When people think of okra, they often think of slime and goo, but I’m here to tell you that, with the right technique, the tender green pod might become your new favorite vegetable. 

Growing up in Pakistan, okra was always golden and crisp but also tender, robed in a saucy masala of juicy tomatoes and velvety onions. I still make it this way in my New York kitchen whenever I return from the farmers market with a bag of okra. Following my mom’s recipe, I start with a base of garlic, ginger, chile powder, and turmeric. Then I add the onions and fried okra and simmer everything to meld the flavors.

Sadly, I can’t always find okra at my local farmers market, but a bag of the frozen stuff from the Indian supermarket works great in a pinch. It comes stemmed and sliced, which saves me time in the kitchen; I just cook it a little longer and don’t deep-fry it (the extra water makes it splatter).

When buying fresh okra, look for medium pods that are bright green, dry, unblemished, and no longer than your index finger: The bigger, the tougher is the rule I go by. Okra is surprisingly inexpensive and will keep for about four days, refrigerated in a paper towel-lined produce bag. You can use any extra okra in this Caribbean-Style Sautéed Okra recipe, which is a personal favorite. 

To clean okra, give the pods a rinse, then spread them on a kitchen towel. (They soak up water, so it’s important that they be as dry as possible to ensure proper crisping.) With some quick prep, this stir-fry comes together in no time. I encourage you to sop it up with roti (flatbread), like chapatis or parathas, or to ladle it over basmati rice.

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For his take on Cajun gumbo, chef Justin Devillier of La Petite Grocery in New Orleans uses rendered duck fat in the roux instead of butter and quartered ducks in lieu of the classic chicken. In this duck and andouille gumbo recipe, we’ve called for only duck legs, which stay tender during a low-and-slow cooking process and won’t run the risk of drying out like breast meat.

Featured in: “The Hunter’s Way to Cook a Louisiana Thanksgiving.”

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“Peanut stews are found across West Africa, with ancient roots in dishes made with native groundnuts before the peanut arrived from the New World in the 16th century,” writes Dr. Jessica B. Harris, historian and author of High on the Hog. “Some are thick and served over rice or millet couscous, others thin and soupy, depending on where in Africa you are.” This version, inspired by Malian maafe and Ghana’s groundnut stews, pairs chicken with a generous portion of okra, tomatoes, eggplant, and hot chiles, which lighten the stew’s intense richness. Still, it’s the indispensable peanut that gives this dish its essential earthy character.

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Most gumbos begin with a roux—a flavorful thickener made by cooking fat with flour. But there are as many ways to make a gumbo as there are cooks in Louisiana. Many versions of the dish, especially those of Creole origin, are made without a roux, including this recipe from The Picayune’s Creole Cookbook, which uses a combination of tomatoes and okra as a thickener. While adding tomatoes to gumbo is heresy in many Cajun kitchens, Creole cooks are fans of the bright, sweet complexity they add to the dish—and so are we.

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The international depth of culinary okra is astounding. Okra pods are grown and eaten across India and Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Mediterranean Europe, South and Central America, and the southern United States. Each locale has their culinary traditions and recipes. Statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations show that India produces dramatically more okra than any other country, over 6 million tons in 2014, followed by Nigeria producing 2 million. Third in line is Sudan producing just shy of 300,000 tons. The United States limps over the finish line in 21st position, producing just under 10,000 tons in 2014. In 2017 the U.S. imported almost 50,000 tons of okra, both fresh and frozen, most of which came from Mexico, Honduras, and the rest of Central America.

While the South has always, in general, embraced okra, some regions of the country are largely unaware of it. And even in the South, most cooks don’t stray beyond a handful of common recipes. Which is a shame because okra is so versatile: You can pickle, ferment, and dehydrate it—these are all technically ways to eat okra raw. You can fry, boil, bake, grill, and steam it. You can slice, mash, julienne, and dice it. You can bread, batter, marinate, and season it. You can curry, casserole, stir-fry, and stew it.

But somehow, it always comes back to slime. A 1905 USDA Farmers’ Bulletin states, “Okra when cooked in water or in a mixture with liquid may develop a mucilaginous consistency, which many persons especially like in this vegetable.” However, by 1949 the principal horticulturist of the USDA, Victor R. Boswell, assessed that “okra alone is generally considered too ‘gooey,’ or mucilaginous, to suit American tastes.” In 1951 the same Victor R. Boswell authored an updated USDA Farmers’ Bulletin on okra; note the significant shift in tone from the 1905 edition: “When cooked ‘straight’ its mucilaginous properties do not suit most people.” In a 1974 USDA survey, adults named okra as one of the three vegetables they liked least, and children rated it with the four they liked second least, citing the texture as being undesirable. And more recently, in 2007, AOL conducted an online survey of America’s most hated foods and okra ranked sixth. In the span of a century, okra has gone from “especially liked” to “most hated.”

I recently stumbled across a forgotten jar of fermented okra pods in my basement. They had been down there for an entire year, and all the okra stereotypes existed in this jar to the power of 10. My discovery of that jar happened to coincide with reading Jessica Harris’s The Africa Cookbook, in which she encourages okra eaters to embrace the slime. As I pulled a chunk of gooey okra from the jar, the slime stretched out like the “danglies” we used to spit onto the ceilings at school, watching them drip down and hoping they’d land on some innocent’s head. Embrace the slime, I thought. Oysters are slimy and people pay good money to slurp those snot-balls from their shells, so why not 365-day fermented okra? For research, I thought. And gulped it down. It tasted good, maybe even great. The chile pepper that had also spent a year in the jar, and the traditional spice mix of mustard and peppercorns, had all created a delicious homogeneous flavor.

I’m not asking you to eat 365-day fermented okra (you can build up to that), but I am asking you to reframe the way you think about the slimy-okra cliché. First, because there are probably slimy things that you like to eat (be honest), so why single out okra? Second, because there are so many ways to eat okra without it being slimy: Y’all just don’t know how to cook it properly. I believe there is an okra out there for everyone. Eating okra raw wins over a lot of people, for example—there is a grassy sweetness to the pods, and the satisfying feeling of healthiness and well-being from consuming something crunchy and green. When it comes to cooking the pods, there are three main themes behind the myriad preparations: pairing with acid, high-heat cooking, and diluting with water.

Okra Plus Acid

Add any acid when cooking okra—tomatoes, lemon juice, or vinegar—and you’ll end up with a less slimy dish. This means cooking okra can be as simple and delicious as throwing some okra pods and chopped tomatoes in a roasting pan with a little salt and pepper or Cajun seasoning and baking it all on medium-high for 30 to 40 minutes.

The pairing of okra and tomatoes is a useful combination in the kitchen because, as summer crops, they produce in abundance at around the same time (July and August are peak production times in the Southeast). This is reflected in the panoply of okra-tomato recipes you’ll find if you start looking: stewed okra and tomatoes; okra and tomato soup; sautéed okra and tomatoes; gumbo; succotash; roasted okra and tomatoes; Southern ratatouille; Brunswick stew; and so on.

The trend is also reflected in most okra-eating regions. In the Middle East we see meat (often beef) and bamia stewed with tomatoes; India has bhindi masala, tomato bhindi sabzi, and a whole host of okra-tomato variations; a West African gombo sauce is basically just okra, tomatoes, and chiles; ginisang okra from the Philippines is sautéed okra with pork, but includes tomatoes; Zeytinyağlı bamya is a Turkish dish that is okra in olive oil with onions and tomatoes and peppers; and the list goes on. The combination is based on more than just commonality of seasons, though—you won’t find recipe after recipe pairing okra and zucchini. The secret is that the acidity of the tomatoes cuts through the mucilage.

Okra Plus Water

Everything about okra is slime this and slime that until we get to gumbo. As soon as the topic of gumbo comes up, there is a switch in terminology and suddenly we’re praising okra’s magical thickening effect. A quick look at gumbo recipes shows a wide variety of versions and ingredients being employed, including meats, seafood, and thickeners. Okra doesn’t even need to be included for a dish to be called gumbo. In New Orleans Cuisine contributor Cynthia LeJeune Nobles wrote, “Today’s purists still insist that there are only two types of gumbo, okra and filé—period. Those desiring more nuances classify it into three broad categories, Creole gumbo, Cajun gumbo, and gumbo z’herbes, then subcategorize it into gumbo fevis (okra gumbo), gumbo filé, or plain roux gumbo, and then break it down at least a dozen times more according to the main ingredients.” That purist definition of fevi gumbo is reflected in writing as far back as 1788. Fevi is a Creole term for “okra” or “okra gumbo.” Today the use of okra is still a distinguishing part of modern gumbo dishes.

Stuffed Okra

Okra Plus Heat

According to my research, grilled okra comes up as the number one okra converter. Take medium-sized whole pods, brush with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, or some Cajun seasoning. Grill on high heat until the pods begin to brown on each side and serve hot with a generous squeeze of fresh lime. Throw in a spicy mayonnaise dip and these tender, no-slime pods will have people questioning their anti-okra convictions. The light charring brings out the underlying sweetness of the pods, and the lime really takes this dish from good to awesome. I think that’s in part due to the pairing of flavors, but the acidity of the lime may also balance out some of the residual slimy textures. On top of all those flavors is the slime-reducing nature of high-heat preparations.

Meanwhile, there are many who will tell you that the only way to eat okra is fried. It is certainly the way many people are introduced to okra, probably as a side at barbecue joints or Southern diners. Perhaps as part of a family tradition in summer, when okra is podding in the garden or the farmers’ markets start selling. Pre-breaded frozen okra ready for dumping in the fryer is available year-round.

There are many ways to fry okra, but when people talk about fried okra they speak to a certain preparation of sliced pods rolled in meal and deep-fried. Within that description there are still many variations and nuances and family recipes and my grandmother makes the best…One person I spoke to told me their family recipe was two parts cornmeal and one part flour, as passed down from their great-grandmother who was born in 1863. In 1857 The Southern Planter journal offered this advice: “Okra is very good fried. Cut into thin slices and fry in lard or butter.” You can’t get much simpler than that!

This excerpt is adapted from Chris Smith’s book The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration (Chelsea Green Publishing, June 2019) and is reprinted with permission from the publisher.

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Northern Indian bhindi masala—a dish of sautéed okra and tomatoes—gets a West Indian spin with the addition of Scotch bonnet chile, coconut flakes, lime juice, and cilantro. This recipe is adapted from Provisions: The Roots of Caribbean Cooking by Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau.

Featured in: “Provisions” Is an Ode to the Remarkable Women Behind Caribbean Cuisine

Equipment

• Large Skillet
• Heatproof Bowl
• Serving Dish

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This lightly spicy recipe adapted from Jacob Clark of Brooklyn’s Maison Premiere makes the perfect, puckery bar snack. The okra can also be a satisfying garnish for Bloody Marys.

What You Will Need

• 1-Quart Jar or Heat-Proof Container
• Small Pot
• Small Bowl

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This recipe, from Madhur Jaffrey’s A Taste of India, is part of SAVEUR’s November 2017 cookbook club. Though we’ve tested this recipe in the SAVEUR test kitchen, we present it in its original, unedited form from the book. Says Jaffrey:

This absolutely delicious dish is a great favorite with my family. The okra is stuffed very simply with coriander, cumin, and lots of amchoor, a tart, green mango powder that is sold in most Indian grocery shops. If, for some reason, you cannot find it, leave it out. Instead, sprinkle about 2 tsp of lemon juice over the top of the okra just when you are ready to cover it for the final 5 minutes of cooking. Stuffed okra is very versatile and may be served with almost any meal.

The book of Indian regional cuisines was 30 years ahead of its time, and is now more relevant than ever

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If you’re wandering through the pastel-hued Danish arches in Christiansted, St. Croix, you’d likely walk right past Harvey’s, an unassuming local’s restaurant adorned with sun-bleached newspapers and wooden bead curtains. Those Obama election-era clippings don’t do much to suggest that the kitchen makes one of the best meals on the island: a superlative pot fish and fungi.

That’s pronounced foon-ji, and it has less to do with mushrooms than okra, cooked into a thick, smooth mash with cornmeal and water. Then comes the pot fish (so named because it was traditionally caught with a pot), a whole bony reef fish deep fried until crisp and topped with sweet onion gravy. The fish is crispy and showy, with the salty, spicy sauce seeping into every cavity; the fungi, mellow and nutty, is perfect for catching all the flakes of fish and gravy that go astray. Digging your fork into the center of custard thick fungi, you begin to understand the flavors of St. Croix.

Situated just southeast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea, the island is the largest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, and one that receives its fair share of tourists but relatively few mentions of its distinctive cuisine. For breakfast, think saltfish, hardboiled eggs, and freshly-fried johnny cakes. For lunch and dinner, goat curry or stewed conch in butter. And for dessert, rum cake or red grout, a guava-flavored tapioca sweet. But what Crucian cuisine also embodies is the food of 20,000-plus slaves who lived there in the 1800s, harvesting sugar cane and cooking dishes with what was available. To these cooks of limited means, seafood and inexpensive grains were main sources of sustenance. Enter pot fish and fungi, unofficially recognized as the dish of the US Virgin Islands.

And if you’re going to get it, get it at Harvey’s. While you can order pot fish and fungi at nearly every Crucian restaurant around the island, Sarah Harvey and her husband (known locally as “Mr. Harvey”) have been serving Crucian cuisine for the past 30-some years how it should be: unpretentiously. The tables are covered with checkered cloth and paper placemats, the homemade Scotch Bonnet hot sauces are housed in old liquor bottles, and the Harveys are always there, stirring the fungi, manning the bar, and laughing with the locals both sitting inside the building and walking past the open windows.

When you find a seat at one of the tables, start with one of her own homemade juices. For something fresh and sweet, go for passion fruit or guava; for something less expected, try sweet-tart sorrel, bitter maubi, or nectar-thick soursop. When you receive your order of pot fish and fungi—with “provisions,” a.k.a. sides—reach for the hot sauce, give your fish a nice douse, and grab a few napkins.

While you’ll start eating with a fork, you’ll end finish using your hands, using your fingers to pull out pin bones that inevitably end up in your mouth and breaking open the fish head to suck out all the little bits of flesh nestled inside. You will make a mess. Your fingers will smell like fish. And you won’t want to miss a morsel.

Harvey’s Restaurant
11B Company St.
Christiansted, St. Croix 00820
340-773-3433

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Arnaud’s Café Brûlot Diabolique

The Menu

• Sazeracs
• Oysters Rockefeller
• Fried Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
• White Rice
• Smothered Okra
• Prejean’s Potato Salad
• Bananas Foster
• Arnaud’s Cafe Brûlot Diabolique

More About This Menu

1. Before you get started, ready your gumbo arsenal with our gumbo tool and ingredient guide, and be sure to check out chef Donald Link’s tricks for perfecting the dish »
2. Most Louisianians believe you can’t make a good gumbo without a roux. That may be so, but, as it turns out, you can make a roux without exhaustively stirring it over a hot stove. Alton Brown, host of Good Eats, offers cramped wrists and sweating brows a respite with his simple, indirect cooking method »
3. In Louisiana gumbos, rice functions more as a garnish than as a starchy pillar of the meal. Don’t serve your gumbo atop rice—rather, stir the rice in just before serving.
4. At Prejean’s restaurant in Lafayette, LA, it is common for diners to stir potato salad right into the gumbo. Doing so cools the gumbo down and adds a welcome creaminess. You can make the potato salad up to a day in advance: pull it out of the refrigerator about twenty minutes before serving and garnish with cayenne and scallions.
5. You can also make the smothered okra up to a day in advance; reheat over medium-low heat before serving.
6. Read more about Louisiana gumbo in Keith Pandolfi’s feature Gumbo Paradise »

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Okra is a prized ingredient in Louisiana, particularly for gumbo, where it lends an earthy flavor and serves as a natural thickening agent. Since the fuzzy green pod’s growing season is limited to the spring through the fall, resourceful home cooks preserve the vegetable in a variety of ways. Tina Hensgens, who works at the Falcon Rice Mill in Crowley, Louisiana, smothers her freshly picked okra with tomatoes in the summer, and freezes large batches of it so she and her husband can enjoy it year-round.

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