Algerian cuisine
Gnawiya Tajine of Okra
Salem Hello
Don't be surprised to see me proposing a summer dish, I've always told you that the point of preserving seasonal foods is to enjoy them out of season.
Gnawiya or okra is a summer vegetable rich in flavor and appreciated especially in the eastern Algerian region.
It's also found in Tunisia, in the Middle East under the name bamia and in Africa under the name gombo, in America under the name okra and in many other countries around the world.
It's a great-tasting vegetable with a distinctive slimy, gelatinous texture. A quality dish for us in eastern Algeria, we welcome guests, spoiled with this dish.
A vegetable that comes in two forms: small-caliber okra, which is our favorite, and large-caliber okra in other countries, particularly in Africa.
The latter has a slightly hairy skin, an elongated shape and a honeycombed interior filled with small seeds. It's a bit tricky to cook and requires a few preparation techniques.
Tajine with okra
Knowing that the best way to preserve its goodness is to steam it, avoid water baths and frying, which denature it, and above all avoid exposing it to long cooking.
It can be found in many forms: tagine with red sauce, garlic and parsley salad, fritters, au gratin with other seasonal vegetables and even soup.
To appreciate it to the full, a good home-made matlouh bread is recommended. It can also be served with eggplant and white sauce.
Gnawiya Tajine of Okra
Ingredients:
A few beef steaks (usually prepared with lamb).
500 g of cleaned and frozen okra or gnawiya.
1 large onion or 2 small ones
Chopped seedless tomatoes, frozen
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, deseeded
1 tsp spicy red ras el hanout (optional)
1 tsp harissa or 1 hot green pepper
1 or 2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
Parsley, coriander and lemon
1 drizzle olive or neutral oil
2 glasses of hot water or, even better, stock
Gnawiya Tajine of Okra
Preparation:
1- Clean the gnawiyas by removing the stalk end, leaving some of the stalk - it's important not to cut the whole thing off.
2- Rub the vegetables well in a clean cloth to clean their fluffy skin, as you can dip them in vinegar or lemon water. Freeze for later use, or use fresh.
3- Cut the beef into cubes and brown in oil, adding the minced onion and garlic.
4- Season with salt and pepper, add the spices and bay leaf, add the tomato, concentrate and harissa, lower the heat, cover and leave to brown for a good 10 minutes.
5- Add the water or hot stock and turn up the heat, leave the meat to cook, then when it's almost done, add the gnawiyas and finish cooking. The sauce should be creamy and flavored with parsley and coriander.