Introduced to Spain by the Moors in the Middle Ages, okra quickly gained popularity among Sephardim, and as they dispersed following the expulsion they took their taste for this vegetable with them. What might be more of a surprise is that, as a member of the mallow family, it counts such unlikely plants as cotton, cacao, and durian among its relatives. The Ladino name for okra, bamia, and the Arabic name, bamiya, are both derived from the Bantu kingombo (which is also the likely root of the word “gumbo”). Okra is native to Ethiopia, which is probably not much of a surprise given its predominance in African and African-infused cuisines (i.e., American Southern). The bamia recipe below is slightly adapted from Claudia Roden’s in The Book of Jewish Food Roden recommends serving the bamia hot with rice or cold as a side or starter. If you use frozen okra-and honestly, if it’s readily available to you, why would you not?-the recipe comes together in a snap. Bamia, a simple Sephardic dish consisting of okra in a tomato sauce, has become another favorite. I still love a good bhindi masala, but now that I’ve gotten comfortable with okra my horizons have expanded. Picked at peak freshness, before it gets all tough and prickly, and trimmed and chopped for maximum convenience, this stuff is one of my favorite kitchen hacks (up there with frozen artichoke hearts). Then I became acquainted with the joys of frozen okra. The results were certainly tasty, but the difficult prep almost put me off okra for life. My first time cooking with okra, in which I attempted to recreate my beloved bhindi at home, was rather unpleasant-not because of the sliminess, but because, not knowing anything about picking okra, I ended up with some overly large and tough pods of the fresh stuff, with an unpleasant coating of prickly fuzz that I spent hours trying to remove. I was instantly smitten (and to this day bhindi masala is one of my favorite Indian dishes), but nevertheless I was scared off from cooking the stuff until years later. I didn’t grow up eating it (though my father, who grew up in the South, is squarely on Team Okra) I’m pretty sure my first encounter came in the form of bhindi masala at an Indian restaurant when I was in high school. I know a lot of people hate on okra for its sometimes slimy texture (officially, “mucilaginous,” which even sounds disgusting). I’m still on my post-Pesach detox, and today I have a great, healthy, simple dish-bamia-featuring a vegetable that doesn’t get enough love: okra! A Simple and Healthy Sephardic Okra Dish: Bamia - Poppy and PruneĪ Simple and Healthy Sephardic Okra Dish: Bamia
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