Okra in tomato sauce
Local name : بامية
Okra simmered in a garlic and coriander tomato sauce, sharpened at the end with pomegranate molasses and lemon juice.
Photo : Tamorlan · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Method
- Trim the okra by cutting the cap into a cone, leaving the pod sealed. Any nick releases the mucilage.
- Dry them well, then brown them for 5 minutes in 2 tbsp of the oil over high heat. Set aside.
- Pound the garlic with the salt, then fry it for a minute in the remaining oil with the ground coriander.
- Add the tomatoes and let them reduce uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Return the okra, pour in 200 ml water and simmer covered for 20 minutes without stirring.
- Stir through the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and chopped fresh coriander, then serve with rice.
Okra releases a thickening mucilage the moment its wall is cut. Two moves hold it back: cone the stem rather than slicing it flush, and sear the dry pods in hot oil before any liquid, which seals the surface. The pomegranate molasses goes in at the end, because its acidity cooks off and loses its bite over a long simmer.
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