Okra

July 30, 2009 - 8:15 PM by Jessica

Okra_What'sFresh_9-13-06 Israelis love their fresh fruits and vegetables and it’s a facet of life here that I’ve gained a taste for as well, waiting until I’m at the supermarket or fruit store (‘yarkan’) before I decide what produce I want to cook for any given meal. It adds a certain surprise element to your menus, and I like that. So if it’s September/October, there are figs; late winter brings strawberries, while summer is the time for the usual summer fruits, and in abundance. Now it’s all mangoes and in a few weeks, it’ll be time for limes. As for veggies, I’m all about string beans and zucchini right now, and the root vegetables will be coming around in the late fall and winter. And so on.

As a produce maven, I enjoyed my encounter this morning with an elderly man at one of the vegetable counters in my local supermarket. I was pleased to find okra — a staple of the American South and, of Israeli cafeterias — and started thinking about how I would cook it. I, of course, in my usual rush, started scooping it into the plastic grocery bag, while he was carefully going over each one, and they’re small, making sure not to take any leaves into his bag. Probably because they make it weigh more, so a smart decision on his part, but not a process for which I would have enough patience. He did ask me if I knew how to cook okra, the kind of questioning that you often get in this part of the world (similar to the middle-aged man who yesterday pointed to my babies’ legs sticking out of the stroller — although fairly well covered by the extra sunshade on top of the stroller — and told me to put a blanket on them to save them from a sunburn. Thank you very much). I told the okra man that I was planning on a tomato-y sauce, perhaps cooking it with chicken, and he nodded in agreement. I guess he approved.

Here’s the recipe I’m making, a fairly traditional way, except for the curry, of handling okra:
Curried Okra with Chickpeas and Tomatoes (courtesy of epicurious)

yield: Makes 4 main-course or 6 side-dish servings
active time: 20 min
total time: 35 min

ingredients

1 1/4 lb small fresh okra, left untrimmed, or 2 (10-oz) packages frozen whole okra (not thawed)
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 teaspoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 (14- to 15-oz) can whole tomatoes in juice, tomatoes chopped, reserving juice
1 (19-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (2 cups)
2/3 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

preparation

If using fresh okra, trim, leaving tops intact, being careful not to cut into pods.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion and garlic with ginger and curry powder, stirring, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, chickpeas, and water and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in okra, salt, and pepper and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until okra is tender, about 10 minutes.

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Tags: epicurious, Okra • Category: Food, General, Israeliness, Life

Comments

2 Comments on Okra

Marquis Crocker on Sat, Aug 1st 2009 2:48 AM

My wife wient to Dallas wednesday, and told me to find supper. I went to the Deli at Wal-Mart, they had tomatoes and okra, and it was soooo good.

Peace

Philip Blom on Fri, Aug 7th 2009 10:20 AM

Israelis call it “snot” due to it’s slimy nature. It’s got such excellent viscosity, that I would like to investigate its suitability to make biodiesel. The okra plant apparently grows quite big and should therefore be excellent for biomass.

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