Okra Recipes Arabic
If you're from the Middle East, chances are you grew up on this classic okra stew, served with a big plate of rice. In Arabic, Okra is called Bamia or Bamya and it's very common in many households. It's cooked with lamb or beef in a tomato and garlic broth, and uses simple flavours that marry together so well! It's one of my favourite stews and it's really simple to make. If you want a taste of every day Arabic cuisine... this one is a must try.
Okra stew is made up of okra (duh), onions, garlic, tomatoes or tomato paste, pomegranate molasses and meat. The ingredients are cooked together in the meat broth and create a stew that typically turns into this luscious thickness due to the Okra's natural thickening properties. The meat can be lamb, veal or beef. Chicken works too if that's all you have!
Okra has a mild taste and the texture can vary depending on how it's cooked. If it is sautéed or fried, it can retain some crunch. But when it is slow-cooked like in this stew recipe, it becomes tender and melts in your mouth. It's usually compared to eggplant due to the texture, but their taste is different and I believe okra has a really unique flavour. The best way to find out is to try it! Okra is a highly nutritious food and would be a great vegetable to incorporate in your diet.
Lebanese Okra Stew The Salt And Sweet Kitchen
Okra can be slimy, and the best way to avoid or reduce sliminess is to leave it intact (like in this recipe) and not cut it into small pieces. Cutting it will release a lot of the sliminess and result in a thicker consistency. When slow cooked and in tact, there really isn't any slime and it just becomes tender and delicious.
If it is not in season, I recommend using frozen Okra. Fresh Okra out of season can be very tough and take hours to tenderize, and sometimes it actually doesn't become tender. You can usually tell that it's going to be tough by the size - the larger the tougher it will be. Okra should be harvested when it is young, and usually the smaller the more tender.
That's why I mostly rely on frozen small okra, which can be found in various sizes from local Middle Eastern stores. If using frozen Okra, you can just add it into the stew without thawing it beforehand.
Bamiya Bi Alforon (baked Okra) [gf; Vo]
If you're using fresh okra, make sure to wash it well, and then just trim the top a little bit so as not to reveal any of the seeds. Make sure you don't trim it too much, otherwise it will lose its shape when cooking and likely release that sliminess.
Some people fry or boil the okra with oil before adding it into the stew, which you can totally do. However, my mom never did this and I find it a step that you can skip to save time and also calories. The final product will not be impacted, trust me!
If you want to make this vegetarian, simply don't include any meat, and I would recommend also using vegetable stock in place of some of the water and doubling the amount of onions used. It will add more flavour to the stew. I do this all the time as well and I love it!
Okra Ladies Fingers Stew (bamia)
Okra stew, like many other Middle Eastern stews, is typically served with a plate of rice. We also serve either a salad or some chopped vegetables alongside it such as cucumber, green onions, and radish. I LOVE it with green onions (you take a bit of rice + stew then a bite of green onion - it's so good!). You can also eat it with some bread - that's my dad's favourite way.
Okra stew, otherwise known as bamia in the Arabic, is a classic dish served in many countries across the middle east. It's typically cooked with beef, lamb or veal and served with rice. It's so comforting and the best way to enjoy okra!Americans don’t truly appreciate okra. It barely registers north of the Mason-Dixon line, and it’s eyed with suspicion even in the South, where it is regularly pickled, or deep-fried. But who can blame those who are wary of this green, pinky-shaped vegetable? It’s infamous for the slick ooze that comes seeping out of it when cooked. Advocates point out that okra slime actually helps thicken stews and clings to a cornmeal crust, but detractors have a hard time getting past the “yuck” factor. Believed to have originated in Africa (okra is a member of the mallow family–a cousin of cotton), okra is full of dietary fiber, protein, iron, calcium, and a slew of B vitamins.
Outside of America, okra reigns as a staple vegetable in much of the world’s hot-weather cuisine, from North Africa, to the Middle East and India; it also turns up in Italy, Spain, and parts of Central and South America. According to Gregory McNamee, author of
Vegan Bamia Okra Stew With Chickpeas
“[In these parts of the world], okra tends not to have the gummy, slimy, mucilaginous quality that makes it such an object of disdain among eaters tender of sensibility…a quality that results mostly from overcooking, the bane of asparagus, broccoli, and other such vegetables.”
By Matthew Goodman: “In Libya…okra [or “Bamia” in Arabic] was considered a food of mourning, and was traditionally eaten, with onions and tomato sauce, before Tisha B’Av.” In addition to its symbolic resonance, this food choice also makes sense ecologically, as Tisha B’Av falls during the summer months when tomatoes and okra plants — both sun- and heat-craving vegetables — thrive.
The recipe below is an adaptation of Goodman’s Bamia recipe. If you live in the American South or near enough to it to score fresh heirloom okra from the farmers market, consider yourself among the lucky. Otherwise, head to the nearest Whole Foods or Middle Eastern market and stock up.
Mia Bamia Arabic Lamb And Okra Stew Recipe
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large sautee pan. Add okra, toss to coat, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook for an additional 3 minutes, until onion starts to soften. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, lemon juice, sugar, and spices and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If mixture starts to look dry, add water a few tablespoons at a time. Serve hot over rice.This Bamia recipe is a classic Arabic dish from Lebanon made with okra and tomatoes. Preparation is quick and easy. Okra Stew is a hearty meal usually served with buttery vermicelli rice.
Bamia is one of those comforting Arabic dishes (just like Molokhia - braised jute mallow leaves), the flavors are so well infused with each other, each bite is sublime.
Notes on some of the ingredients, the full list of ingredients and their measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Minute Arabic Inspired Okra Stew
Okra - all types of are fine to use within this recipe; frozen, canned or fresh. However, if you are using fresh, do not use the large ones, as mature okra is woodier in nature and will be stringy. It generally takes a couple of hours to tenderise.
Always opt to use baby okra or the small variety. To prepare the fresh variety, simply cut off the stem ends and wash thoroughly.
Tomatoes - okra and tomatoes are the perfect coupling. Use fresh ripe tomatoes, this helps to create a richer sauce in conjunction with the tomato paste. Read about is tomato paste gluten free here.
Bamya (okra Stew) Recipe
Only a small amount is needed. If more is added, this will brown the colour of the stew. I love using the Cortas brand*
Okra Stew is almost always served with buttery Lebanese rice, known as vermicelli rice. Or for something different but equally delicious try it bulgur with vermicelli
However, I do eat bamia on its own, but the boys in my family must have it with the rice. So your choice, how do you like it?
Very Tasty Okra Stew (bamia)
With Lebanese flatbread or any type of flatbread. Tear up the bread into a little scoop and scoop the bamia stew with it.
Whilst it’s recommended to keep the pomegranate molasses in this bamia recipe for the boost in flavour, this can be substituted for fresh lemon juice.
Yes, absolutely natural and normal. To cut down on okra releasing it’s enzymes, keep it intact, do not cut the okra. Frozen okra is normally in the perfect small bite-sized pieces.
Okra Stir Fry
When eaten raw, okra tastes like a sweet green vegetable. When cooked it is similar in taste & texture to mallow. Okra can be cooked crunchy or soft.
Did you enjoy this okra stew? I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below and give me a rating. This will help me sustain Plant Based Folk.
This Bamia recipe is a classic Arabic dish from Lebanon made with okra and tomatoes. Preparation is quick and easy. Okra Stew is always served with vermicelli rice.
Okra In Tomato Sauce
Serving: 1 g | Calories: 111 kcal | Carbohydrates: 25 g | Protein: 5 g | Fat: 1 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat:
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