Vegan Khoresht Bamieh - Okra Stew

Absolutely in love with this Persian Okra dish. Served with a baguette or rice to soak up all the stew goodness.

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time:  1 hour
Ready in: 1 hour 15 min
Serves: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

6 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
3 large garlic cloves chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon turmeric
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ cup fresh sour grapes ghooreh or ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups hot water
pinch of ground saffron (optional)
1 kilo fresh okra
1 eggplant cubed and roasted

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the sauce, heat oil in a deep pan over medium high-heat. Add chopped onions and fry for about 20 minutes or until onions are slightly golden. Add chopped garlic, tomato paste, turmeric, salt, pepper and sour grapes. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the tomato paste is fried and changes the colour of oil to a deep yellow-orange.
They key to a tasty sauce is to let the tomato paste fry in oil along with spices and other aromatic ingredients like onions and garlic. This would boost the flavor of the sauce in a huge way.
Finish the sauce by mixing in hot water and saffron. By adding hot water, the temperature of the dish remains the same, thus reducing the cooking time.
Add in okras. Bring to a gentle simmer. Lower heat to medium low and cook for about 30 minutes or until okras are tender. Do not overcook okra.
When stew is ready, add roast eggplant. Taste and adjust seasoning.