I made this for dinner tonight and the recipe was so good that I had to share (it's from the same cookbook I'm always cooking from,
New Food of Life by Batmanglij).
Okra Khoresh, 4 servings, 30 minutes prep, 2 hours cooking. Those of you in the South might recognize okra, a Louisiana favorite for gumbo. This is one of my favorite dishes that my Mom or Dad will occasionally make.
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 lb stew meat (lamb or beef) in 1 inch cubes, or 2 lbs veal or lamb shank, or 2 lbs chicken legs cut up, or 2 large shiitake mushrooms cut into 1 inch cubes
3 Tbsp oil (olive oil or similar)
1-1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp turmeric (available in the spice section of most groceries... not spicy/hot at all, just to take some of the pungent odor out of onion or meat and add a nice yellow color... stains easily)
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tomato, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
Juice of 1 lime -- alternatively use 2 Tbsp of tamarind paste (available from middle eastern and indian groceries) plus 1 tsp of curry powder or paste, mild or hot depending on your taste
1 lb frozen or fresh okra
1. In a non-stick Dutch oven or similarly large pot, brown the onion, garlic, and meat/chicken/mushrooms in 3 Tbsp oil. Sprinkle with the salt, black pepper, and turmeric. Add the tomato paste, fresh tomato, and red bell pepper. Add water -- 2 cups for meat, 1-1/2 cups for chicken or 1 cup for mushrooms. Cover and simmer over low heat for 2 hours if using meat, or 1-1/2 hours for chicken, or 30 minutes for mushrooms. Continue until the meat (if used) is tender, stirring occasionally.
2. While the meat or mushrooms are cooking, wash the okra, boil it in salted water for 10 minutes and drain. If using frozen okra (which I use, it comes out fine) just follow the directions on the package for cooking them in advance.
3. When the meat or mushrooms are tender, add the lime juice (or tamarind paste and curry if using these) and okra. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes over low heat. Check to see if the okra is tender. Adjust the seasoning to your liking.
4. Transfer to a deep casserole dish, cover, and place in warm oven until serving time. Serve with
the Persian rice and tadig recipe I posted earlier. Enjoy!
By the way, the version with the tamarind paste and curry is the version from my parents' hometown, Ahwaz, in Iran. It's a little more sour and spicy than the version with lime juice, but it's my favorite. It's not an overwhelming amount of spiciness but maybe try the lime juice version first to see if you like it before trying the Ahwazi version
