Cooking with Mom- "Bammia"

When you tell most people that you ate okra for dinner, usually their minds think of that delicious crispy fried treat from Southern cuisine. For me, however, okra stands for garlicy goodness.

Bammia is a tomato based stew with okra, lamb chunks and – you guessed it—lots of garlic cloves. To top it off, this dish is also great with some raw onion on the side to munch on, so you can only image how our breath smells after eating this meal.

{See the large garlic clove popping out? Yum!}

“Bammia” - Okra and Lamb Stew

{Serves 4}

2 Lamb Shanks- about 1lb. each, cleaned and trimmed of excess fat

2 cups water

1 TBS Canola Oil

14 oz baby Okra (frozen)

8 garlic cloves, not peeled

2 TBS tomato paste

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes in juice

1 tsp salt

Juice of 2 lemons

Pinch of sugar

Over medium high heat in a large pot, add the lamb shanks and water. Cover to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and simmer until all the water is gone, flipping the meat once.

Once all the water is gone, add the oil and sauté to brown the meat. Add the okra and cover until thawed, about 15 minutes. Try to not stir the mixture too much to prevent the okra from getting mushy. Add the garlic cloves and let cook for 1 minute covered.

Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes and salt. Fill the 14.5 oz can with water twice and put the water in the pot. Gently stir and cover. Increase the heat to high to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat the medium and let simmer for 25 minutes (covered).

Add the lemon juice and sugar and return to a covered simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove the meat from the bone and place back in pot.

Serve over rice or couscous.