Soaked in tomato sauce, flavored with all the necessary spices, this is the best - if not the only- way to make my kids eat veggies. Tomato sauce lends any veggies a desirable taste specially for little tummies. In fact, this is how we usually eat our veggies in the Middle East.
This way of veggie cooking is almost how we eat our daily veggies in the Middle East, you can use it to cook okra, peas, green beans, zucchini, .... you name it.
Not only delicious and appealing but also very easy to make. You can skip the beef and make it frugal 🙂 or you can add some minced meat, but this way does not go well with chicken, so I do not recommend substituting beef with chicken.
I was wondering when I first landed in the US, how do people here eat the veggies?, and was so surprised that they do not just put it with tomato sauce.
I hope you'll try this way specially if you are having trouble convincing your kids to eat their veggies. Can be served with white rice or pasta.
Serve with
- Unleavened bread is easy to make and does not require any special ingredients or equipment. All you need is flour, water, olive oil and salt.
- Try this delicious and easy to follow Lebanese rice recipe, perfect side dish for any Middle Eastern meal. Garnish with fresh herbs or toasted pine nuts to boost flavors.
Related Recipes
- Mulukhia is a traditional soup in Egypt. It's very healthy and easy to cook.
- Make this Frozen Okra Recipe for a vegan main dish or a delightful side dish to any meal. Well seasoned okra in rich, tangy tomato sauce with cilantro, this recipe will have you savoring the unique flavors of this popular vegetable.
- Gluten Free Beef Stew with fall apart beef, tender vegetables in a hearty rich sauce. A great weeknight dinner your whole family will enjoy.
- This juicy Shish Kabob recipe is easy to prepare and tastes better than high-end restaurants. Beef steak marinated in a mixture of herbs and warm spices before being grilled on skewers. I've included oven instructions too.
If you like this recipe do not forget to give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and attach a photo of your finished dish. It is always a pleasure of mine to see your photos and check your own take of the recipe. Thank you.
Okra Stew
Ingredients
For cooking the beef
- 1 pound beef cut into 1 in cubes, Note1.
- 1 medium onion , quartered.
- 3 cardamom pods , crushed.
- 2 bay leaves
- Water to cover.
For the okra stew:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium sized onion-chopped.
- 2 garlic cloves- minced.
- ½ - 1 teaspoon ground coriander.
- 2 jalapeño peppers , optional.
- 1 cup broth Note2
- 1 bag (10oz) frozen okra Note3
- 1 can (15oz) tomato sauce.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper.
Instructions
Cooking the beef:
- In a deep pot over medium high heat, add water, onion, bay leaves and cardamom pods then bring to a boil.
- Add beef cubes continue to boil for 5 minutes skimming the foam from the top. Then reduce heat to medium and keep cooking until beef is done. Note4
- Strain the beef keeping the beef and beef broth aside.
Cook the okra:
- In a pot over medium heat, heat oil. Saute onions and garlic until fragrant. Add coriander and stir for a minute then add the peppers if using.
- Pour the tomato sauce, along with one cup of the beef broth we just made. Bring to a boil.
- Stir in the okra, salt and pepper . Adjust seasoning then cover and let it cook.
- Bring back to a boil then reduce heat and simmer. Check liquid level regularly as okra scorches easily.
- When it is almost done, after 35-40 minutes, add the cooked beef. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Afshan
Thank you. Jak
Anna Likousis
I love your recipes Amira
Amira
Thank you Anna <3.
Sommer
Can you explain more what you mean by 1 pound of beef stew boiled and cooked? Thanks!
Amira
Sommer, sorry for the confusion dear :). I meant fully cooked, like when you make beef broth. Traditional way is, you fill a pot with water, place a medium un-chopped onion in there along with some bay leaves, may be a couple of cardamom pods then when it is boiling, add the beef stew and continue to simmer until the beef is totally cooked. I hope this will help, let me know if you have any further wuestions.
Henna
This is such a great way to get the kids to eat their veggies! I would love to use this as a way to introduce okra to my son 🙂
Hotly Spiced
What a lovely looking stew! I do love okra but it can be quite difficult to source in my corner of the world. You have presented this stew beautifully xx
Coffee and Crumpets
As you know, I'm not a huge fan of okra. I have had this okra with meat stew and I actually liked it 🙂 Yours looks really good!! And I'm sure the kids love it! Kids are funny, my 17 yr old, has never liked fresh tomatoes, but loves pizza, ketchup, this kind of stew... Every tomatoey thing but tomatoes themselves!
snehadatar
Looking at this dish I feel I should try it now. Really good.
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz
Definitely a great way to eat veggies and I actually LOVE orka so bookmarked to make for sure!
Carrie
Your okra stew looks warm and lovely! 🙂
Maryam
Truly this is how we like it! Beautiful adaptation of the recipe. Thank you for participating in this month's challenge.
Umm Hamza
That looks a tasty plateful, i am still trying to convince my kids on most veggies, 1 won't even have pasta in tomato sauce but will eat pizza masha'Allah
Easyfoodsmith
I have seen okra being used in stew but never tried it in my kitchen. We usually make a dry preparation of okra. I like how you used it with meat here.
Joanne T Ferguson
G'day Thanks Amira for allowing me to learn something new! While not a fan of okra, your dish looks delish!
Cheers! Joanne
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You
Okra is a fave of mine. I love both in stews and in beans. Your stew looks quite delicious and the best part is meatless.
John@Kitchen Riffs
I love tomato sauces! And depending on how you spice them, they take on so many different characters. This is just wonderful -- okra is so nice, isn't it? And combines well with tomato. Good stuff -- thanks.