Close-up of Marag Bamya, Kuwaiti okra stew with lamb and dried lime

Marag Bamya (Kuwaiti Okra Stew)

Okra stew is not originally ours. Egypt has one, so do Iraq, the Levant, Turkey and Greece, and most of those versions are older than anything Kuwait can claim. What makes this one Kuwaiti is not the okra — it is what happens around it. The meat browned before anything else touches the pot. The spice mix. The three herbs. And the okra fried on its own first, which gives it a smoky depth and keeps it from collapsing into the stew.

This is my mother's version, from the archive of recipes she has kept for as long as I can remember. It is the dish she is best known for at home, and it is the one I asked her for first.

If you like this one, it has a sibling: Marag Laham, the Kuwaiti lamb stew.

Marag Bamya (Kuwaiti Okra Stew)

Dalal AlJaser

Servings

4-6

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours 15 minutes

Cuisine

Kuwaiti

Category

Stew

Marag Bamya is the okra stew that appears on Kuwaiti tables week after week and almost never on a menu. Lamb browned first until it turns golden, four onions cooked down with garlic and spice, three kinds of fresh herb, daqoos and tomato paste, and okra fried separately for a deeper, smokier flavour. Two hours on a low flame, served over mashkhool. This is my mother's recipe.

Marag Bamya (Kuwaiti Okra Stew)

Ingredients

    For the stew:

    • 1 kg bone-in lamb
    • 400 g frozen okra
    • 4 medium onions, finely chopped
    • 1 tsp minced garlic (about 3-4 garlic cloves)
    • 1¾ cups fresh coriander, chopped (100 g)
    • 1¾ cups fresh dill, chopped (100 g)
    • 1½ cups fresh parsley, chopped (100 g)
    • 1 green chili pepper
    • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
    • 1 cup daqoos — Kuwaiti tomato garlic sauce (recipe below)
    • 1 tbsp tomato paste
    • Oil, for browning the meat and frying the okra
    • Salt to taste

    Spice mix:

    • 1 tsp Kuwaiti spice mix (recipe available in my cookbook From My Childhood Kitchen)
    • 1 tsp curry powder
    • ½ tsp cumin
    • ½ tsp turmeric

    For the daqoos:

    • 3-5 medium tomatoes
    • 3-5 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 tbsp tomato paste
    • ¼ tsp salt
    • ¼-½ tsp black pepper
    • ¼ tsp red chili pepper (optional)
    • ½-1 cup water

    Directions

      Make the daqoos first:

      1. Blend the tomatoes until smooth.

      2. Pour into a saucepan with the garlic, tomato paste, salt, black pepper, chili if using, and the water.

      3. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for about 15 minutes.

      4. Lower the heat and simmer another 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Set aside.

      Then the stew:

      1. Brown the meat well in oil in a large pot over high heat, until its water has cooked off and the meat has turned light brown.

      2. Add the chopped onions and stir over medium heat until they brown. Add the garlic and keep stirring, then add the spice mix.

      3. Add the chopped coriander, dill and parsley along with both peppers, and stir until the herbs wilt down.

      4. Add the tomato paste and the daqoos, and keep stirring.

      5. Lower the heat and leave the pot on a gentle flame for 5 minutes, then add boiling water so that it covers the meat.

      6. Leave on a gentle flame for one hour, then add salt to taste.

      7. Fry the okra in oil until it is sealed and holding its shape.

      8. Add the okra to the pot and cook for another hour on a gentle flame, until done.

      9. Serve hot over mashkhool or fluffy rice.
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