Middle Eastern Okra Stew
Because I am part Middle Eastern, okra featured heavily in my diet growing up. Okra is a staple food in many Asian and Middle Eastern countries, but in the western world, many people are yet to discover this delicious vegetable. I have easily grown my own okra the last couple of years and it doesn’t take much space to grow. Once the plants start growing, you get quite a lot of okra pods from these plants and I freeze the pods until I have enough to make a meal (just make sure you harvest them before they get too big as they will taste woody and unpleasant then!). I have also previously purchased okra from green grocers.
Aside from the fact that it is delicious, the other reasons I love okra are that it is a powerhouse of nutrients. A 100g serve of cooked okra contains significant levels of vitamins A, C and K as well as minerals including calcium, copper, magnesium and manganese, and my favourite – prebiotic fibre to feed our gut microbiome.
The recipe below is not vegetarian, but you could make it so by make a vegetable broth instead of the oxtail broth, and you wouldn’t need to cook it anywhere near as long for the veggie version. The meaty version does take a few hours as we need to cook the broth first!
You will need:
Large cooking pot
1kg oxtail pieces (this is my preference, but you could also try using osso bucco or even some chunks of slow cooking cuts like chuck steak)
Filtered water – enough to cover your oxtail in the pot
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 heaped tbsp tomato paste
Juice from 1 lemon
1kg okra pods (make sure the pods are trimmed of the stem at the top of each pod – the stems can be a bit woody)
Salt to taste
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
Method:
Remember, this dish takes a few hours to cook so you need to make sure you’re going to make this on a day when you are going to be home for a few hours!
Add oxtail pieces and garlic to your pot and cover with filtered water.
Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer for around 4 to 6 hours or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. During the simmering time, you may need to top up the water so that the oxtail stays covered.
Once the meat is tender, add the lemon juice, tomato paste, okra and salt to taste. If your okra was frozen, you may need to increase the heat to bring to a boil again and then reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for another 30 minutes or so, until the okra is tender and soft.
Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
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Magnolia Naturopathy is owned and operated by Brisbane naturopath and herbalist Iwa Brown. At Magnolia Naturopathy, we offer online telehealth naturopathy consultations to assist our clients all over Australia to reach their health goals. Contact us here to find out more, or book your online telehealth naturopathy appointment here.
