Okra cooked with lamb, beef, and vegetables yield a luscious and nourishing stew with Mediterranean flavors the whole family loves. Easy to make, you can enjoy this crowd-pleaser dish year-round.
Okra stew, also known as bamia, bamya, and okro, is comfort food often served for iftar (a feast to break daily Ramadan fast at sunset) that is easily stretched to feed a crowd.
🤔What is Okra, and How Does It Taste?
If you're not familiar with okra, sometimes called ladies' fingers or ochro, are green ribbed pods best known as a key ingredient in gumbo, but they are also good pickled, breaded and fried, or raw when added to salads.
Its origin can be traced to West Africa, Ethiopia, and South Asia, but it has also found its way to Middle Eastern, Eastern Europe, and Southern U.S. cuisines.
If you ask me, okra tastes somewhere between eggplant and asparagus, and it combines well with other vegetables, particularly tomatoes.
Sliced pods exude a sticky juice that thickens any liquid, a characteristic that explains okra's long-standing use in stews and soups like gumbo.
📃Why it Works
This Mediterranean stew recipe with bamia is super easy to make in one pot, and it's very comforting in the winter over a bowl of rice or crusty bread.
If you are health-conscious, okra has many health benefits. It is low in calories, a good source of dietary fiber, and contains minerals and vitamins. You can read more about its potential health benefits on Healthline.
🛒Ingredients and Notes
- Meat: beef and lamb for stew. I often use ground lamb because it's more affordable and a little goes a long way. You can also use just beef, veal, or chicken.
- Okra: fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. I prefer frozen, even when fresh okra is in the season because of its convenience - you don't need to thaw it, wash it, reduce the slime factor, or tenderize it.
- Allspice: I used whole berries of allspice (leftover from making krupnik soup), but you can certainly use ground allspice. If you wonder what it is, how it tastes, and how else you can use it, check out my Spices 101 - a beginner guide for herbs and spices.
🔪Step by Step Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or a nonstick pot, sauté onions in oil until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, carrots, beef, and lamb and sauté until meat is lightly browned on all sides.
- Add spices, tomatoes, and water and bring to a boil. Cover, cook, and occasionally stir on low heat until meat is tender, about 45-60 minutes.
- Add the pods and lemon juice to the meat mixture. Add more water, if necessary, to cover. Cover and simmer until okra is tender, occasionally stirring ever so gently, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until the stew reaches your desired thickness.
If using fresh okra
Check out the FAQs section for choosing the best fresh pods.
- Don't wash fresh okra until just before you cook it; moisture will cause the pods to become slimy. Store untrimmed, uncut pods in a paper or plastic bag in the refrigerator for no longer than three or four days.
- If the pods are very fuzzy, rub them in a damp kitchen towel or with a vegetable brush to remove some of its "furs."
- Wash the pods and trim off the stems. Remove the conical tops (you should be able to see seeds inside the okra) but keeping them on will cut down on the gelatinous factor.
- If the pods are large, cut them in half lengthwise or slice them into rings. You will need to soak them in just enough water (plus 2 tbsp. of distilled vinegar) to cover for at least 30 minutes. Drain, rinse, and dry before adding it to the stew.
- Some people like to fry pods before adding them to the pot to "seal" in the sliminess. You can do that in a pan or oven. Just be aware, it does add crispiness to the pods. I like them better, silky and melt-in-your-mouth tender.
👩🍳Top Tips
- Small, young pods are the most tender. As the vegetable matures, it becomes fibrous and tough.
- If you're using frozen pods, don't thaw them before adding them to the stew. They will cook in about 10 minutes, so make sure your meat is tender first.
- Don't overcook the okra. Once added to the stew, only stir it gently so the pods remain intact. In addition to keeping them whole, we add lemon and tomatoes to prevent them from getting too slimy.
- I prefer my okra stew thick. Add more water or broth to make it soupier, if that's your preference.
- You can add red pepper flakes to the stew if you like it spicy.
❓FAQs
Fresh or frozen, look for small, young pods no more than about one to two inches long. They are the most tender.
As the vegetable matures, it becomes fibrous and tough. Avoid fresh pods that are hard, brownish in color, or blackened.
Enjoy this easy stew with a hunk of crusty artisan bread or this Kurdish rice pilaf, but it is also good with mashed potatoes.
Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.
Absolutely! This recipe is easily halved or doubled; make sure your pot is large enough. I always use this recipe for the two of us and freeze the leftovers into a few containers for a quick and easy meal when I don't feel like cooking or am short on time. I highly suggest you do the same.
For a vegetarian version, skip the meat and add more onions and tomatoes. Use vegetable broth instead of water and adjust the spices as needed. You could add turmeric, bay leaf, or red pepper flakes for a little kick if you wish.
Of course! For instant pot, follow the recipe using sauté setting until step 4. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes, then release naturally. Open the lid, add okra and sauté on low for 10 minutes.
For a slow cooker, follow steps 1-4 on the stovetop. Transfer to your slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Add okra and cook on high for 10 minutes or until okra is tender.
😋 Other Amazing Recipes to Try
- Instant Pot Beef Stew with Mushrooms
- Beef and Vegetable Stew
- Beef Roll-Ups
- German Cabbage Stew
- Bosnian Cabbage Stew
- Chicken Stew
- 15 Cozy International Soups ad Stews
- West African Chicken Peanut Stew
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Mediterranean Okra Stew Recipe
Equipment
- Dutch oven or a large heavy-bottomed nonstick pot
Ingredients
- 2 medium onions chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large carrot sliced
- 2 pounds beef stew meat
- 1 pound lamb meat ground or cut into chunks
- 3 teaspoons sea salt or Vegeta
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 5 allspice berries or ½ teaspoon ground
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 2 cups diced or chopped tomatoes canned or fresh
- 2-3 cups water or broth
- 2 pounds small frozen okra you can use fresh, see notes.
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Fresh parsley for serving optional
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or a nonstick pot, sauté onions in oil until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, carrots, beef, and lamb meat and sauté until meat is lightly browned on all sides.
- Add spices, tomatoes, and water or broth and bring to a boil. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, on medium-low heat until meat is tender, about 45-60 minutes.
- Add the okra and lemon juice to the meat mixture. Add more water, if necessary, to cover the okra. Cover and simmer until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and cook until the stew reaches your desired thickness. Check for seasoning, adding pepper and salt to taste. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
Expert Tips
- Lamb meat adds that Mediterranean flavor to okra stew, but you can use just beef, veal, or chicken.
- Small, young pods are the most tender. As the vegetable matures, it becomes fibrous and tough. If your pods are large, slice them into rings or half lengthwise. Sliced pods exude a sticky juice or slime; thus, it is best to keep them whole.
- If you're using fresh pods, see tips in the post above. For frozen pods, don't thaw them before adding them to the stew. They will cook in about 10 minutes, so make sure your meat is tender first.
- Don't overcook the okra. Once added to the stew, only stir it gently so the pods remain intact. In addition to keeping them whole, we add lemon and tomatoes to prevent them from getting too slimy.
- I prefer my okra stew thick. Add more water or broth to make it soupier, if that's your preference.
- You can add red pepper flakes to the okra stew if you like it spicy.
- For best results, read additional tips and FAQs in the post above.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used and serving size.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in February 2018 and updated in April of 2021 with new photos and recipe tips.
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Okra seems to be one of those vegetables that people either love or hate. I'm one that loves it and this recipe sounds different and delicious.
Jas says
Agreed. It's an acquired taste for sure. Glad I'm past hating it. 🙂
Christina Tinn says
I love Okra and totally missed eating it. I grew up eating it butas a child I don´t like it at first because of the slimy insides. but then I began to love it´s unique taste. We put it almost in every stew dishes but my favourite was even just blanching it and dipping in some sauce.
I find it hard to find here in De, I don´t visit the Asian markets so often but I saw a fresh bundle but it looks so different, so small and pricey.
Your recipe looks so enticing, delicious.
This post brought me fond memories and yes...good old homemade cooking!
Jas says
Hi, Christina! Have you checked Middle Eastern shops? That's where I find it frozen. I used to buy canned okra in regular grocery stores when I lived in DE. Glad this dish triggered fond memories for you. Hugs and thanks for stopping in! 🙂