Mullah weika

Ingredients

The okra powder

• 100 gweika
• dried okra ground to powder
• sieved

Meat

• 600 gbeef on the bone
• in pieces
• or 200 g sharmoot
• dried meat, soaked

The pot

• 3onions, chopped
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato purée
• 4 tablespoonsoil
• 1 tablespoonground coriander
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 1 teaspoonchilli powder
• 2stock cubes
• about 1.2 litres water
• salt and black pepper

Sometimes added

• 1 tablespoonpeanut butter
• unsweetened
• a little dried fish

To serve

• kisra
• or asida
• eaten with the right hand

Directions

1. Sieve the powder before you use it. Sprinkle it in gradually rather than tipping it. Stir constantly as it goes in. It takes a moment and is worth doing. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the beef pieces and brown them.
2. Work in batches rather than crowding. Add the chopped onions to the pot. Cook them for a good ten minutes. Add the crushed garlic to them. Cook it for two more full minutes. Do not reduce them at all here. Add the coriander and the cumin. Add the chilli powder as well.
3. Fry them for about thirty seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Add the tomato purée along with them. 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. Pour in all of the measured water. Add the stock cubes to the pot.
4. Season it with salt and black pepper. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and let it cook on. Give it at least one full hour. Simmer it on if it still resists. Sieve the okra powder into a bowl. Sprinkle it into the pot gradually.
5. Stir constantly as you sprinkle it in. Add it a small handful at a time. Stir it in fully before adding more. Never tip the whole lot in at once. Add less than you think at first. Let it simmer for about twenty minutes. Stir it regularly all the way through. The powder needs cooking to lose its raw taste.
6. Stir right into the corners of the pot. Keep the heat low and quite steady. Judging it takes a look and a taste. Add hot water if it goes too thick. Add more powder if it is too thin. Leave it slightly loose for that reason. Loosen the peanut butter with hot water first.
7. Let it cook for ten more minutes. Taste it and adjust the salt as needed. Add more chilli if you want more heat. Taste it before adding any more. Serving it is always done hot. Ladle it out into a wide bowl. Serve warm kisra alongside it. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Okra is sliced, sun dried to hard brittle pieces and pounded to powder, which keeps for months where fresh okra spoils in days. Whole dried okra rehydrates poorly and stays leathery, but ground to powder it dissolves entirely and thickens the stew as it goes — the slipperiness survives the drying.
• Sieve the powder and sprinkle it in a small handful at a time, stirring it in fully before adding more; tipping the lot in at once gives lumps that never break down. It thickens very quickly, taking the pot from broth to stew rapidly, so add less than you think at first.
• The slipperiness is wanted rather than suppressed: kisra and asida are eaten with the fingers, and a stew that coats them and helps them go down is the practical point. It should draw out when lifted on a spoon.

Substitutions

• Sharmoot, Sudanese sun-dried beef, replaces fresh meat and must be soaked first.
• A little unsweetened peanut butter loosened with hot water adds richness in some households; say clearly if it has gone in, since peanut allergy can be severe.

Variations

• The atlas carries three mullah entries — bamia with fresh okra, weika with the dried powder, and roub which adds soured milk to that powder.
• Three onions is a generous quantity that cooks down into the sauce and gives body as well as flavour.
• It thickens considerably on keeping, so leave it slightly loose and add water when reheating.

History

Weika is okra dried and ground to powder, a preservation that keeps the vegetable usable through the dry months of central and western Sudan.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mullah weika?

Mullah weika is a soup & stew from Sudan: dried-okra powder stew with meat and onion, scooped up with kisra. Weika is okra dried and ground to powder, a preservation that keeps the vegetable usable through the dry months of central and western Sudan.

How long does Mullah weika take to make?

Mullah weika takes 20 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Mullah weika?

Yes, within limits. Sharmoot, Sudanese sun-dried beef, replaces fresh meat and must be soaked first. A little unsweetened peanut butter loosened with hot water adds richness in some households; say clearly if it has gone in, since peanut allergy can be severe.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mullah weika?

Sieve the powder before you use it. Sprinkle it in gradually rather than tipping it. Stir constantly as it goes in. It takes a moment and is worth doing. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the beef pieces and brown them.