Margat bamia

Ingredients

Meat

• 800 glamb on the bone
• shoulder or neck, in pieces
• 2onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoonsoil or ghee
• salt and black pepper

Okra

• 700 gsmall okra
• whole, stems trimmed
• or frozen whole okra

The pot

• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tablespoonstomato purée
• 3 tablespoonstamarind pulp
• soaked and strained
• or juice of 2 lemons
• 2 teaspoonsbaharat
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 2dried limes, pierced
• about 1 litre water

To serve

• plain white rice
• flatbread
• pickles, torshi

Directions

1. Rinse the okra and pat it dry. Wet okra releases more mucilage. Take each pod and hold it by the tip. Cut around the cap in a shallow cone. The cut must not enter the pod itself. Fry the trimmed okra in a little oil. Give them about five full minutes.
2. Lift the fried okra out onto a plate. Keep them aside until near the end. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the lamb pieces in batches. Brown them well on all of their sides. Do not crowd the pot at any point. Set each batch aside as it browns. Add the chopped onions to the pot.
3. Cook them for a good ten minutes. Add the crushed garlic to them. Cook it for two more full minutes. Add the baharat and the turmeric. Fry them for thirty seconds only. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Add the tomato purée along with them.
4. Cook them down for about ten minutes. The tomato must cook right down. Oil should separate at the edges. Raw tomato taste should be entirely gone. Put the browned lamb back in the pot. Add the pierced dried limes to it. Add the water and a little salt. Bring it up to a gentle simmer.
5. Cover the pot and let it cook on. Give it at least ninety full minutes. Cook it on if it still resists. Soak the tamarind pulp in warm water. Give it about twenty full minutes. Discard all the fibres and stones. Stir the sour liquid into the pot. Add the fried okra to the pot. Do not stir the pot hard after this. Shake the pot instead of stirring it. Cooking them takes about twenty minutes.
6. Cover it and simmer it gently. Give the okra about twenty minutes. Take it off as soon as the okra is tender. Judging the sauce takes a look. Oil should be visible at the surface. It should not be genuinely ropy though. Taste it and adjust the salt as needed.
7. Add more tamarind if it is not sour enough. It should taste very clearly sour. Add lemon if you have no more tamarind. Remove the dried limes before serving. They turn bitter if left too long. Ladle it over plain white rice. Serve warm flatbread alongside it. Put torshi pickles out on the table. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Okra releases a slippery mucilage from soluble fibres when the pod is cut, and managing it is the whole technique: use small pods left entirely whole, trim the stem by cutting around the cap in a shallow cone rather than straight across so the pod stays sealed, pat them thoroughly dry, and fry them briefly first to seal the outside.
• Acid breaks the mucilage down, which is why tamarind or lemon is standard with okra — it is a technique as well as a flavour. But it goes in with the okra rather than earlier, since acid firms meat and slows the lamb softening.
• Once the okra is in the pot, shake it rather than stirring: stirring breaks the pods open and releases everything into the sauce. Take it off as soon as the okra is tender and still recognisably whole, since overcooked okra collapses and turns the sauce ropy.

Substitutions

• Lemon juice stands in for tamarind and is used in many households.
• Frozen whole okra works and is already trimmed.

Variations

• Dried limes give a sour musty depth alongside the tamarind.
• Some households use lemon alone and others tamarind alone.
• It is served over plain white rice, which is the standard.

History

Okra stew soured with lemon or tamarind and served over rice, the cornerstone of Iraqi home cooking.

Frequently asked questions

What is Margat bamia?

Margat bamia is a soup & stew from Iraq: okra and lamb stew soured with tamarind, eaten over rice. Okra stew soured with lemon or tamarind and served over rice, the cornerstone of Iraqi home cooking.

How long does Margat bamia take to make?

Margat bamia takes 30 minutes of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Margat bamia?

Yes, within limits. Lemon juice stands in for tamarind and is used in many households. Frozen whole okra works and is already trimmed.

What is the most important thing to get right in Margat bamia?

Rinse the okra and pat it dry. Wet okra releases more mucilage. Take each pod and hold it by the tip. Cut around the cap in a shallow cone. The cut must not enter the pod itself. Fry the trimmed okra in a little oil. Give them about five full minutes.