I am always in a mood for Okra Stew and think that okra is seriously underrated.
My husband’s dad’s side of the family is from Baghdad and Arabic dishes make regular appearances on our dinner table. Bamieh is the official name our Iraqi family has for this dish, but I stick to a safer ‘okra stew’ as I only witnessed my husband’s cousin’s wife cooking it once and tried to learn the steps the best I could (so authenticity of the recipe cannot be guaranteed). I improvised with the ingredients a bit and came up with a recipe that satisfied myself and the extremely picky eaters I happen to share my life with. Even my 6 year old likes it, and it says a lot!
Notes on the ingredients:
Meat: I tried it with both beef and pork and much prefer pork tenderloin for this dish. I have also heard that it is delicious when made with ribs.
Okra: if you have access to an Arabic food store, get the packages of frozen baby okra. You will not need to cut it for cooking, just rinse it. If shopping for fresh one, seek brightly coloured green pods without blemishes. You want your okra to be as fresh and young as possible or else it will be chewy and stringy. I usually discard the ‘tail’ of okra after I chop up the pods.
Pomegranate molasses: easily found in international food section of your grocery store. It is a great ingredient for the dishes that need a dash of sweet and sour notes.
Vegeta: dry vegetable seasoning, commonly found in most European kitchens. It is sold in supermarkets and online. It used to have a bad rap for containing MSG, but they have removed it since. There is also a great recipe for a homemade one on The Spruce website.
The ingredients:
- 2 lb okra, cut into 1.5” pieces
- 2 lbs pork tenderloin, cubed
- 4 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 large onion, minced
- 5-7 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cans tomato paste
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1tbsp pomegranate molasses
- Optional: 1 tbsp vegeta
The steps
- Boil meat and bay leaves in 6 cups of water until tender, about 35 minutes. You can add 1 tbsp of Vegeta to the broth while it is cooking to make it more flavourful
- Take out and discard bay leaves
- Reserve both broth and meat
- Heat oil on a medium heat in a medium size sauce pan with a thick bottom
- Add onions and sauté until they are translucent, about 5 minutes
- Add garlic, sauté for another minute
- Add tomato paste and cook, constantly stirring for about a minute
- Add reserved broth and meat
- Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and pomegranate molasses and stir well
- Bring the stew to simmer, lower the heat to medium low, cover with a lid (leave a gap to let the steam escape) and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally
- Add okra and cook for 30 minutes. If you like your okra softer, cook for 10-15 minutes longer
- Adjust the seasoning if needed; I add a bit more salt sometimes
- Serve with rice
Sounds absolutely fabulous. Lebanese and other Middle Eastern restaurants are one of the things I miss most about London
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I only got introduced to Arabic food when I started dating my now husband. It is absolutely delicious! London must be treasure trove of amazing restaurants! We are lucky here in Toronto as well. Where do you live now?
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Just the opposite side of Lake Ontario! I’m near Rochester. I actually drove a friend to Toronto to get a flight earlier this month!
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Next time you should stop by for Arabic food! I will be delighted to feed you 😃
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That would be fabulous 😊
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Okra soup is one of the staple soups in the northern part of Nigeria where I am from, we grate ours though. Your dish looks really yummy.
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Do they have okra on Ukraine now??? I get introduced to it for the first time in Canada
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Yes they do but you can’t find it everywhere just some specific shops
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Ah! Good to know!
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I tried it once and did not like it, but now I want to
try again
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I will make it again and invite you over 🙂
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Do you do much cooking with herbs? I grow many but have not been good about cooking with them. I am more likely to make them into a tea or infuse them into an oil and make soap out of it. I just told my husband that I need to start adding them to our meals but I not sure what goes with what. LOL.
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I do and it is often error and trial 🙂
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Thyme is one of those magical herbs that adds amazing flavour to a lot of dishes. And parsley! And dill! And bay leaves! 🌿
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Except for bay I grow all of those and more. 🙂 I am following you to see if I can learn something.
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Ah!!! Thank you so much!!! I would love to grow my own herbs but we will live in a condo with no balconies
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