Persian Okra Stew (Khoresh Bamieh) is a comforting, tomato-based stew made with tender okra and slow-cooked beef or lamb. It’s an easy and flavorful way to enjoy okra—perfect served over basmati rice for a cozy, satisfying meal.

The colder seasons seem to spark this conversation of “comfort foods.” Of course, comfort foods are different for everyone. For our family, it usually evokes images of Persian stews.
They are warm, hearty, full of vegetables and meats of your choice, and always served with fluffy, aromatic basmati rice. Can you smell the saffron????
Okra is an under appreciated vegetable, in my opinion. Luckily, I love it! It is especially delicious in this Persian stew, khoresh bamieh.
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Recipe highlights
- Easy: Don’t be intimidated. I break down this recipe into easy steps so even first-timers can make a delicious Persian okra stew with confidence.
- Flavor: Tender okra, melt-in-your-mouth beef, and a tangy tomato base come together in a hearty stew that tastes like it simmered all day—without any fancy ingredients.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: Like many Persian stews, this one tastes even better the next day! The flavors deepen over time, making it a perfect dish to prep in advance.
- Versatile: Whether you use beef, lamb, or chicken, this recipe is adaptable and flexible. I’ve also included plenty of substitution tips in case you can’t find a specific ingredient.
Reader’s Reviews
“I appreciate your well written instructions. It came out like the way my Mom makes it…” — Shahrokh
Ingredients you need
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- Beef stew meat: You can also use beef shanks or lamb shanks. Remember with the shanks, because of the bone, they will require more cooking time.
- Fresh okra: I prefer fresh okra, of course, for this stew. But if you can not find fresh okra, you can use frozen as a substitute. Just remember, that frozen vegetables, once thawed and cooked, are much softer in texture so do not overcook.
- Onion: A simple brown onion is all you need for this dish.
- All purpose flour: I dust my meat with a little flour to help create a crust and thicken the stew. You can skip this or use rice flour, for a gluten-free option.
- Persian dried limes: Limoo Omani offers a unique sour flavor. I use the whole dried lemons in the soup and crush it up for the meat purée. My husband’s family likes it more sour so I typically serve it with ground limoo omani on the side.
- Pantry staples: Extra virgin olive oil, beef broth, tomato paste, and canned diced tomatoes.
- Seasonings: salt, pepper and turmeric.
Step-by-step directions
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- Sauté the onions. Cook the chopped onions in hot oil until they start to soften then add salt, pepper and turmeric.
- Brown the meat. Season stew meat with salt, pepper, turmeric and dust with flour. Brown the seasoned meat with the onions.
- Add broth. Stir in beef broth and using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits of meat from the bottom of the pot. Stir in tomato paste until combined.
- Add tomatoes. Carefully pierce the dried limes with the tip of your knife to help the hot juice get in and soften the limes faster. Stir in the tomato paste and diced tomatoes, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours.
- Add okra. Thirty minutes prior to serving, fry okra in batches until lightly browned. Add okra to the rest of stew, gently mixing it in. Cook 15-20 minutes.
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
All of Persian stews are served over a bed of chelo (Persian basmati rice). It is usually white rice, even yellow saffron rice. Sometimes stews are served alongside flavored rice dishes, pollo. But it is usually accompanied with plain white rice or even brown basmati rice.
Along with the rice, Persian stews are served with green salad, a platter of fresh herbs (sabzi khordan), cucumber tomato salad (salad shirazi) and/or yogurt with cucumbers (mast o khiar).
And if you are an okra fan like me, try my pickled okra recipe and my potato gumbo.
On a side note, in farsi, bamieh means “okra.” So khoresh bamieh is a this okra stew I just shared with you. Bamieh is also known for a sweet dessert we serve. It is a fried dessert that is crunchy on the outside, but soft and moist inside. It is soaked in a sweet syrup scented with rosewater.
I’ll save the bamieh dessert for another post!
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover stew in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
Keep the okra whole (don’t cut into rounds), and avoid over-stirring it during cooking. Searing it briefly before adding to the stew can also help reduce sliminess. Also, do not over cook the okra!
I prefer fresh okra for this stew, but you can definitely use frozen okra. Just remember, that frozen vegetables, once thawed and cooked, are much softer in texture. So don’t be surprised if your okra is a little mushy or slimy.
Yes! Omit the meat and use vegetable broth. Add a protein like yellow split peas or chickpeas to make it more filling.
Persian Okra Stew (Khoreshteh Bamieh)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb beef stew meat cut into 1-inch chunks
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried turmeric
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 ½ cup beef broth
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 dried limes halved*
- 14 oz canned diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 ½ lb okra
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together stew meat, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon turmeric and flour.
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- When oil is hot add chopped onion.
- Cook until onions start to soften, approximately 7 minutes then season with ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper and ¼ teaspoon turmeric.
- Cook for 2 minutes, then add stew meat and brown all sides, approximately 7 minutes.
- Stir in beef broth.
- Using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits of meat from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in tomato paste and canned tomatoes. Add dried limes.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours. Stew can be refrigerated 3-4 days before serving at this point. Flavor is enhanced the longer it sits.
- Thirty minutes prior to serving, clean and stem okra. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Heat large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Fry okra in batches until lightly browned.
- Add okra to the rest of stew, gently mixing it in.
- Cook 15-20 minutes. If you overcook okra, they turn mushy.
- Serve over white basmati rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
You forgot one main ingredient which is garlic,I come from South of Iran ahvaz and my late mother made this khorest bamieh all the time and and what made it more delicious? It was few whole cloves of garlic,so now make for my own family and yes with garlic of course it really makes it huge different in taste and that was my mother secret,try it and let me know how you like it ,I always follow you and as a chef I would like to add this ingredient to your Iranian popular khorest bamieh.
Genuinely yours.
Reza from Toronto.
Hi Reza-
My family is from Kermanshah and don’t use garlic much in khoresh. I love garlic and will be sure to add it the next time I make it. I’m sure it would make even more delicious!
Thank you for your kind words-
Laura
I appreciate your well written instructions. It came out like the way my Mom makes it…
That’s the best compliment ever – thank you!
Laura
What a delicious looking and sound recipe. I love Persian food and okra. Thanks for sharing, yummy!
I havbe had okra once, it was frozen slices..this looks so good!!!