Bamia in Tomato Sauce

---

---

Serves 8

Ima used to make the dishes with tomato paste (28-30 BX) - "that was the only thing there was". But today, she upgraded the recipes and she uses crushed (merusakot) tomatoes or cubed or fresh. You can use some ketsup if you need more concentrated tomato taste - and it already has the vinegar and sugar to add some zing.

When it comes to the "tibul", you need to do it based on your mood (e.g. if you are mad add some hot chili pepper. if you feel "mizrahi" then some cumin...), or according to the guests. Zahava doesn't like spicy, Yehudith doesn't like kusbara, etc... Aba liked his bamia with lots of tomatoes, garlic, a pinch of pepper, sucrazit and not alot of salt. Or at least that's what Ima says, I don't remeber him ever commenting on the "tibul" in the food, but then again - what do I know...

---

Ingredients:

~400 gr	bamia a.k.a. okra, forzen (if you are in a hurry - and who isn't?) or fresh (if in season)
1 big can	crushed tomatoes or fresh
bit of	olive oil
1 large	onion
a few cloves	garlic
to taste	salt
to taste	pepper
to taste	lemon juice
to taste	sugar or sweetner
to taste	chili pepper, basil, cumin, crushed fresh garlic ( all optional - based on mood)

---

Preparation:

1. chop onion, crush the garlic and if using fresh tomatoes then peal (cut X in tomatoes, pour boiling water on them and then peal) and wiz in maji-mix (food processor).
2. fry the onion and garlic in the oil until brown (I zap the onions in the micro first for a couple of min to speed up the whole thing)
3. dump in the bamia (thawed) and and tomatoes and cook until the bamia is soft 
4. now "letabel" to taste, with the salt, pepper, lemon juice and sugar. 
5. based on your mood add the optional "tibul" - you can add zing by adding the chili during cooking and / or crushed garlic (after the cooking).