Khoresh Bamieh (Okra stew) is a common stew dish in many middle eastern regions. In Iran, it is traditionally from southern provinces.It is a flavorful dish made with tender okra, tomatoes sauce, garlic, and hot pepper slowly simmered in beef or lamb stew.
The word Khoresh or Khoresht is a generic term for stew dishes in Persian cuisine. The word is a substantive of the verb khordan “to eat” and literally means “meal”. In Iranian cuisines, there are many different Khoresh with many unique ingredients.
Khoresh Bamieh is a common stew dish in many middle eastern regions. In Iran, it is traditionally from southern provinces. it is made with tomatoes, okra, and beef. Okra, also known as “lady’s finger”, or “bamia” is one of the popular nutritious vegetables of North-East African origin.
Okra has many benefits: it’s rich in minerals that it is recommended for the treatment of osteoporosis, constipation, diabetes, and anemia. It’s also recognized as a preservative for vision, skin rejuvenation, and so on.
Here are some tips for cooking this stew:
- If you’re using fresh okra, it’s better to buy small okra pods since they’re more tender
- You can replace beef with lamb (or skip it totally if you’re vegetarian).
- Okra usually has a sliminess when its seed pods are cooked which causes many people to dislike it, but there are some simple tricks to minimize or avoid it while cooking. When washing the okra pods do not pierce or cut them into pieces;
- Stirring too much can make the okra losing its form. So do not stir too much.
- Make sure not to overcook the okra, usually, 20-30 minutes of cooking is completely enough.
- The stew is best served over Persian rice with crispy potato.
Khoresht Bamieh Iranian Okra Stew
Ingredients
- 250 g beef
- 400 g okra
- 300 g tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 500 ml water
- 5 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp hot chili pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- First, chop onion and garlic.Sauté the onion in some oil until it's translucent, for about 3 minutes on medium heat.Add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute.
- Chop beef in small pieces.Add diced beef to the pot and cook until browned on all sides for about 5 minutes.Add bay leaf, turmeric, hot chili pepper, salt, and black pepper.Stir all the ingredients, then, pour in the water.Bring to a boil on high heat.Cover the lid, and let it simmer for about 40-50 minutes.
- While the sauce is cooking, wash the okra.With a small paring knife carefully trim the tough stem of the okra making sure you don’t pierce the flesh.In a skillet, add a little oil and sauté the okra gently for about 3-4 minutes.
- Once the meat is tender, add the tomatoes, lemon juice, and tomato paste to the meat and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then, carefully stir in the okra until it is evenly distributed in the sauce, being careful not to split open the okra as you stir. Bring the sauce back up to a simmer and cook until the okra has cooked for about 20-30 minutes.
- Serve with plain basmati rice or crispy potatoes, grated cucumber, ….
