Okra in Tomato Sauce
Maraq bel-Melükhiyya
If you are using fresh okra choose them quite small and unblemished – large ones are normally rather stringy and not as tasty. Frozen okra are always small, but they do not have as fine a taste or texture as fresh okra. Serves 4
ingredients
- 400 g/14 oz okra (fresh or frozen)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 1 X 400 g/14 oz can Italian plum tomatoes coarsely chopped with their juice
- 30 g/1 oz each fresh flat-leaf parsley and fresh coriander most of bottom stalks discarded then finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon dried chillies crushed to a coarse powder, or to taste
- sea salt
preparation
- if you are using fresh okra, shave the stem off, following the slant; make sure you don’t break into the seed part of the vegetable which is where the dreaded mucilagenous substance lurks. Wash and dry well. if you are using frozen okra thaw them by plunging in boiling water, then drain and pat dry.
- Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole over a medium high heat and fry the chopped garlic until golden. Add the okra and sauté for 2-3 minutes. This should seal them and make them less gooey.
- Add the chopped tomatoes with their juice, the herbs, spices and salt to taste and bring to the boil. Cover and leave to boil for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for a further 5 minutes or until the okra is tender and the sauce has thickened. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
Add comment January 18th, 2007