Stewed okra in tomato sauce
Okra stewed in a flavourful tomato sauce
Ingredients
Bamya
- 1 bag frozen short okra (about 375 grams)
- 300 ml (1 can) tomato paste
- 6 cloves garlic peeled
- 3-4 grains allspice (ground)
- butter or oil
- 500 ml (2 cups) chicken broth (or water)
- 170 g (1 cup) navy beans cooked (vegan option)
Chicken broth
- 2 thighs chicken
- OR 1 whole chicken
- water
- 1 onion
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Handful whole black pepper
- Handful salt
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- 1 star anise (optional)
Rice
- 440 g (2 cups) rice (must be short grain, either Egyptian or Italian arborio)
- 500 ml (2 cups) water
- 14 g (1 tbsp) butter
- 17 g (1 tbsp) salt
Instructions
Bamya
- Chop onion.
- In a medium-sized pot, add some butter or oil.
- Add onion to pot and cook until soft.
- Add two cups of water (or stock)
- Add all of the tomato paste and stir until mixed.
- Add all the garlic cloves (whole, do not cut)
- Adjust sauce with salt and keep on low heat.
- Add cinnamon and allspice.
- When the sauce is tasting good to you, add the okra.
- Continue cooking with lid if possible, on low heat, stirring occasionally.
- If using beans, add it last, after the okra have softened from cooking.
- If serving chicken with the okra, you don't need to cook it in the sauce. You can fry it in a little butter and serve it on the side.
Chicken stock
- Add all the ingredients into a large pot.
- Add enough water to cover the chicken or things and bring to a boil.
- Once the stock is boiling, set the heat to low and leave for at least one hour. The longer it is left cook, the more flavourful the stock becomes.
Rice
- Measure out the rice and rinse the excess starch under warm water (water passing through rice should be clear).
- Add the water, butter and salt and set to high heat.
- Once the water is boiling, add the rice and stir.
- Cover the pot with a lid and set the heat to minimum. Check on it at least once to stir. It should finish cooking within 15 minutes.
Notes
To make Egypt's staple of rice, you can refer to this previous entry.
If you don't have tomato paste, you can used tomato purée (tomato coulis) which gives the sauce a richer tomato base. It just means you adjust with a less water or stock. For example, you use 1 cup of tomato purée, so use 1 cup (rather than 2) of water or stock.
