I am going to cook okra for the first time in my life. I have eaten okra before as a child. The fact that I never liked it has nothing to do with my mom’s cooking (she’s an excellent cook). It was prepared in a tomato sauce, an authentic Arabic recipe, and this creates slimy okra. I don’t have many food qualms but that is one.
I bought two packages of okra yesterday at the Farmer’s Market, from the same lady who sells us our chickens and eggs.
This lady gave me a recipe for fried okra and also Robin has a detailed recipe/photo tutorial here. (Be sure to visit just for the photos, even if you don’t like okra!) I am going to bread the okra pieces in cornmeal, as suggested by the egg lady.
We love okra and it is popular in my culture, always crispy, though. Never slimy. Here is how my mother-in-law makes it: Wash, cut and dry the okra. Dip it in cornmeal and seasoning, then in egg and fry it(not too much oil). I am sure you can do something else other than the egg. Here is how I make it: heat some oil, add mustard seeds and heat them till they pop (mustard seeds are very common in Indian cooking), add chopped onions and cook till translucent, then add the okra, some turmeric and salt. Cook on high for 5 min, stirring and then on low for 15-20 minutes (till done). Add paprika towards the end, if desired. I often skip the onions, I actually do not think that they are necessary. I love the flavor of mustard seeds, it adds a nutty kind of flavor. And I am a believer in the health-value of turmeric (used a lot in my culture as well!
Wow, Sangeeta! That sounds amazing. I do have mustard seeds. I think I will be brave and try it. I have the turmeric, too. The Arabic culture uses turmeric frequently, also.
Thanks!
This is how we do it Wardeh: Wash and dry the okra. Cut into about 1/2-inch slices. Dip them in a thin egg/milk wash (about one egg in 1/4-1/2 cup of milk) then into cornmeal and flour (again about 1 cup flour to one cup cornmeal). Then pan fry or deep fry. This is a great Southern tradition. I must say that we like ours with morn cornmeal and less flour though-about a cup of cornmeal with maybe 1/2 cup of flour mixed in. You’ll love it!
Tracy in NC
Oops, I made a mistake with my mom-in-laws recipe! Tracy is right and I was wrong. She dips them in the egg first and then the cornmeal.
Sangeeta –
Those were so good! I didn’t have the mustard seeds, don’t know where they went, but I used the paprika and no matter about reversing the egg and cornmeal because I skipped eggs altogether. Jeff loved them and so did the kids and so did I!
Tracy –
Thanks for sharing your recipe! We did love them! Man, they were good. Wish I had some more okra to make more tonight.