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This Bamia with lamb is a flavorful stew that will make you want to cozy up with it on a cold winter day. If you have never had okra, this is an excellent dish to help you ease your way into it. Okra is a seed with a slimy texture when cooked, but this okra stew is not as slimy and has a milder taste.
Recently, I decided to make two different dishes made with okra. The first one is this traditional Middle Eastern stew with lamb, tomatoes, and lots of garlic and spices. My husband loves eating okra this way, so he was thrilled that I was making it. The other dish is sauteed okra with garlic chili sauce. To make that dish, I cut the okra into smaller pieces and sauteed them with onion. Once they were done cooking, I added a hot chili sauce made with lots of garlic, cumin, coriander seeds, hot pepper, and fresh cilantro. Both dishes were absolutely divine. There is simply nothing more to say! I hope you try these two okra recipes and start incorporating the tasty vegetable into your regular cooking!
What Is Bamia?
Bamia is an okra stew that is made with onions, garlic, tomato sauce, okra, and lamb. The word bamia means okra in Arabic. This stew is traditionally made in The Middle East, Armenian, Afgan, and Turkey, and each country has a slightly different variation of the dish. Most countries eat bamia with lamb or beef; however, it can also be served as a vegetarian dish. In Egypt, bamia is made with lamb tendons since it holds up well with long cooking times.
How to Cook Okra?
There are many ways to cook okra, such as sauteed, fried, pickled, or in a stew. Okra truly shines in many tomato-based recipes since the tomato flavor compliments the slimy texture of the okra. Each cooking method is unique and gives the okra a different taste. I once had pickled okra at a wedding. It was part of a charcuterie board, and I was so surprised by how delicious it was. If you haven’t had okra, definitely try out a few different ways to cook it before judging it.
How to Make Okra Less Slimy?
Okra is naturally slimy in texture, but it is less slimy when cooked whole. Once the okra is cut, it releases the sliminess and will make the stew slimier. Bamia is not as slimy as other okra dishes since it is slow-cooked. This allows the okra to become soft and tender rather than slimy.
Preparation
In a small bowl, dust the okra with one tablespoon of flour and shake any excess flour.
In a medium pan over medium-high heat, heat one cup of olive oil, fry the okra until brown, and drain on paper towels.
Add the spices to the lamb onion mixture, cumin, allspice, turmeric salt, and black pepper and mix all with the lamb mixture; add tomato sauce followed by the tomato paste water mix, give the mix a good stir, bring to boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and let cook slowly until the lamb is cooked well about an hour
In a small pan, over high heat add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, add the garlic and the cilantro lemon juice until sizzling bubbly, add to the stew and mix it in.
How to Serve This Stew?
Ingredients:
Adjust Servings
| 2 lb lamb shoulder (cut into small pieces) | |
| 1 lb okra (trimmed, washed, and pat dry) | |
| 2 ½ cups fresh tomato sauce (or two cans of tomatoes sauce) | |
| 2 tablespoons tomato base dissolved with 1 ½ cup of warm water | |
| 10 cloves garlic minced (extra five cloves minced separately) | |
| 1 jalapeno diced (optionally) | |
| 1 sweet onion (chopped) | |
| 1 tablespoon turmeric | |
| 2 teaspoons cumin | |
| 2 teaspoons allspice | |
| 2 teaspoons salt | |
| 2 teaspoons black pepper | |
| 1 tablespoon flour | |
| 1 cup olive oil (plus four tablespoons more) | |
| ¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped fine) | |
| 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice |
Preparation
Rana’s Notes!
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