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By Noor Nouaillati, Recent ASU Nutrition Student

Have you ever had Middle Eastern cuisine before? Each country in the Middle East serves the same dish but with a unique twist depending on the country and some call that specific dish a different name. This dish is delicious, cozy and warm. We call this “Bamya” which is technically an okra dish. This meal is fairly easy and simple and I hope you enjoy it.

For this dish you need:

1 cup of Basmati rice

½ pound of Beef

1 full White onion

1 Garlic Clove

½ cup Lemon juice

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Pepper

Pinch of Cilantro

1 bag of Okra

1 can Tomato paste

1 cup Water

2 tbsp. Olive oil

First, start off by deep frying your okra until it’s crispy and lay them in a plate on top of a napkin to absorb any remaining oil. Then, wash your basmati rice and place it in a pot with boiling water and let that cook. For the main dish, you need to add 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a sauté pan and add in the white onion and garlic that you minced and sauté until it’s caramelized. Once, its sautéed then you will add the okra that you deep fried and let that cook until it is soft. Then, add hot water, tomato paste, salt, pepper, red chili flakes, and the lemon juice and put it in the pan with the okra and let that cook thoroughly. Cut the meat into cubes or you can use ground beef. Once the meat is prepared, season it to your preference and form the meat into meatballs and cook the meat separately. Then, add the cooked meat to the okra that is being cooked. Let it keep cooking for another 10 minutes, once the 10 minutes is up your meal is ready to be served! If you are looking to add a garnish to the meal try chopped cilantro and slices of white onions on the side.

This dish is so delicious and can be served in the summer, fall, winter or spring. I hope you try this Middle Eastern dish. Enjoy!

Looking for more incredible recipes like this one? Check out the Fill Your Plate recipe section for a ton of different recipes that the whole family will enjoy.