Zeytinyağlı Bamya — Turkish Okra in Olive Oil

Name: Zeytinyağlı Bamya — Turkish Okra in Olive Oil
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Asian, Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 500 g young okra; 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped, or 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes; 1 large onion, sliced into half moons; 1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped; 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 30 ml olive oil; 1 tsp sugar; 1 tsp sweet paprika; Salt and pepper; Vinegar or lemon juice, for soaking the okra

4 steps

Prep:15minCook:30min

Saved recipe from Turkey’s For Life, including your note to soak the okra first.

Updated at: Fri, 23 Oct 2026 19:28:24 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Great

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

Low

Nutrition per serving

Calories146.1 kcal (7%)

Total Fat7.7 g (11%)

Carbs18.8 g (7%)

Sugars7.6 g (8%)

Protein3.8 g (8%)

Sodium209.7 mg (10%)

Fiber6.2 g (22%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

4 servings

500gokra

young

2tomatoes

large, finely chopped 400 chopped tomatoes

1onion

large, sliced into half moons

1red pepper

deseeded and finely chopped

2garlic cloves

thinly sliced

30mlolive oil

1 tspsugar

1 tspsweet paprika

salt

pepper

Vinegar

or lemon juice, for soaking the okra

Instructions

Step 1

Wash the okra and soak in vinegar or lemon juice for 10 minutes. Remove the stalks carefully without cutting deeply into the pods.

Step 2

Gently heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Sauté the onion until translucent. Add the okra and stir gently to coat with oil. Add the red pepper and sauté for 2–3 minutes.

Step 3

Add the tomatoes, garlic, sugar, paprika, salt and pepper. Mix gently, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Check after 20 minutes: stop cooking once the okra is tender so the pods do not split and become slimy.

Step 4

Remove from the heat, cool and serve at room temperature.