Okra Recipes

Okra Recipes: How do make it at home?

Okra-mania!! Yes, I have it. Right from childhood. My all-time favorite vegetable that I love to have in my lunch. I learned to make it while I was only 14. Every week, my mother would bring bundles full of okras. She would then clean them with a dry cloth: one by one. And you know what would be my role? To paste their cut-heads on wall and make designs.. Oh!! Those lovely days... I would help mother in cleaning them. When I finally learnt to make them, I was quite satisfied with what I used to produce. I cannot praise myself, but believe me, I make very delicious okra lunch. In this lens, I am going to share with you two of my okra recipes. Hope you enjoy reading and making them.

An interesting thing about this wonderful vegetable is that is used in several ways in different parts of the world. It is known by a dozen other names. Okra or okro is the name by which it is called in United States and several other countries. The word itself saw its origin in Nigeria. In this country, it is called okra and okwuru. The other names are: kingombo(Portugal), guigambo(Spain), gumbo(France), In Asian countries like India and Pakistan, its common names are bhindi, bhinda, and behnda. Middle East calls it by the name 'bamia' while it is 'Molondro' in Dominican Republic.

Let's Pickle Okras

Sounds a bit strange, but okra can be pickled. I have penned down an easy recipe for it. Read the instructions and follow them. It would take only half an hour to make them.

1/2 kg okras

Half cup water

salt to taste

2-3 chili peppers

2 cloves of garlic

A tsp Dill seeds

2 cups cider vinegar

A jar with tight lid

   Wash, clean, and dry okras.

Place them in a pint jar.

Add garlic slices, chili peppers and Dill seeds too.

Add sliced garlic to them.

Place water and vinegar in a skillet and boil them.

Add salt and ladle well.

Pour this mixture all over okras placed in jar.

Close the jar lid tightly.

Place the jar in boiling water. Make sure that half of the jar's body is above water.

Let the jar cool.

Store it under sunlight daily for 2 hours.

After 3-4 months, the pickle is ready to eat.

Making Okra Chips: Nothing could be simpler

Making okra chips is far too easier than any of its other recipes. To prepare these you need:

1/2 kg Okra pods

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp red chili powder

2 tsp black pepper powder

1 tsp olive oil

Clean and dry pods. Slice each one of them in middle. Do not cut completely. Keep the cut well below the head and well above the tail. Tale a cookie sheet and place parchment paper over it. Now place okras, one by one, over this baking sheet. Pour olive oil over okras. Pour salt, red and black chili powders all over them. Place the cookie sheet in  a microwave-oven heated up to 220 degree Celsius. Bake for 15 minutes. The chip are ready to eat.

If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony: Fernand Point

Stuffed Okra Recipe

I learnt this recipe from my dear Mom. I used to watch her carefully when she used to prepare it. Okras are quote popular among Indian foodies. In our family, it was more or like a custom to make it after a week or so. I loved my lunch when i got okras in it. And what I liked more about okras is the way they looked after getting cooked. Our family eats them with 'chapati' (a flat plane round made with kneaded wheat flour). I love making them: their taste, their smell is simply awesome.

A kg okras

5-6 onions

6 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste.

1/2 tsp coriander powder

A tsp ginger-garlic paste

5 green chilies

Half tsp red chili powder

Half tsp cumin seeds

2 big tsp vegetable oil

Wash okras under running water.

Wipe the surface of each okra with a clean and dry cloth.

Let them dry completely.

Cut the head and tail of every okra.

Make a slit in the middle of every okra. It should not be a complete cut.

Take turmeric powder, salt, and coriander powder in a big bowl.

Add to them the red chili powder.

Mix well.

Add 4-5 drop of water to this paste to avoid the stuff from coming out of okras.

Take a small spoon and pick some paste in it.

Stuff this paste in an okra. Use hands if you can't do it with a spoon.

Fill all the okras like that.

If some paste is left after stuffing, do not discard it. Keep it aside.

Dice onions into slices. Keep them aside.

In a skillet, heat oil. When it it is warm enough, add cumin seeds and saute them.

Add cut onions and green chilies(whole) to the sizzling oil.

Add ginger-garlic paste and ladle the contents.

Also add the paste that was left after stuffing ladyfingers

Put the burner to low position.

Put okra one by one in the skillet. Mix the mixture well.

Let the okras cook for half an hour.

Nutritional value of Okras

In a 255 gm of okra, you have the following percentages of vitamins, minerals, calories, and fat:

Vitamin C: 52%

Vitamin A: 17%

Fat: 1%

Sodium: 0%

Calcium: 24%

Iron: 9%

Dietary fiber: 9%

Carbohydrates: 5%

Follow these

If you want to make dry okras, do not add any water while cooking them

Any moistened okras may become slimy while cooking and mar the taste.

Keep the burner position on low while making them

Okras shrink while making, so take a good amount of them in the beginning.

Okras with Gravy

Well, the gravy style is more common in restaurants than in households. In Mumbai, however, people love to make it this way only. The delicious gravy is made in tomatoes and curd/yogurt. I have tried it only once. Gobble it with rice, 'naan', or 'chapati'.

Now about the okra recipe with gravy. You need to take:

500 gm okra pods

4 medium sized tomatoes

salt to taste

vegetable oil

5 tsp curd

2 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp coriander powder

2 green chilies

1/2 black chili powder

a tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

A small onion

Make tomato-puree by blending tomatoes in a grinder. Also make a paste of green chilies and blend it with ginger-garlic paste.Take thoroughly cleaned and dry okras.Cut them by their heads and tails.Now make a slit in every okra, in the middle.Pour salt over them.Shallow fry all okras in a pan, Let them simmer until they shrink a bit.Heat oil in a skillet. Add ginger-garlic-green chili paste. let it saute for a minute. Chop the onions into small pieces. Add onions to the garlic paste.Pour tomato puree all over.Add salt, turmeric powder, and red-chili powder.Add cumin seeds and coriander powder too.Now pour curd over the paste and blend well. Add fried okra to this mixture and blend again.

Cook the mixture for 5 minutes.Serve hot.

Okra Mucilage

Okras have good fiber content due to the presence of high degree of mucilage. It helps in preventing constipation and digests food easily. Considered good for those suffering from irritable bowl syndrome

Making Okra Indian Style

The following Okra recipe is very common to Indian households. It is served fondly in all the restaurants, homes, and marriage parties. It is the served as the main course meal and is taken with 'chapati'. As you go to restaurants here, you will find a recipe named "Bhindi Masala", 'Bhindi' is the Hindi name for ladyfinger and 'masala' stands for a mixture of spices. It is usually prepared in summers, the season when ladyfingers are readily available in market. In my home, making okra is more or like a custom. In summers, we usually have it every week or so.

1/2 kg of okra

6 onions

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp coriander power

1/2 tsp cumin seeds.

1/2 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

Wash okras in water. Let them dry completely.

To make them dry quickly, rub each of the okra with a dry cloth.

Keep them side in less they are free of moisture.

Now start cutting every okra into small pieces.

Slice off the head and tail of each one of them.

Make sure that the bowl you are cutting them is also completely dry. Keep these aside.

Slice onions lengthwise. In a skillet, warm some vegetable oil. and saute a few cumin seeds.

Add onions to the hot oil and let them become soft.

Add coriander powder,red chili powder, turmeric and ginger-garlic past.

Blend well. As the raw smell of onions goes away, add salt.

Now add all the cut okras into the paste and mix well.

Take cautions while blending lest you drop some of them out of skillet.

Lower the gas and let the okras get cooked for 30 minutes.

In between the time, keep on rotating okras with a big spoon so that they get cooked well.

Medicinal Value

If you expecting okra to be high calories-diet, you are highly mistaken. In fact, it is a low calorie and is often recommended for those who have high cholesterol values. The other constituents like fiber and vitamins are present in good amount. As an okra is slimy from inside, it can be a good supplement for people suffering from constipation, by aiding in digestion. Its mucilage acts as fiber and helps in  Okra pods are rich in Vitamin A and C too. They help in maintaining good texture of the skin. Not only this, okras have high antioxidants that lower the formation of free radicals.   Vitamin B complex like thiamine, pyridoxine are found in good amounts. Besides, an okra is also a good source of Vitamin K, which helps in blood clotting. Manganese, calcium , and magnesium too are present in fairly large amounts. Researches have shown that an okra has ability to fight against cancers.

Okra has good medicinal values, making it highly recommendable in certain conditions. As it is slimy, its mucilage help those who have irritable bowls daily. Its seeds too have nutrition vale. Okras protects from ailments of large intestine. Their mucous plays a vital rile in protecting intestinal membrane; it cover the membrane with slime and prevents them from leaking. Pods, if eaten as whole retain their nutrition, while cutting them into several small pieces cause a loss of some of the beneficial elements. In different countries, okras are prepared differently. For example, in Nigeria, it is prepared as a stew, while in Malaysia, it is a part of 'surimi', a fish paste. In southern part of USA, people prefer it taking in the form of fried okra.  Okra and chicken combo is popular in Brazil. A Caribbean dish, okra is used in a special dish called callaloo.