Okra is an eternal fixture in the household. It is sliced, diced, quartered, sautéed, cooked with lentils, added to potatoes and other vegetables. But never deep fried. Little bit of okra mucilage (the slimy stuff) was not a big issue for us till our four-year old came into the picture. Though she is pretty open to eating most vegetables the mucilage was not helping us. Little does a child know the health benefits of okra mucilage. There is even a patent for extracting mucilage.
Adamant that I am not going to fry the okra I started roasting them. It is a pretty straightforward process. I like to slice the okra along the length to minimize the cut, and expose the seeds and interior to help the okra dehydrate faster in the oven (preset at 400 F).
Ingredients
- One pound okra* – sliced
- One medium sized julienned red onion
- One teaspoon of minced fresh ginger and garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon of Kashmiri red chili powder (if not available use paprika)**
- 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder
- One tablespoon oil
- Salt to taste
Toss together all the ingredients and spread them in a oven tray lined with parchment paper. Roast the okra in the oven for 20 minutes. Enjoy as is or with flatbreads.
*Key part to a good okra dish are the pods. A good okra pod is about the length of the finger, bright green, velvety and pliable. It will break clean when pressure is applied to the tip. Mature pods are generally about five to six inches long, and tend to be fibrous/stringy and spiny.
**Kashmiri chili powder is mildly hot and has a brilliant red color. Paprika is milder than Kashmiri chili powder and if needed the heat can be increased by adding a pinch of cayenne to paprika.
Global Morsel 