Bamya bel Lahma is an Egyptian beef-okra stew dish that is nutritious and bursts with bold Egyptian flavors.

What is Bamya Bel Lahma

Bamya means okra (aka lady’s finger), and Lahma means meat, so Bamya Bel Lahma means Okra with meat.

Bamya Bel Lahma is basically a stew made of small okra (aka bamya zero in Arabic) cooked with chunks of veal, beef, or lamb. 

The tiny okra that you see in the photo above is nearly impossible to find fresh outside the Middle East. The good news is that it is widely available FROZEN in Middle Eastern stores across the globe.

This tiny okra (aka bamya zero) has a sweeter flavor and a much softer texture compared to the common long one known for its thorny edges. 

Typically, the dish is cooked halfway first in a pot and then transferred to a clay pot (tagen in Egyptian dialect) to finish cooking in the oven. That said, you can cook the entire meal in a pot on a stovetop.

Bamya Bel Lahma Story

I jumped up and down when I found frozen zero okra at the Middle Eastern store in Alexandria, Virginia. 

Bamya Bel Lahma is one of those traditional Egyptian dishes that I vividly recall, as its wafting aromas still dent my memory to this day. 

Growing up, my mom was in full charge of the kitchen, but my late dad, God bless his soul, was in charge of most of the food shopping. 

Ready to drive miles to get the freshest meat in town, or the juiciest tomatoes in season. To his credit, my father was the most meticulous food shopper and foodie I’ve known in my lifetime.

Aside from his knack for food shopping, he rarely showed up in the kitchen unless he craved a dish that hails from his hometown in “Saed” or Upper Egypt. 

Upper Egypt (south of Egypt) is known for its traditional cuisine that is heavy on meat, usually cooked with vegetables in clay pots and baked in a red brick traditional oven. 

Bamya Bel Lahma was one of my father’s few masterpieces. I vividly recall its wafting aromas and its sizzling sound coming out from the oven.

No one did it as nearly as good as my late father. He used to prepare this dish more often when my grandparents were aging, and my mom had to spend more time at their apartment helping them.

How to Make Epic Bamya Bel Lahma 

To make an excellent Bamya Bel Lahma, you need okra, meat, water or broth, fresh cilantro, garlic ( actually lots of garlic), and some seasoning. So, let us explain each ingredient in depth. 

Okra

Frozen Bamya or Okra cuts the prep time in half and significantly reduces the active cooking time. So grab a bag or more of frozen okra from the Middle Eastern store, and you won’t regret it. 

I always buy Bamya zero or small okra almost takes no time to cook. Therefore, it is an asset to keep it in your fridge. Whenever you are ready to cook it, just defrost it the night before in the fridge to preserve the flavor. 

Meat  

For the meat, you can either choose beef or lamb. Personally, I prefer using a beef cut that has minimal fat. Therefore, I use “Round Top Round,” I buy it in bulk in the US and chop it into small cubes. Top round stands the test of long cooking time and has an excellent texture and flavor when slow-cooked and seasoned right.

The meat is seasoned with salt and pepper, seared in ghee, and when it has a nice brown crust on all sides, we add the broth or water, the aromatics and we let it cook on low heat for 60-90 minutes.

Samna (Egyptian Word for Ghee)

Samna is the fat used traditionally in Egyptian cuisine and currently is the number ONE fat recommended by nutritionists. It gives an unmistakable flavor and aroma to any dish, including this Bamya Bel Lahma. 

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are used in serval forms in this dish. We use tomato sauce, tomato paste, and also slices of tomatoes to garnish the dish.

Ideally, we use fresh tomatoes for the tomato sauce. Blending quartered tomato in a blender with no water will yield a flavorful tomato sauce that will just get fancier and thicker while cooking, which Egyptians called tasbika. If the tomatoes are juiceless where you live, grab a good quality of store-bought marinara sauce instead of making tomato juice from scratch. 

Tomato paste is another tomato derivative that is indispensable in Bamya Bel Lahma for several reasons: it intensifies the tomato flavor, providing a richer and more complex taste;  it is a thickening agent due to its concentrated nature; it adds body and texture to the dish, creating a velvety consistency;  tomato paste adds a vibrant red color to dishes, enhancing their visual appeal; last but not least, tomato paste is rich in glutamates, which contribute to the umami taste, and enhances the overall depth of flavor in a dish.

Cilantro 

Cilantro and okra are a match made in heaven, but I also know that cilantro is not for everyone. The dislike for cilantro, often described as tasting soapy or like metal, is linked to genetics. Somehow, certain chemical compounds are present in cilantro, giving it an unpleasant taste or smell to its haters. So, it is up to you to add it or ditch it. 

Broth

The bonus of cooking the meat first in water and aromatics is that it will result in a flavorful broth that you can use later to cook the okra. 

Tasha (Aka Taklia)

Taklia is a simple yet flavorful mixture typically made from chopped garlic, coriander and cilantro (optional), and sometimes chili peppers. This mixture is often sautéed in Ghee or a mix of butter and oil until fragrant and then used as a topping or flavoring agent for various dishes in Egyptian cuisine, such as soups, stews, grilled meats, or vegetables.

The combination of garlic and coriander gives Taklia a deliciously aromatic and slightly spicy flavor that enhances many Egyptian dishes, including Bamya Bel Lahma. It adds depth and complexity to the flavor profile, and it’s loved by many who enjoy Egyptian cuisine.

Heat 

Heat in this dish is optional, yet Egyptians love their okra dish to be on the spicy side. Typically, Egyptian home cooks add “Felfel Hamee” or shishito pepper along with the okra and beef to simmer and release its fire. For heat lovers, shishito pepper is widely available and reasonably priced in US supermarkets.

Health Benefits of Bamya or Okra 

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Bamya Bel Lahma (Egyptian Okra and Meat Stew) 

Serves 6 people 

INGREDIENTS

For the Beef Broth

• 3 tablespoons ghee
• 500 grams beef round top round, cubed 1/2 “X1/2” 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1 teaspoon sea salt 
• 2 mastic resins 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 5 cardamom pods 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Egyptian Boharat or 7 spice (meat spices) 
• 1 big onion, finely chopped 
• 3-5 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 liter boiling water 

For the Bamya Bel Lahma 

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 bag frozen okra, defrosted  
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup beef broth, more if neecssary 
• 1/2 cup tomato juice 
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste 
• Tasha (recipe follows)

For the Tasha 

• 2 tablespoons ghee (butter and oil)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped  
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the Broth: Melt the ghee in a large, hot, heavy bottom pan. Add the whole spices and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Dry the meat cubes with kitchen paper and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Sear the meat cubes on all sides in the hot ghee. Don’t cram the meat in the pan, or they will steam instead of sear. When the meat cubes become seared with a golden crust, add the garlic and chopped onions and stir for 1 minute to sauté the onions and garlic. Sprinkle the Boharat (meat spices over the meat) and then add the water, and let the broth simmer for 60-90 minutes or until the meat is fork tender. 
2. Sauté the Bamya (okra): In a hot pan, heat some ghee, sauté the minced onions and garlic, and then add okra.  Sauté for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Add the tomato juice/sauce, tomato paste, cooked beef cubes, and broth, and let them simmer together in a Dutch oven or pot on the stovetop, over medium-low heat. Alternatively, you can transfer everything to a clay pot and finish the dish in the oven.  
3. Make the Tasha or Taklia: In a small skillet over medium-low heat, add the ghee (butter and oil), minced garlic, ground coriander, and fresh chopped cilantro, if using. Once the mixture becomes fragrant, add it to the Bamya bel Lahma.  In case you cooking the stew in a pot then  cover the pot, and let the stew gently simmer on low for another 10 minutes. Alternately, add the Bamya Bel Lahma to a clay pot (called tagen in Egyptian dialect) after it is half cooked in the pot. Arrange some tomato slices on top, add the tasha and transfer the clay pot at a preheated oven at 375 and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
4. Serve the okra meat stew: Serve the dish hot with vermicelli rice and/or warm pita bread to soak up the sauce.