Summer Is Here, Savor the Okra!

Growing up in Houston, my mom, who is originally from India, grew okra plants taller than me. Their large, pale-yellow flowers magically untwisted to form a five-petal funnel with a reddish-brown throat. They resembled a hibiscus flower, which is a close relative. They’d open for a day, and then fall, leaving behind an okra pod that grew quickly enough that we could harvest them in a few days. I can still feel the prickly, itchy sting of the plant’s small sharp hairs as I inadvertently played tug of war with a tall plant while trying to pluck ripe okra. My mom was not too happy about this either. She insisted I use scissors to gently cut off the pods, rather than struggle with her cherished plants.

My mom's garden is still full of okra. Why, and what does she do with it all? Our long, hot Houston summers are ideal for okra to thrive. Okra, which is easy to grow, is a popular vegetable in Indian cuisine, and it travels quite well. Okra is called bhindi in Hindi, the main Indian language of India. In British English, okra is referred to as lady's fingers, a descriptive name derived from its long, elegant, tapered shape reminiscent of a woman’s fingers.

If you are familiar with Indian cuisine, you may have heard of okra dishes such as bhindi pyaz, which is okra and onions, and bharwa bhindi, okra slit lengthwise and stuffed with spices, then sautéed with slices of onion. Both recipes are respectively in my first and second cookbooks, which would have been incomplete if they lacked an okra recipe.

Every time my family travels, my mom gets up early and makes sada paratha, which is a hot, soft and flaky plain Indian flatbread. She then places a stuffed okra in each one, adds a slice of achaar (mango pickle), rolls it into an Indian burrito, then wraps them in foil. She insists on bringing them on all of our travels since they taste good at room temperature and stay good for a couple of days.

We have almost missed a flight as we enjoyed these Indian roti's at an airport food court, after spending time telling curious TSA agents about the Indian food I had packed in my carry-on. Imagine our astonishment as we heard our names on the loudspeaker announcements for last call, while we were sitting there enjoying okra stuffed flatbreads. We have enjoyed these okra flatbreads while waiting in our car to drive onto the Bolivar Island ferry in Galveston; inside the gates of Disney World after a Disney cast member told me to bring him some next time we did a bag check; as a quick snack in our hotel room before seeing Multnomah Falls in Portland, Oregon; while watching Old Faithful erupt at Yellowstone National Park; and on so many more of our travels around the United States.

Okra most likely originated in East Africa and has been there for over 4,000 years. It’s thought that around that same time, Africa’s Bantu people brought okra to India. Enslaved Africans introduced okra to the Americas likely in the late 1600s or early 1700s. It became common throughout the southern United States by the early 1800s.

Over time and across regions, okra has taken on different characteristics. American okra tends to be a bit longer and straighter, while Indian okra is often shorter with a slight curl at the tail end, though some Indian varieties are straight, but much shorter. The taste and texture of the different okra varieties are not significant enough to worry about which one to cook with.

When buying fresh okra, which will be in abundance at farmers markets and grocery stores throughout the summer, avoid the flimsy, flexible ones. Look for crisp pods in which the tail end can be snapped off. Avoid very hard okra that are over ripe with brown seeds instead of the ideal white seeds.

Okra has a noticeable amount of a slimly substance known as mucilage, which are long chains of carbohydrates found in many plants and are important for seed germination and water and food storage. It’s released when the okra is cut and washed. The first time I cooked okra, I washed it after I chopped it and had slime everywhere!

This mucilage is desirable when making stews such as gumbo because it thickens the dish. In many cuisines, especially Indian cuisine, the slime in okra is not wanted. That is why it is important to wash it and pat dry before chopping, which helps reduce the release of the sticky material. 

Drying okra makes an excellent toddler activity and teaches them that okra is a good thing while they are young and impressionable. I would let my little girl rinse whole okra pods in water, and then lay them out on a towel and pat each one dry. It cut my kitchen prep work in half, taught my girl good life skills and ensured that minimal or no slime appeared. Cooking okra with lime juice also helps reduce the slime. I also never cover okra when cooking because doing so will darken its color.

Okra is best enjoyed with whole wheat Indian flatbreads called chapati. We tear off a piece and grab pieces of sautéed okra and sliced onion and savor it. A perfect pairing to balance out consistencies, texture and taste is a small, hot bowl of dal. My favorite to pair with okra is yellow moong lentil stew.

I leave you with one of my easiest and most flavorful Indian okra recipes that you can make with fresh okra or frozen okra. Frozen okra? But wait, we just talked about how bountiful fresh okra will be in the summer months, and how we will see beautiful lady's fingers at our farmers markets and stores, and how to first wash and then thoroughly dry the okra before cutting it to avoid the goo. So why talk about frozen okra? Because I am certain after you try cooking okra Indian style, you will crave this dish when not in season, and having a bag of cut, frozen okra in your freezer will not only save you prep time but will also allow you to enjoy this dish year round. You could also cook a good amount of fresh okra in the summer, and then freeze it so you can have it on hand.

There is one trick you must learn if cooking with frozen okra: do not allow it to thaw, or you will have a big slimy mess of flimsy, sticky, gooey okra. Simply put the frozen okra into hot oil and add lime juice to help cut the slime, which will quickly cook off. Visit spicegirlkichen.com to find more recipes.