Okra Stew - Bamia

Middle Eastern Okra & Lamb stew (Bamia)

- Lamb shoulder (as much as you'd like, I only had a few uncooked pieces leftover from the poutine the other day)

- 1 bag frozen okra, thawed

- 4-6 cloves garlic

- 1 tbsp Oil & 1 tbsp olive oil 

- Salt & blackpepper

- Passata tomato (strained tomato, or canned, or tomato paste, or fresh chopped tomatoes)

It's very simple!

1- Heat the oil and brown the pieces of lamb shoulder, season with salt and pepper. Add a couple of cloves of garlic and water to cover.  Simmer on medium low until tender (about 1 or 2 hours)

2- In another saucepan add some olive oil and the remaining cloves of garlic (roughly crushed) then add tomato paste or Passata or chopped tomatoes (strain water and set aside)  On medium heat just turn using a wooden spoon until all the raw flavour of the tomato is released and it smells nice and caramelized. Season with a tiny bit of salt.

Add the tomato to the lamb soup as well as the okra, bring it up to a near boil and then simmer again for another 30-40 minutes until okra is tender.

RICE: 

- 2 cups golden or Sila basmati (parboiled basmati, easily found in an Afghan store) 

 Wash until water runs clear and soak for 3-5 hours in a large bowl with plenty of water.

In a large pot bring water to a boil, add a drizzle of oil and enough salt to season water (as if making pasta).  When it's boiling strain the rice from it's soaking water add to the boiling water, boil until al-dante and drain in a fine colander. Splash with cool water to cool it down (at this point you can just leave it until you're ready to cook it an hour before serving time. 

You can either drizzle with oil in a baking dish and bake covered with foil OR do it stove top, today I've done it stove top and experimented with a bit of Tah dig (crispy layer Persian style... it didn't turn out that dark but I'm trying!!! )

If you want to steam the rice and not worry much layer the bottom of your non stick pot with pieces of thinly sliced potato.  

Using a non stick pot I add a drizzle of oil (and a tsp of butter) to the bottom and a sprinkling of water  (add the potatoes at this point OR not) a tiny sprinkling of salt (just because!) and then I add the rice from the colander (it should be seasoned enough from boiling but if not add a sprinkle of salt to it and even a drizzle of oil to the colander and then using a slotted spoon move it gently into the pot 

You do not want to mix up the rice in the colander as to break up the grains so be gently. 

Once it's all in the pot create a dome shape and use the back of a spoon to push down a couple of places in the rice to create "steam holes" (I added a knob of butter to the top too as to melt down while cooking) 

Adding a few tbsp of water over the rice and covering with a lid wrapped in a kitchen towel I set the pot on medium high for 3-5 mins and then to low for 45 mins - 1 hour. 

When it's done you can remove the lid and flip it onto a large serving plate (if it worked out you'll get a nice crispy golden "crown" on top) and all your guests will be impressed! 

Enjoy! (while I continue to work on my crispy tah dig technique!)

Pickled Okra

Whenever I buy a can of okra I would rather just eat the okras right out of the can than actually cook with them. They are so delicious and because they add a tomato in there (for freshness, preservation? I don't know) but it adds that note of acidity and I just absolutely love it!

Later browsing through a foodie forum I frequent someone mentioned pickled okra, I was like "WAIT! Pickled Okra?" I've never heard of it but if it was going to be anything like those canned okras I'm in!

Middle Easterners love okra, the kids, the adults.. everyone, we all love it, it's a regular dish on all our tables especially stewed with tomatoes and beef eaten over rice (or couscous) It is the perfect okra recipe in my opinion.

Recently I tried an indian okra recipe, and I liked that too very much, in fact I'm going to make some with the leftovers that wouldn't fit in the jar :)

So here it is, I've added a few twists of my own and we'll see how it tastes in 10 days!

Pickled Okra

- 1 mason jar

- 1 pound young, small or tender okra pods

- 2 cloves of garlic

- 1 small tomato (makes sure it's small enough to fit through the top of the jar)

- 1/2 tsp pepper corns

- 2 tbsp kosher or pickling salt

- 1 cup water

- 1 cup vinegar

Run your jars through the dishwasher or clean and dry them well by hand. Set aside.

Wash your okras well and dry. Prepare all your other ingredients.

In a small saucepan bring these ingredients to a boil:

1 cup water

1 cup vinegar

2 tbsp kosher or pickling salt

In the jar:

Add your tomato, garlic cloves, peppercorns and begin to arrange the okras inside. Once they are all packed in and your mixture above has come to a roaring boil then slowly pour it over the okra in the jar.

Tap the sides so all the bubbles can be released and then once you don't see any more top it off with any extra liquid. Close and set aside until it cools down to room temperature.

Put the jar in the fridge at this point for 10 days! They should last in the fridge for 1 month for you to enjoy!

*Feel free to change the recipe around if you want to add more garlic or other pickling spices or dill. I wanted it very simple and inspired by my canned okras.

Thanks to A couple cooks for the inspiration and guidelines for the recipe.

Below you'll also see an update on my turnip pickles (recipe!), it's been 10 days and the colour is amazing! I think my jar is darker than the one I made for my sisters. I left the lid slightly loose so the gases could escape and now when I go to check on it I'd say it smells just about right, the way I remember it. In 4 days it'll go into the fridge too and probably be ready to enjoy shortly after that. :)

Bamia (okra)

Bamia (okra)
Originally uploaded by Adventuress Heart.

Haven't had much to post lately, the weather seems to be changing day to day, two days ago it was sunny, then cloudy and now rainy, typical spring weather I guess.

Thank you all for your kind - get well soon - wishes :) I'm feeling a lot better and hopefully by next week this flu will be completely gone.

Today I've decided to post some mini video clips on a simple dish I prepared a while ago, the photo as usual went up on flickr. Okra is not something that most people are familiar with or enjoy, however in the middle east it is VERY popular and one of my favourite dishes since childhood, It's fairly simply and very yummy, usually made with beef stewing chunks but can also be made vegetarian.

Types of Okra (known as bamia in arabic) are fresh, frozen, canned or even dry.

Fresh okra can be boiled in a light salt water for a bit before adding into the sauce or can be added directly, canned should always be strained well and added at the very end because they're already cooked. Frozen can be added at boiling point and right before simmering.

Ingredients:

- few tbsp Oil
- 4 medium garlic bulbs, skinned and slivered.
- 1 package frozen okra
- 1 jar of strained tomato
- salt/black pepper


Rice:

- Oil
- 3 cups Calrose rice
- 1/2 cup Vermicilli noodles
- Salt

1 3/4 cup water per cup of rice.

If you're going to add stewing beef, saute/brown it with the garlic and then add tomato and boiled water then allow to simmer until it's done. Once the meat is tender add the okra and simmer a little bit more for the flavours to blend.