Etli Bamya (Okra and Lamb) - More Memories of Turkey

I really miss Turkish cuisine. And one of the dishes I have particularly been yearning for is Etli Bamya. Nearly impossible to get here in Spain, okra is the main star of this dish.

This past weekend, we spent two nights in Valencia for my birthday where I located, quite by accident a large Indian supermarket next to a nothing-to-get-excited-about Indian restaurant. And there was fresh okra...already in its future incarnation as Okra and Lamb, to my mind.

Turkish cooking is fabulous in its simplicity of flavouring/seasoning of its dishes, yet it is a cuisine known for its rich flavours. It is afterall, one of the three great world cuisines (Chinese, Ottoman Turkish and French).

Few and rather selectively are herbs or spices used. It is the quality of the ingredients of the dishes that are highlighted and appreciated. Butter is used for cooking and olive oil for the cold 'salad' dishes. Lemon, tomato or small pieces of meat - almost always lamb, seldom chicken unless it is featured on its own - may be but a few of the common 'seasoning'.

The 'seasoning' in this dish is the fresh tomato and the lemon juice it is cooked with. And I add just a sprinkle of salt near the end. I made mine with more lamb than is normally used. Usually it is considered a vegetable dish flavoured with some lamb. It is eaten - as are many dishes - with bread only.

I was slightly amazed as my usually suspicious husband - who will use any excuse to avoid eating much vegetables at all - ate everything. Appetizer to main dish. And wiped the dish clean with the bread. Check back here in a fews days for links to the recipe.

I'll be visiting Valencia again soon for more okra. This time I plan to string up a quantity and dry them. When I couldn't get okra fresh, that is how I bought them from the Turkish food markets in Germany. One just cooked them longer in the broth before adding to the rest.

Life is grand. I now can get okra in Spain. :>D