No More Mediocre Okra

Remember the look that Luke had on his face when Yoda, with his dying breath, said, "There . . . is . . . ANOTHER . . . SKYWALKER. . . ."?

That's sort of what it was like the first time I had Indian-style okra.

If you're like most Southerners, your idea of perfect okra involves a batter made from buttermilk, cornmeal and flour. I used to be the same way. That's how my grandmother made it, and that's how they made it in the school cafeteria, and that's more or less how I assume they make it at Green Acres (where a piping hot bag costs but a buck-forty and is my secret treat to myself more often than I'm willing to publicly admit). But my household had a revelation. A daring order we made one night at Taj India led us to it.

The Bhindi Masala at Taj is a standard Punjabi preparation: the green seed pods are sliced, then sautéed in ghee with onions and tomatoes. The bright acidity of the tomatoes prevents the okra's delightful mucilage from turning into disgusting slime when exposed to water. And the addition of coriander, cumin, cayenne and turmeric does nothing to blunt the sweet, strong flavor of the okra. The first time I ordered the dish was the first time I'd ever had okra that wasn't battered and fried. That was three years ago, and there's a big difference in what we do with okra now.

Inspired by Bhindi Masala, Brad started sautéing okra on the stove top with olive oil and garlic. Eventually, he improved the simple recipe by moving the whole operation into the oven. Since we have a tiny kitchen, roasting the okra frees an eye on the stove top for making magic potatoes or some other splendid dish.

BradBrad's roasted okra

Ingredients:

1 pound okra, washed and thoroughly dried
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (more or less, as you like)
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
salt and pepper

Technique:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

(MAKE SURE THE OKRA IS DRY.)

Cut off stem ends and slice okra length-wise.

Place the okra and garlic in a casserole dish or baking pan.

Drizzle with olive oil, then stir around with your hand or a spoon to make sure the everything is well coated.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Roast for 10-15 minutes. (The more thickly you layer the okra in the pan, the more slowly it will cook.)

P.S. Botanically speaking, okra is a member of the family Malvaceae and a cousin to the hibiscus. And outside of the U.S, almost everybody calls it "ladies' fingers."