How to make Bamia?
How to make Bamia?
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I started having interest in cooking Bamia recipe because of my husband. At first, I was hesitant because I don’t want to try cooking food which I am not really expert at. Being an Asian, I prefer mostly Philippine and Chinese cuisines only.
“I am quite a good cook”, that’s what my family always say whenever we have family gatherings in my maternal home in the Philippines. My expertise is mostly food using red sauce like Lasagna, Spaghetti, Kare-Kare, Menudo, Caldereta which are popular Filipino dish.
I tried cooking other cuisines before but I find myself always less confident mainly because I don’t liketo receive derogatory remarks regarding the food that I cook apart from my dilemma in selecting the right ingredients and following the cooking procedures itself.
Eventually, after so many convincing strategies and techniques which my husband did, I have decided to give it a try. I told myself, “Why Not?”
The first thing I did was to research about this dish. I found out that this is a Middle Eastern recipe. It is one of the popular staple foods in Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Greece, Iran, Cyprus, Sudan, Jordan and Syria. The word “Bamia” itself is an Arabic word which means “Okra”. Okra is one of the primary ingredients in this recipe apart from the tomatoes and lamb or mutton. Okra is a vegetable which has gelatinous or soft texture. It can be eaten raw or you can simply boil it in water. Okra has fiber, magnesium, antioxidants, folate, vitamin A, C and K1. In Philippines, we eat this together with fish sauce called “Bagoong” and fried fish or meat.
Bamia recipe has so many variations. You can use chicken, beef, lamb/mutton or fish but the most popular is the lamb or mutton.
I have watched a lot of videos in the internet and each vlogger has his or her own version of cooking the dish. Finally, I have selected the video of Farhat Yummy in youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57iCa5zlzqg[1]). This vlogger has a much simpler version in cooking Bamia. Of course, coming from Asian origin, I also put an Asian twist.
The
following are the ingredients:
600 grams of Australian lamb
chops racks-double cut
1 pack of zero okra. You can buy
this in the groceries (frozen section)
8 pcs of medium tomatoes, chopped
in small pieces
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and
minced
1 250ml small bottle of tomato
paste
3 tablespoons olive oil or
vegetable oil, depending on your preference
1 beef knorr cubes or bouillion-
beef flavor
Salt and pepper to taste
Here are the procedures on how to prepare Bamia. Since cooking procedure is fast, it is highly preferable to make the preparation first before you start cooking. Cut the tomatoes, mince the garlic and wash the okra zero and just set all ingredients aside.
1) Wash the lamb chops
carefully, you have an option to cut the lambchops into 2 pieces or retain as
it is. You can trim the fats as well if you don’t like too much oily foods.
2) Put at least half liter of
water inside the pressure cooker. Add the lamb chops and the knorr cubes in the
pot.
3) Close the lid and make sure the valve is in
proper position
4) Select the pressure setting
(cooking program for meat and set the time). It is essential to follow the
procedures in using the pressure cooker.
5)
Let the pressure build up
inside the pot.
6)
Wait at least 30 minutes
for the lambchops to cook. The meat should be tender.
7)
Release the pressure and
set aside the meat.
8)
In a saucepan, heat the
olive oil over medium heat.
9)
Fry the meat until its
brown. After frying set it aside.
10 In the same saucepan, put
the minced garlic. Cook it until its golden brown.
11 Then add the fresh
tomatoes, cook it until tender then add the tomato paste, salt and pepper to
taste.
12 Let it boil and cook it for
at least 3-5 minutes
1T Turn off the heat for a while
and start making the puree process. Use the hand blender for better results.
14 After that, switch on the
stove again and let the puree boil for at least 2 minutes.
15 Put 1 pack of zero okra and
let it boil until the okra becomes tender.
16 Then add the fried lambchops
and boil it again for at least 5-10 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Bamia is best
served when its hot. Normally, it is served with plain rice, samoon or khubz.
This recipe is
also good for Suhoor during Ramadan. The ingredients are healthy and it has
lots of vitamins, minerals and proteins which our body requires on a daily
basis.
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