Middle Eastern Okra Stew

Okra, also known as ladies-fingers, is a flowering plant popular in Africa, middle east and the far east. It has a characteristic slimey nature which is why you always find it combined with acidic ingredients such as lemon. Its also cooked quite quickly to produce a rich and delicious stew (in this case made in a pressure cooker). This dish is charactarised by the sweet flavour the Okra produces against the tang of the lemon.

This dish is best served with bread & rice.

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Ingredients

• 400g bag of frozen okra (you can use fresh too)
• 1 Tin of tomatoes, blended until smooth
• 2 Large onions
• 2 Cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp dried coriander
• Vegetable oil or vegetable margarine
• Juice from half a lemon
• 1 tbsp of tomato purée
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Chop the onions and garlic and soften on a medium heat in a little vegetable oil using a pressure cooker.  The rest of the dish will be finished in the pressure cooker (you can use a normal cooking pot if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you will just need to cook for longer).
• Add the dried coriander and season with salt and pepper.

• Pour the blended tomatoes on the softened onions, add the tomato puree, lemon juice and re-check the seasoning, then bring to the boil.

• Add the okra and bring to the boil and top up with water so that the okra is completely covered.  Shut the pressure cooker lid and allow to cook on a medium heat for 20-25 minutes (If you’re not using a pressure cooking just cover with a lid and allow to cook on a medium heat).

• The okra is ready when it soft but still retains its shape, adjust seasoning and lemon juice to taste before serving.

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