches your desired thickness.

MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE OKRA RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (or pan with a lid) over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Lower the heat to medium and add the onions, garlic and chopped jalapeno peppers. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes stirring regularly (do not let the garlic burn, if needed adjust heat).
• Add the okra and sautee for 5 to 7 minutes over medium-high heat.
• Season with kosher salt, black pepper and spices. Toss to coat.
• Add the crushed tomatoes and water. Stir to combine. Add the tomato slices on top. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cover most of the way (leave a little opening at the top). Let the okra simmer on low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until the okra has softened. Uncover and add juice of ½ lime (more to your liking).
• Remove from heat and serve over rice or with warm pita bread.

MEDITERRANEAN OKRA AND TOMATO STEW

Steps:

• Trim the stems off the okra, and place in a large bowl. Salt generously, douse with the vinegar and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Drain the okra, and rinse thoroughly.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, lidded skillet or casserole. Add the onions. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the okra, and cook, stirring, for about three minutes until the edges begin to color. Add the garlic, stir together for about half a minute until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down a bit and smell fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Stir in the dissolved tomato paste, allspice and sugar. Add water if necessary to just cover the okra. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 45 minutes until the okra is very tender. Add the parsley and lemon juice, and simmer another five minutes. Taste and adjust salt. Remove from the heat, and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

MIDDLE EASTERN-STYLE OKRA

Steps:

• Over medium low heat, gently saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are transparent and just starting to color. Add tomatoes and crushed coriander seeds, and cook 5 minutes, until tomatoes have given off their liquid. Add salt if desired.
• Trim the stems from the okra, and add to tomato-onion mixture. Mix well and add water. Start with 1/2 cup; more can be added as necessary.
• Turn heat down to low. Cover okra, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the okra is tender. Stir occasionally, and add more water if the vegetables start to stick.
• Just before serving, add the lemon juice, mixing well.

SPICY OKRA STIR FRY(MIDDLE EASTERN STYLE)

Steps:

• Fry frozen okra in hot oil until golden brown(this will ensure okra stays closed and not slimy.
• Set okra aside.
• In a skillet combine tomato, onion, garlic, and jalapeno pepper and fry in about 1/8 cup oil until it becomes saucy.
• Then add water and tomato sauce to skillet and stir.
• Add okra and seasonings and let cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
• Set aside for about 10 minutes and stir fry will thicken slightly.
• Enjoy!

MIDDLE EASTERN OKRA - BAMYA

Steps:

• Prepare your okra by rinsing it clean, then slicing off the top and bottom tips of each piece. At this point the okra will feel slimy. Don't worry, it will lose that texture as it cooks. To speed the process of prepping the okra, I sometimes line up the stem ends against my chef's knife...
• Then slice those stem ends off 4-5 pieces at once.
• Turn the okra pieces, realign the bottom tips with the knife, then slice off the very bottom tips. By grouping them this way you can speed through the whole batch and prep them relatively fast.
• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a saute pan over medium. Add the minced onion and saute, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes until softened and starting to caramelize. To save time, I usually prep the okra (as outlined above) while the onion is cooking. Just be sure to keep a close eye on the onions and don't let them burn.
• When the onions are cooked, add the minced garlic to the pan and saute for another minute till fragrant. Add the okra to the pan and stir. It will feel like a lot of okra at first and the pan will be crowded, but it will quickly shrink up and soften as it cooks.
• Whisk together 1 1/2 cups hot water, 1/4 cup tomato paste, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and 1/4 tsp cayenne. Both the red pepper flakes and cayenne add heat; if you are super spice sensitive, omit the pepper flakes and start with a pinch of cayenne, then add more to taste as desired.
• Pour the tomato liquid evenly over the top of the okra. Bring to a boil.
• Cover the saute pan with a lid, vented at the edge. Reduce heat to a simmer. Let the okra cook for about 20-30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until the largest pieces of okra have softened to your liking. We like the okra quite tender and almost falling apart, but that is a matter of preference. At the end of cooking, your tomato sauce should have reduced and thickened. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan, remove the lid and turn up the heat to a high simmer till the sauce has reduced (careful, don't let it burn!). Add more salt or spice to taste, if desired.
• Serve okra hot. We usually eat it alone, but if we need a more substantial meal I serve it over rice, quinoa or couscous.

MIDDLE EASTERN LAMB AND OKRA STEW (BAMIA STEW)

Steps:

• Trim the baby okras and wash in cold water and then place in a colander to drain.
• In a large saucepan, heat the oil or butter and add in the meat and brown on all side.
• Add the crushed garlic and chopped onions to the meat and saute till brown.
• Add in the chopped tomatoes, stirring in till the tomatoes are all broken down and soft, for about 10-15 minutes.
• Add in all the spices and salt and give it a good mix.
• Add enough water to cover the meat (about 7-8 cups) and stir to combine well.
• Add in the trimmed okras and bring to boil.
• Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, until the meat is tender (the sauce will thicken as it cooks).
• Lastly, pour in the lemon juice and add in the chopped coriander and carefully stir once or twice (careful not to mash the okras) and gently simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and serve with rice.