Everything you ever wanted to know about Okra.
Including some great Okra Recipes. To access these recipes just click the relevant menu button to the left.
You'll find recipes for Okra Soup, Curried Okra, Fried Okra, Fried Okra and Potatoes, Okra and Shrimp and Chicken and Okra Gumbo, amongst others.
Okra These recipes should give you some idea of the versatility of this African vegetable.
It is indigenous to Africa , and was brought to the United States and the West Indies by African Slaves some 3 centuries ago.
Since then Okra has become a popular food vegetable, especially in the Southern United States, Africa, parts of Asia and the Middle East.
Okra is a member of the Mallow family and is closely related to the Hibiscus and cotton plants, it bears large yellow flowers and is sometimes planted in flower gardens for the display of yellow flowers it produces.
Okra is available fresh during most of the year in the Southern States, and is generally obtainable from May to October in other areas. (It is of course available throughout the year in Africa.) Okra can also be obtained frozen, canned and pickled.
I
t is imperative that fresh Okra is picked young. After the pod is more than 8 days old it becomes almost useless for cooking. If you buy fresh Okra you should get young pods without any signs of bruising. The Okra pods should be tender but not soft. You shouldn't buy pods if they are any longer than 4 inches, as this is a sign that they have been left too long before picking.
You should
prepare Okra as soon as possible after it has been picked. However, if necessary you may store the Okra pods in a refrigerator after first placing them in a paper bag or wrapping in an absorbant paper towel.
Do not attempt to keep Okra Pods in closed plastic bags or containers as the pods will weep and become messy.
Do not keep fresh Okra for more than 3 days under refrigeration.
Okra is a mucilaginous plant as such it gives off a slippery/sticky substance when cut. This substance gives okra it's thickening properties. This is why it is so useful in soups and stews. However, when used raw or as a vegetable it shouldn't be cut into too small pieces, as the more it is cut, the stickier it becomes.
Okra is used raw, pickled or cooked on it's own and compliments tomatoes, onions, eggplant, corn and peppers. Many people prefer to eat Okra fried or breaded as this reduces it's slipperyness.
In many African dialects the word for Okra sounds similar to Gumbo. In Tshiluna it is called ki-ngumbo.
The Portuguese thought that quillobo, another word for Okra, sounded like quingombo. This is the reason that Okra is often referred to as Gumbo.
In the United States it is far more common. to refer to dishes which contain Okra as Gumbo's.
In fact,
technically you shouldn't call a dish which doesn't contain Okra a gumbo.
March 2011, I have
added recipes for Dill Pickled Okra, Indian Stuffed Okra, Spicy Okra Relish, Egyptian Lamb and Okra Stew, and Okra in Yoghurt Sauce. I'm sure you'll find that
these new Okra Recipes taste great
The Okra recipes provided are not contained in the Africhef African Recipes Cookbook, which contains a number of
traditional African Okra recipes.
Have fun and enjoy the website recipes. Try them all. Then extend your repetoire of ethnic African Recipes by learning more from the African Recipes Cook Book
For Traditional African recipes you can obtain a copy of the Africhef African Recipes Cookbook
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THANKS!... Michael... your Africhef
Find out more about the exciting African Taste Adventure brought to you by the Africhef African Recipes Cookbook, click on the e-book cover below
