Photo courtesy iStockphoto / Thinkstock
I observe Indian - style curry to be the perfect match for okra .
About three weeks ago , one of our garden hencoop plots was grass - ridden ( again ) , so a couple of us cram in . I climb up behind a trellis of worn-out pea vine to take out them out . Among the weeds , I saw a row of what reckon to me like prehistoric plants : sturdy ruddy stem turn , deeply cut ruddy - unripened leave of absence and outstanding blank blossom with big garnet - red centers , like a rose of Sharon or a hibiscus .
My garden mate identified them for me as the Abelmoschus esculentus she had planted as seedlings . This Northern okra was a knockout . The three varieties there — slender and gullible , chunky and green and some with scraggy , scarlet pods — soon began to distinguish themselves , too .
I ’m kind of unsure about cooking okra ; it does n’t follow naturally to me . If I cook it too long , it becomes wretched . If I pick it when it ’s too heavy , it ’s “ corky ” and too tough to eat , and arrive at a big - deal gumbo with it seems like a production .
I ’m con though ; specially from Rainbeau Ridge ’s Georgia - born assistant Malva sylvestris shaper , Blair , who grew up eating okra and have sex all about it . She recommend giving the minuscule pods a quick stir - fry , a method that produce okra that ’s both crunchy and delicious !
Amerindic - style curry ( or Thai ) is a perfect equal for okra and is typical of that culinary art , too , where the long , elegant pods are scream lady fingers .
To add it to a mix of veggie , I cook it separately , usually before the rest of the veggie , so the okra plant keeps its steadfast texture and does n’t become gum - like . Simply tot up it back into the mix when the other vegetable are ready .
I also learned to lightlypicklethe okra : to geld and houseclean it , then blanch and brine it . Along with pickled peppercorn , pickled okra became a family favorite last wintertime .
Like creamyfava beans , suave and duskykale , olive - shaped Mexican gherkins , and other “ What the heck are those ? ” vegetables I help tend this summer , okra is a full - fledge add-on to my veggie repertoire . You do n’t have to have deep Southern geographical zone to grow it , and you do n’t need a drawl to make and revel it . In fact , here ’s my friend Wendy ’s curry okra recipe — she still has her Aussie accent !
Recipe: Curried Okra
“ I sum up garlic and sliced summertime squash to the onion and served it with brown Elmer Leopold Rice . The gumbo was n’t ugly at all , ” says Wendy .
Ingredients
Preparation
Place the Abelmoschus esculentus in a large , microwave oven - secure beauty ; make in microwave oven on gamy for six minutes .
Heat the European olive tree oil and Cuminum cyminum seeds together in a gravid frypan over medium oestrus until the cumin seminal fluid swell and turn golden brown . Fry the onions in the heated oil for three minutes . Add the tomatoes to the mixture and cook another three minutes . Stir the okra into the mixture ; season with the curry powder and salt . Cook and stir the variety until hot , about three minutes more .
wait on spicy .
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