Okra Stew (Arabic Recipe) Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

Why do you put baking soda in okra? ›

Viscosity peaks at neutral to alkaline pH, Preston said, which is why exposing okra to acidic ingredients, such as vinegar or tomatoes, tones it down. Some African cooks, she said, go in the other direction, adding baking soda (which raises pH to a more alkaline level) to okra soup to augment its thickening effect.

Okra Stew (also called Yakhnit Bamyeh in Arabic) is a delicious hearty stew made with garlic, cilantro, tomato sauce beef and fresh or frozen okra.

Bamia is an Arabian and Central Asian main dish made with okra, lamb, and tomatoes as primary ingredients. It is commonly made in the following countries and cultures: Afghani, Albanian, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Egyptian, Greek, Iranian, Iraq, Kurdish, Romanian, Somali, Sudanese, Tanzania, and Turkish.

Okra with meat stew, Bamia A delicious stew of okra with meat in an onion tomato base. Taste of South Sudan will share how to cook okra in a meat based stew. This method of cooking okra has its roots from the Middle East, where it is called Bamia in Arabic.

Acidic ingredients like citrus juice, vinegar and even tomato are known to help too. Okra is often used in gumbo recipes, where they are cooked for a long time – this breaks down the parts of the okra that may become slimy, and makes the okra very tender, juicy and full of the flavour of the stew.

One popular way to reduce okra's sliminess is to "soak it in vinegar for 30 minutes [before cooking with it], which helps to break up and dissolve the slime," says food scientist, food industry consultant, and author Bryan Le.

Bamieh is simply the Arabic word for okra – and this stew can be made bil lahme – or with meat (as I've done here), or without – which makes it completely vegan.

Okra is low in calories but packed full of nutrients. The vitamin C in okra helps support healthy immune function. Okra is also rich in vitamin K, which helps your body clot blood. Antioxidants are natural compounds that help your body fight off molecules called free radicals that can damage cells.

Okra pods have a sweet, grassy flavor and contain seeds and mucilage, a thick, gel-like substance that makes okra a good thickening agent. This superfood is high in calcium, vitamins A and C, minerals, and fiber and is low in calories.

Why Is Okra Slimy? Ngaru goes on to explain that the mucilage (which, yes, has the same root word as "mucus") "is made up of sugar residues called exopolysaccharides and proteins called glycoproteins, which increase once the heat is applied."

What makes okro soup not to draw? ›

Many people don't add onions to their okro soup as they feel it reduces the draw. As there is already onion in my meat stock, I don't bother either, although I sometimes leave out the onion when boiling the meat.

Okra is a nutritious food with many health benefits. It's rich in magnesium, folate, fiber, antioxidants, and vitamin C, K1, and A. Okra may benefit pregnant women, heart health, and blood sugar control. It may even have anticancer properties.

Roast okra is a healthy snack alternative to the fried version, although it does have quite a few uses in the kitchen! Turn it into a variety of other dishes like stuffed peppers, gumbo or even Spanish rice to add a nice roasted flavor. Most commonly though, they're great as a starter, side or delicious snack!

The thing some people dislike about okra—the slime—is part of what makes it good for you, too. The gel-like substance is rich in soluble fiber, known for its potential to lower blood cholesterol and be fermented in the gut. This promotes the growth of healthy bacteria that helps break down food and synthesize vitamins.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven and stir well. Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Re-cover and cook another 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until okra slime has disappeared.

Do Jews eat okra? The answer is a resounding "Yes!" Sephardim have a traditional, and much adored okra dish called "bamia," and bamia simply means okra.

Okra is a key ingredient in many West African and Southeast Asian dishes where the leaves and seed pods are commonly used in soups and stews, such as gumbo in Louisiana cajun cuisine which is African in origin.

Since the time of ancient Egyptians, bamia (okra) has been grown and eaten along the Nile as an important part of the local cuisine. And for hundreds of years mefraak has been used to blend the bamia into the perfect texture for soup and stew.

Recipes tend to show some similarities with traditional Middle Eastern breakfast foods such as simple omelettes perhaps cooked with some chopped vegetables, or ful medames, the classic thick broad bean stew which in Sudan is often served with tomato, onion, crumbled feta or hard boiled eggs.

The Mediterranean and African people generally stew okra with a medley of other vegetables, and Southerners fry it, like the French. Most people don't know that okra can be dried for later use. In some countries, the okra seeds are pressed and the okra oil is used as a cooking oil.

What is the national dish of Sudan? ›

Ful (or fool) medames is a dish of seasoned mashed fava beans topped with raw vegetables. While it's prepared in homes across the Middle East, it's considered to be the national dish of Sudan.

Okra is a very nutritious vegetable. The most common way to prepare it in Zambia though involves the use of “soda” . It makes the okra have a unique taste and adds to its colour but it reduces the nutrients.

This is a bad practice, however, and you should avoid adding baking soda when boiling any type of vegetable. It has various unwelcome effects, such as softening the vegetable, altering the vegetable's flavor, destroying thiamine content, and hastening the loss of vitamin C.

The US Food and Drug Administration, the US Department of Agriculture and other scientists agree: use a cold water soak with baking soda to effectively help remove dirt, chemical residue, and other unwanted materials from your fresh vegetables and fruits.

A baking soda detox bath is said to promote sweat, neutralize skin acidity, and may aid in boosting immunity and overall health. While research on the exact effects of baking soda detox baths is few and far between, anecdotal evidence suggests they might promote relaxation, detoxification, and general well-being.