Egyptian Weika

As we said before Bamia (Okra) is one of the most commonly eaten dishes in Egypt, and is cooked in several ways. 

Bamia Weika is one of the most famous Upper Egyptian recipes, where the instrument (mefraak) is used to mash the vegetables, a method that itself extends from pharaonic times. 

The Pharaonic name for okra mentioned in Harris’ papyrus is bano, and Maspiro briefly mentions finding the remains of this plant.

There are three types of okra, which differ in appearance and flavor:

Falahi (farmer) okra is characterized by its dark green color and by the presence of fine, hair like thorns on the sides, which must be removed during preparation.

Rumi okra has a light green color and no thorn.

Red okra is similar to rumi okra, but it has a reddish cap. The red color may extend to the pod.

TOP TIP: Okra is cleaned by finely peeling the ridges to remove the thorns and by turning the okra around a knife to remove the hard cap giving it a conical shape.

Remember that when preparing Weika Bamia, you must select large pods with large seeds.