Okra in Tomato and Dill Sauce

Slightly adapted from a feature in the BBC Vegetarian Good Food magazine March 1996 - Persian recipes by Shirin Simmons. If you do freeze this, don't keep it for more than about 2-3 weeks, or the texture of the potatoes will suffer.

Serves 4 as a main dish

• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 large potato, peeled and roughly diced
• light vegetable stock (stock powder is OK)
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill, or 1 Tbsp dried
• 450g (1lb) okra, topped and tailed, and halved if large
• 1 x 400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes
• black pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley to garnish

1.Mix the turmeric and cumin seed with just enough water to form a stiff paste. Set aside to absorb.

2. Heat the oil in a wide pan and cook the onion gently until softened and lightly browned. Add the spice paste and garlic, and mix well. Add the potatoes, pour on just enough stock to almost cover, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until the potatoes have just started to soften.

3. Add the dill, okra and tomatoes. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Don't stir, or the okra will go mushy and lose their shape. Add a little boiling water if it gets too dry; or take the lid off before the end if it's too wet.

4. Serve garnished with parsley. Reheats and freezes well.

Kake's (Vegan) Cookery Site - http://www.earth.li/~kake/cookery/
This page added 24 Apr 2001 - comments and questions to Kake L Pugh (kake@earth.li).