Bamia: Lebanese Okra and Lamb Stew (bringing the Arab diaspora to West Africa, baby!)

The Story: It's lean times right now in West Africa folks. Called, literally, 'the starving season', vegetables are nearly impossible to come by in the markets. No green beans (I mean, GBs are the most quotidian of all vegetables, so when you can't find them, you know it's bad), no peas, nothing. Only a few limp, tiny carrots, some hard little potatoes, and TONS AND TONS OF FRESH, HUGE OKRA.

I know okra gets a bad name because of it's sliminess, but cooked correctly it can be delicious and not slimy at all. I know this because during my stints in Jordan, my friend Yasmin's mom would make me rockin' okra stew! And as my body was literally wilting because of a lack of green veg, I cooked up some delicious lebanese okra stew (bamia, thank you Yasmin's mom for showing me the light) the other day and could literally feel by body thanking me. Try this recipe out and you will be surprised at how delicious it is. Plus, okra is cheap! So if you don't like it, whatever!

The Ingredients: (serves 4 or so)

• 1/2 lb or so boneless lamb stew meat (or roughly chopped up shoulder or hip or something, no bones though)
• olive oil
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced (I use purple onions)
  
• as much okra as you like (i like to keep it visually about double the meat), with the tops chopped off but the rest of the body whole
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves removed and chopped
  
• cumin (i really don't measure spice so i'd eyeball what looks tasty to you, but remember, cumin has a tendancy to dominate so i'd go lightly, a sprinkle here and there)
• ginger (feel free to go a bit heavy, i love me some ginger)
• red chili flakes, if you want (i like mine a lil' spicy)
  
• salt

The Cooking:

Brown the lamb in olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pot). Remove the lamb after fully browned (10-15 minuted or so to really get it nice and browned), and saute the diced onion and garlic in the oil and fat until clear. Add the meat back in, and add the spices and cilantro. Continue to saute. Add a little water if necessary (just a bit). Do that until it starts really smelling good, and the cilantro is nice and wilted. Add in the can of stewed tomatoes with broth, and the okra. Add water until meat is covered, and cover pot and put on low heat for 30-45 minutes or so. Keep simmering until meat is falling apart, adding water as necessary. Okra should basically fall apart too. The sauce should reduce to a nice thick gravy-esque deal. Salt as desired.

The Serving:

I served this over couscous and it was flipping fabulous. Potatoes would also work. Something to sop up the delicious sauce!