Best Barmia Recipes

BARMIA

Steps:

• Roughly chop the onion in quarters and fry in a little olive oil,for five minutes until it starts to brown, peel the garlic bulbs use as many as you like but a lot is needed for this dish- no need to chop leave the garlic whole add them to the onions until all is well browned and softened - 15 minutes on a low heat will do it.
• In a separate pan brown the lamb in batches and when they are nicely coloured add to onion, garlic. Leave the juices in the pan until later as will fry the okra. When all the meat has been browned add them to the onions and garlic and season.
• Then pour the stock into a jug and add the tomato puree or paste and stir in the tamarind making sure this is well mixed (the tamarind gives the stock a nice reddish brown colour). I have had this dish bright orange cooked by a native Iraqi lady, but my husband assures me he thinks the colour is wrong and tamarind wasn't used, hence the colour. Of course he prefers mine!
• Pour the stock over the onions,garlic, meat. Bring to the boil and simmer for however long you have got I usually leave the dish for minimum 45 minutes.
• 20 minutes before you want to serve, cut up the okra either in half or if very long 3 lengths. Then brown the okra in the pan with the meat juices. It takes about 5 minutes to colour--this also releases a serum in the okra which will thicken up the dish.
• Add to the main dish, also add the chopped parsley now; cover the dish and leave for remaining time on a low heat. If bubbling too much, slant the lid to let out heat. I serve with pilau rice and warm pitta bread.

EGYPTIAN BAMIA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir onion until translucent, about 7 minutes. Mix in lamb, salt, and black pepper; cook and stir until lamb is lightly browned, 5 to 10 more minutes.
• Stir in tomato sauce and water; season with salt and black pepper. Bring lamb mixture to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer lamb in sauce until very tender, at least 1 hour, adding more water as needed. Stir occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Stir okra into lamb mixture, adding more water if necessary, and bring to a boil. Spoon the bamia into a 2-quart baking dish and adjust salt and black pepper; cover dish with foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until okra is tender, about 45 minutes; uncover for last 10 minutes of baking.

EGYPTIAN MEAT AND OKRA STEW

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, lidded pot like a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Salt the meat well and brown it in batches. Pat it dry with paper towels and don't let the pieces touch. You might need to raise the heat to full blast to prevent the meat from steaming. You want it to be well browned on at least 2 sides. Move pieces to a bowl as they brown. This will take you about 15 minutes.
• When the meat has browned, add the onions to the pot. Add a little extra olive oil if you want. Stir the onions around with a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits in the pot. Let them sauté until soft and a little brown. Add the green chiles and the garlic and cook another 2 minutes, stirring often.
• Return the meat and any juices to the pot, add the coriander, cardamom, tomato paste and some salt and mix well. Let this cook a minute, then add the tomatoes and stock. Add the dried lemons if you happen to be using them. Bring to a gentle simmer and taste for salt. Cover the pot and cook for 2 hours. If you are using lamb or beef, you'll only need to cook this for about 90 minutes, or even less.
• When the meat is tender, add the okra and lemon juice. Simmer about 15 more minutes, then add black pepper to taste. Serve with rice.

BEEF AND OKRA BAMIA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt over steak cubes; cook and stir meat in the hot oil with onion and garlic until meat is seared, about 5 minutes; reduce heat to medium; cook and stir until meat is browned, about 3 more minutes. Remove steak pieces and set aside.
• Stir tomato sauce and tomato paste into same pot; mix in okra, water, coriander, white pepper, and cumin. Bring to a boil; season with additional salt. Reduce heat to low and simmer until okra is tender, 30 to 45 minutes; return pieces of beef to the bamia. Simmer until flavors are blended, about 10 minutes; garnish with slices of jalapeno pepper.

BAMIA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium sized heavy saucepan over medium heat.
• Sauté onions for 2 minutes.
• Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
• Stir in all the remaining ingredients except the okra.
• Bring the mixture to a hard simmer and cook for 5 minutes-stirring often.
• Trim the okra and slice into 1/2 inch rounds and stir in.
• Simmer for 10 minutes-serve hot over rice.