Okra is so popular in the South! I grew up on it but sadly admit that I order at restaurants more now than bother cooking it. This week I was given a couple of pounds of fresh okra and needed to come up with a way to use it.
First thought…. just chop up and freeze to use in soups.
Giving a little more thought… I split the batch into two piles (larger pods and the rest – just about half/half)
Taking the smaller pods, I cut them into bit sized pieces before tossing them in a medium pot with 3 cans of stewed tomatoes. I know, I know.. fresh tomatoes would have made all the difference but I ate those yesterday! I couldn’t get enough of them! LOL So I was left to pulling out the canned tomatoes, adding 2 teaspoons of Splenda and bringing to a boil. Once boiling, turned back the heat and left to simmer for about an hour. Oh..they are excellent. Now sure what I will do with a large pot of this…thinking I will freeze some for stews and soups.
With the remainder, I decided to try roasting. We roast other vegetables all the time, so why not?
With a large non stick pan, heat about 2 tablespoons oil on medium high
Once oil is HOT, place the okra cut side down. Leave it alone for about 3 minutes as the hot oil will make it crispy, not slimy.
While the okra is browning, combine about 1/2 teaspoon of each: Paprika, Cumin, Coriander and Turmeric. Mix well.
Turn the okra over and sprinkle the seasoning mix over them.
Drop the heat back to medium and let cook until the color and tenderness you enjoy. They only take about 4 minutes on each side. Just shake the pan every minute or so to toss around to coat well.
They are WONDERFUL!!! Sadly I do not have a picture of my plate because I ate them as I pulled them out of the HOT OIL… yes, I do know they were hot…but I popped them in my mouth anyway. Enjoying a cold beverage now to counter the hot oil effects on my tongue and roof of mouth.
This picture closely resembles them without the side dish. I dipped mine in plain yogurt to help cool them off. No patience at all!
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