Bamia
Aperçu
Bamia is a stew of lamb, okra and tomato, and the name is simply the Arabic word for okra, which tells you where the emphasis lies. It is eaten across an enormous area: all the Arab countries, Anatolia and Turkey, Greece, Afghanistan and Iran, with regional variations at every point. In Egypt it is a household staple and particularly associated with Ramadan, where it appears regularly on iftar tables. The construction is straightforward. Lamb is browned and stewed with onion, garlic and tomato, seasoned with coriander and cardamom, and okra is added to cook in the sauce. It is often finished in the oven in a clay dish, which is worth doing if you have one, the even, enclosed heat suits it. The okra question dominates how people feel about the dish. Okra releases a mucilaginous liquid when cut and cooked in liquid, which thickens the stew. Some cuisines prize this; others go to considerable lengths to avoid it. Using whole small okra rather than sliced, and not overworking it, keeps it to a minimum. Small young pods are much better than large ones, which turn woody.
