Bamia Matbookha

Name: Bamia Matbookha
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients: 1 3/4 pounds small young okra (called bamia in Egypt); 3 tablespoons sunflower or vegetable oil; 2 large onions, chopped, or 3/4 pound baby onions, peeled; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 1 3/4 pounds beef, lamb, or veal stew meat, cut into 1 1/4-inch cubes; 1 pound tomatoes, peeled and sliced; 1–1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste; Salt and pepper; Juice of 1 lemon

December 9, 2011

This is a common and much-loved dish of Egypt. You also find it in other countries. Use small okra—they are much nicer than the tougher large ones—and serve with rice or bulgur. Traditionally, okra is put in to cook at the same time as the meat, so that it becomes extremely soft and falls apart, but these days it is not uncommon to add it at a later stage, so that it remains firm. That is the way I like it.

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