Bamya - Okra and meat stew
This rich and comforting bamya stew consists of okra cooked with tender pieces of lamb, in a luscious tomato sauce laced with garlic and cilantro.
Servings: 8
Equipment
- heavy bottom stewing pot eg enameled cast iron
Ingredients
For the stew base
- 2 lbs bone-in lamb stew meat can substitute with beef or goat, if using boneless meat, you can reduce the amount to 1-1.5 lbs
- kosher salt to taste
- 1.5 TBS ghee or neutral oil
- 1 medium onion, yellow or white chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp baharat / Lebanese 7 spice substitute 1 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/5 tsp cinnamon
- 5 cups water
Adding the bamya
- 2 packages frozen baby okra 'zero' size 28oz total
- 5 TBS tomato paste
- 1 lemon
For the Tasha
- 1.5 TBS ghee or neutral oil
- 5 cloves garlic finely minced or mashed
- 1 handful cilantro minced, leaves and soft stems
Instructions
For stew base
- Generously salt lamb pieces.
- In a heavy bottom large pot, heat ghee or oil.
- Sear lamb in hot ghee over high heat. Do not crowd the bottom of the pot. Work in batches as needed. Sear until browned all over. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Lower heat to medium. Add chopped onions and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add meat back to pot.
- Add spices and bay leaf. Stir to combine well with meat and onions. Stir continuously over heat until spices become fragrant.
- Add water, turn up heat to bring to boil, then lower to a simmer and cover. Cook until meat is fully tender, and if it has bones, comes off them easily.
Adding okra
- Add tomato paste to the pot, stir in thoroughly.
- Add frozen okra and stir gently to incorporate.
- Increase heat and bring to a boil again. Then reduce to simmer and cover. Cook until okra is tender, about 25 minutes.
Adding the tasha
- Heat ghee or oil in small frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add garlic and cilantro and fry, stirring continuously until fragrant and the garlic is golden.
- Add to pot and stir to incorporate. If you do not want slimy okra, stir gently to keep okra intact. If you DO like slimy okra (like me!) use your spatula to break several pieces to release their mucilaginous proteins. The more you break, the slimier your stew will be.
- Now, add the juice of 1 lemon.
- Taste, adjust salt to your liking.
- Cover and allow to cook 5-10 minutes more.
Notes
A note on slime- if you do not want your okra to release its mucilaginous proteins and become slimy, always stir it very gently and avoid breaking the okra. If you, like me, like it slimy, use your spatula to break several of the okra pieces after adding the tasha. The more you break, the slimier it will get.
If using fresh okra, try to find yound small ones, as they are more tender. Trim and cut them into rings about 1/2 an inch/ 2cm long. Cooking time will vary. Cook until tender.