Okra kubbeh

Okra kubbeh, kubbeh bamia, is an Iraqi stew of okra in a sweet and sour tomato sauce, with semolina dumplings stuffed with beef cooked in it. It is thicker than a soup and thinner than a stew, and Iraqi Jewish families serve it over white rice.

Pot calculatorOrder Okra kubbeh

Dairy freeMeatAllergens:Gluten

Updated

Okra kubbehIllustration
Time2 h 30 minCook 1 h
Pot8 bowls2.8 litres
Per bowl496 kcal19.3 g protein · a 350 ml bowl
Cost of the pot₪53for the pot, about ₪6.6 a bowl

The story of Okra kubbeh

Okra is a summer vegetable, and the Iraqi kitchen uses it in several ways: okra stewed with meat, okra in sauce next to rice, and kubbeh bamia, where the filled semolina balls cook in the okra sauce and soak it up. Among Iraqi Jews it is one of the regular kubbeh dishes, alongside beet kubbeh, pumpkin kubbeh and the sour soups.

The taste is clearly sweet and sour: tomatoes, lemon, sugar and lots of garlic. Some families add pumpkin cubes to the sauce, and some sour it with tamarind instead of lemon, as the Jews of Aleppo do. In Israel many cooks use small frozen okra, available all year, which gives a very good result.

What makes Okra kubbeh itself

Okra kubbeh is the only member of the family that is hardly a soup. The sauce reduces until it coats a spoon, and the okra itself thickens it a little with its natural mucilage. That is the whole challenge: enough mucilage to give the sauce body, not so much that the stew turns slippery. The acidity of tomatoes and lemon, and whole okra pods that were never cut into, do most of the work.

Okra kubbeh for any number of people

Change the number of people and the bowl size, and every ingredient updates in grams, with the cost, calories and protein per bowl.

Bowl size
Units
2.8litres in the pot
4Pot to use, litres
₪53Cost of the pot
₪6.6per bowl
496kcal per bowl
19.3g protein per bowl
IngredientAmountCost
The okra
Small okra, fresh or frozen700 g₪19
Canola oil for searing the okra15 ml₪0.2
The sauce
Canola oil30 ml₪0.5
Large onion, chopped200 g · 1 pcs₪1.2
Garlic cloves, sliced25 g · 8 pcs₪0.9
Turmeric2 g₪0.2
Tomato paste70 g₪2.5
Crushed tomatoes400 g₪5.0
Water1.6 l
Sweet and sour
Fresh lemon juice, in two parts100 ml₪2.0
Sugar35 g₪0.2
Salt12 g₪0.0
Black pepper2 g₪0.3
Kubbeh dough
Semolina500 g₪2.9
Lukewarm water320 ml
Salt6 g₪0.0
Kubbeh filling
Ground beef350 g₪16
Onion, finely chopped150 g · 1 pcs₪0.9
Canola oil15 ml₪0.2
Parsley, chopped20 g₪1.0
Baharat3 g₪0.4
Salt5 g₪0.0
Black pepper1 g₪0.1
Send on WhatsApp

Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026. Nutrition from the ingredients in grams, before cooking.

How many calories in Okra kubbeh? Nutrition facts and calorie calculator

Change the amount of any ingredient, drop one, or pick a lighter version, and the numbers per serving update at once: calories, fat, carbs, protein, sodium and fibre.

Okra kubbeh has 142 calories per 100 ml. A 350 ml bowl made with our recipe has 496 calories: 19.3 g protein, 16.5 g fat and 65.1 g carbohydrates. A 250 ml cup has 354 calories.

Lighter

Ingredients, for the whole recipe

  • 700 g29 kcal per serving
  • 15 ml15 kcal per serving
  • 30 ml30 kcal per serving
  • 1 pcs10 kcal per serving
  • 8 pcs5 kcal per serving
  • 2 g1 kcal per serving
  • 70 g12 kcal per serving
  • 400 g16 kcal per serving
  • 100 ml3 kcal per serving
  • 35 g17 kcal per serving
  • 12 g0 kcal per serving
  • 2 g1 kcal per serving
  • 500 g225 kcal per serving
  • 6 g0 kcal per serving
  • 350 g108 kcal per serving
  • 1 pcs8 kcal per serving
  • 15 ml15 kcal per serving
  • 20 g1 kcal per serving
  • 3 g0 kcal per serving
  • 5 g0 kcal per serving
  • 1 g0 kcal per serving

What each add-on adds to Okra kubbeh

Values for the amount in the row, from the national food database.

Add-onCaloriesProtein, gFat, g
A tablespoon of oil122013.8
A slice of white bread792.50.5
A slice of challah12641.1
A side cup of cooked rice, about1823.50.3

How to make Okra kubbeh

In cook mode the screen stays on, tap a step when it is done, and the timers run next to each step.
  1. Dough: mix the semolina and salt, add the water gradually and knead for 5 minutes, until the dough is soft, slightly tacky and does not crack when pressed. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
  2. Filling: fry the onion in the oil for 8 minutes over medium heat, add the beef and break it up for 8 minutes until the liquid evaporates. Season with salt, pepper and baharat, add the parsley and cool completely.
  3. Shape 32 kubbeh: with wet hands, 26 g of dough and 14 g of filling each. Seal well, press gently to push out the air and roll into a smooth ball.
  4. Rinse fresh okra, dry it well with a towel and trim only the tip of the cap, without opening the pod. Frozen okra stays frozen.
  5. Heat the 15 ml of oil in a wide frying pan and sear the okra for 4 minutes over high heat, until speckled brown. Set aside on a plate.
  6. Sauce: in a wide 6 litre pot, fry the onion in the oil for 8 minutes. Add the garlic and turmeric for half a minute, then the tomato paste, and fry for 2 minutes until it darkens.
  7. Add the crushed tomatoes, water, sugar and half the lemon juice. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes over medium low heat.
  8. Add the okra, salt, pepper and the rest of the lemon, and taste: the sauce should be clearly sweet and sour. Lower in the kubbeh one at a time, in a single layer, and shake the pot so the sauce covers them.
  9. Cook for 30 minutes over low heat with the lid half on, without stirring with a spoon, until the kubbeh are soft to the filling and the sauce coats a spoon. Frozen kubbeh need 10 extra minutes. Turn off the heat and rest for 10 minutes.

The science of Okra kubbeh

Kitchen science

What okra slime actually is

The slime is mucilage, a mix of long polysaccharides built mainly from galacturonic acid, rhamnose and galactose, with a little protein. It sits in cells inside the pod and dissolves in hot water. A whole pod keeps most of it inside; a cut pod releases it into the sauce.

Kitchen science

Why acid reduces the slime in okra kubbeh

The sugar chains in the mucilage carry an electric charge that makes them stretch out and bind a lot of water. In acidic conditions part of that charge is neutralised, the chains curl up, and the sauce becomes less stringy. Acid does not remove the mucilage; it turns stretchy threads into a gentle body that thickens the sauce.

Kitchen science

Why the okra is seared first

Strong, dry heat dries the surface of the pod and sets the outer cells before they meet any water. Less mucilage escapes into the sauce, and the okra picks up a toasted flavour too. Sear frozen okra straight from the freezer, without thawing, so it does not soak up water.

Kitchen science

A reducing sauce concentrates flavour

A thick sauce has less water for every gram of salt, sugar and acid, so every bit of reduction strengthens all of them. Starch from the kubbeh shells thickens the sauce a little more. Do the final seasoning only at the end, once the kubbeh are cooked, not at the start.

Okra kubbeh in every kitchen

Classic Iraqi

Small whole okra, tomato paste, tomatoes, lemon, sugar and plenty of garlic, served over white rice.

With pumpkin

Cubes of pumpkin or butternut squash go in with the sauce, adding sweetness and balancing the sourness.

With tamarind

Tamarind concentrate in place of some of the lemon gives a dark, deep, slightly fruity sourness, close to the okra of the Jews of Aleppo.

With dried mint

A teaspoon of dried mint at the end of cooking, a touch some Iraqi families never skip.

Vegetarian

Kubbeh filled with mushrooms and onion fried until dry, and a sauce made with water only. The whole pot is parve.

Common Okra kubbeh problems and how to fix them

The okra came out slimy

The okra was cut, stirred with a spoon, or cooked in water without acid. Trim only the cap, sear before cooking, add it to a sauce that is already sour, and swirl the pot instead of stirring.

The okra fell apart

It cooked too long or the pods were large. Okra needs 30 to 40 minutes at most, which is why it goes in with the kubbeh and not at the start of the sauce.

My kubbeh fall apart in the sauce

A thick sauce boils in heavy bubbles that knock the kubbeh, and kubbeh not covered by sauce cook unevenly and crack. Cook over low heat, shake the pot to cover them, and add half a cup of water if the sauce thickens too early.

The sauce is too sour

Add sugar a teaspoon at a time and taste after each one. Next time add the second half of the lemon only after tasting, because the tomatoes are sour too.

The sauce burned on the bottom

Paste and tomatoes in a thick sauce stick to the bottom. Use a heavy bottomed pot over low heat, and scrape the bottom before adding the okra and kubbeh.

Storing, freezing and reheating

3 days

In the fridge

3 months for uncooked kubbeh

In the freezer

2+4

To cool

Bring it from 60 to 21 °C within two hours and down to 5 °C within four more. Split a big pot into shallow boxes.

75 °C

Reheating

Reheat over low heat with the lid on and half a cup of water, without stirring with a spoon. The sauce thickens a lot in the fridge, and the water loosens it without breaking the okra.

Nutrition of Okra kubbeh

From our recipe, per bowl and per 100 g, next to the national food database.

ServingkcalProtein, gFat, gCarbs, gFibre, g
Our recipe, a 350 ml bowl49619.316.565.17.6
Our recipe, 100 ml1425.54.718.62.2
Typical Okra kubbeh, 100 g2159.24.832.62.1

What the ingredients of Okra kubbeh cost

What each ingredient costs in one pot, and where to buy it.

IngredientPriceIn this potWhere to buy
Small okra, fresh or frozen₪26 per kg₪19Supermarket
Ground beef₪46 per kg₪16Supermarket
Crushed tomatoes₪12 per kg₪5Supermarket
Semolina₪5.8 per kg₪2.9Supermarket
Tomato paste₪35 per kg₪2.5Supermarket
Large onion, chopped₪5.9 per kg₪2.1Greengrocer
Fresh lemon juice, in two parts₪20 per litre₪2Supermarket
Parsley, chopped₪4.9 each₪1Greengrocer
Canola oil for searing the okra₪15 per litre₪0.9Supermarket
Garlic cloves, sliced₪34 per kg₪0.9Greengrocer
Black pepper₪139 per kg₪0.4Supermarket
Baharat₪119 per kg₪0.4Supermarket
Sugar₪5.5 per kg₪0.2Supermarket
Turmeric₪86 per kg₪0.2Supermarket
Salt₪2.1 per kg₪0Supermarket

Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026, VAT included. Vegetable prices change with the season.

From the pantry: what Okra kubbeh needs

Pantry

Baharat

Price and where to buy

Make Okra kubbeh a meal

Shabbat

Ready Shabbat food

Soup, hamin, mains and sides, with a quantity calculator and prices.

Plan Shabbat
Hosting

Hosting trays

9 trays to go with the soup, with a planner by number of guests.

Tray planner
Events

Catering

A whole menu in grams per guest, with a reheating table.

Menus

What to serve with Okra kubbeh

Serve on a deep plate over white rice, 4 kubbeh and a few spoonfuls of okra and sauce per portion.

The cuisine behind Okra kubbeh

Iraqi

Iraqi cuisine

Okra is a summer vegetable, and the Iraqi kitchen uses it in several ways: okra stewed with meat, okra in sauce next to rice, and kubbeh…

Iraqi cuisine

Okra kubbeh in large quantities: events, offices and communities

How much of everything by number of guests, at a 350 ml bowl. For institutional pots, catering and community kitchens.

GuestsLitres30 l potsCost of ingredients
258.81₪165
50181₪330
100352₪661
200703₪1,321
5001757₪3,304

Every ingredient for any number of guests is in the calculator above: type the number of people.

Order Okra kubbeh

A ready pot for Shabbat, an event or the office, ordered ahead.

  • Cooked to order, for Shabbat, an event or the office.
  • Tell us how many people and when, and we send a quote.
  • Delivery in Tel Aviv from ₪35, free over ₪750.
Ask for a quote for Okra kubbeh

Order Okra kubbeh for a large event

Large orders in Israel and abroad: events, offices, synagogues, communities and institutions.

  • In Israel: cooked in Tel Aviv and delivered to events in the area, and to large events anywhere in the country on a quote.
  • Abroad: for communities, events and restaurants. Tell us where, how many and when, and we come back with a quote and options.
  • Institutional quantities and a shopping list for any number of guests, in the calculator above.
Ask for a large-order quote

Frequently asked questions

How do you cook okra without slime?

Keep the pods whole and trim only the tip of the cap, sear them in a hot pan, and cook them in a sour sauce of tomatoes and lemon. Do not stir with a spoon, just swirl the pot.

Can I use frozen okra?

Yes, and small frozen okra gives a very good result. Do not thaw it: sear it straight from the freezer and add it to the sauce with the kubbeh.

Is kubbeh bamia a soup or a stew?

Something in between. The sauce is thicker than a regular kubbeh soup and coats a spoon, so it is served on a deep plate over rice rather than in a soup bowl.

How long does okra kubbeh cook?

The sauce simmers for 15 minutes on its own, then the okra and kubbeh together for 30 minutes over low heat, or 40 minutes if the kubbeh are frozen. Then 10 minutes of rest.

Do I need to cut the okra?

Only the tip of the cap, without cutting into the pod. Once the pod is open, the mucilage flows into the sauce.

What do you serve with okra kubbeh?

White rice, as Iraqi families do. The rice soaks up the sweet and sour sauce, and a chopped vegetable salad on the side is common too.

What is the difference between okra kubbeh and red kubbeh?

Both are tomato based, but okra kubbeh is thick, more sweet and sour and full of okra, while red kubbeh is a thinner soup with zucchini and celery.

How many calories are in Okra kubbeh?

A 350 ml bowl of Okra kubbeh made with our recipe has about 496 calories and 19.3 g of protein. Per 100 ml: 142 calories.

How much does it cost to make Okra kubbeh at home?

A pot of 8 bowls costs about ₪53 at Israeli shelf prices in October 2026, about ₪6.6 a bowl. The calculator above works it out for any number of people.

Every soup in Israel

75 soups, each with a pot calculator, a price list and the science. Search by community, time, calories or cost.

All the soups

More soups

KubbehIllustration
Kubbeh

Kubbeh

Kubbeh is a dumpling of grain dough, semolina, bulgur or rice, wrapped around a filling of ground meat, onion…

Red kubbehIllustration
Kurdish, Iraqi

Red kubbeh

Red kubbeh is a kubbeh soup built on tomato paste and paprika, with zucchini, celery and carrot, and beef…

Beet kubbeh
Iraqi, Kurdish

Beet kubbeh

Beet kubbeh is a red, sweet and sour beet soup with semolina dumplings stuffed with beef. It is the Friday…

Pumpkin kubbehIllustration
Iraqi

Pumpkin kubbeh

Pumpkin kubbeh is an orange, sweet and sour pumpkin soup with semolina dumplings stuffed with beef. Iraqi…

Kubbeh hamustaIllustration
Kurdish, Iraqi

Kubbeh hamusta

Kubbeh hamusta is a very sour green soup of Swiss chard, zucchini and celery, with semolina dumplings stuffed…