Okra

Today, okra is a popular and important food in tropical third world countries.

 

Okra, that strange plant

The oblong green fruits are harvested when they are still young, small and firm. Usually, the plant bears fruit already two months after planting. At that time, it can also be eaten raw, just slightly salted. Okra is a rich source of vitamin C, contains few calories and no fat. The fruits are harvested every day, otherwise they quickly overgrow and become less useful. Unwashed fruits are stored in the refrigerator, wet/moist fruits quickly become slimy and soft, so just gently wipe the okro with a paper towel. It can only be kept in the refrigerator for two to three days. When the tips of the fruits start to darken, the fruits will rot quickly, so use or discard them immediately. Blanched okra fruits can also be frozen. Cut off the stalks and tip before use, but be careful: the more you cut, the more mucus is released. If you don't like slime, just quickly fry the chopped okra in oil. When preparing okra, we must be careful not to cook it in iron or copper vessels, as their chemical characteristics affect the okra so that it turns black. Similarly to the fruits of the okra, we can also use the leaves of the plants, which are eaten raw in salads in some places. The seeds of overripe fruits are also useful, and they are roasted and ground for a caffeine-free coffee substitute. Okra seeds are also pressed into oil, which is greenish-yellow in color and rich in unsaturated fats. If okro is cooked for too long, it secretes a slimy, sticky substance, so in small quantities it can be used as a thickening agent, otherwise it is usually better to fry it. Boiled okra leaves are also used to thicken various soups and sauces.

 

Okra in the world

Okra is widely used in Indian and African cuisine, but it is little known in Europe and North America. In Egypt, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Yemen and Cyprus, okra is indispensable in vegetable and meat stews. In Indian and Pakistani cuisine, it is prepared in a sauce. In the western part of India, okra is the most popular vegetable and is served almost every day. In the Caribbean, okro is cooked and is a common ingredient in fish soups. In Haiti, it is cooked with rice and corn and prepared as a sauce for meat. Recently, okra has also become extremely popular in Japanese cuisine, where it is served with tempura-fried soy sauce. Fried okra will also be offered to us in the southern states of the United States of America, where the small, not quite ripe fruits are put in vinegar. It is an extremely popular dish in Brazil Frango com quiabo (chicken with okra), in South Carolina they know gumbo stew, the basic ingredient of which is also okra. It is also indispensable in Nigeria's national soup and in Vietnamese traditional dishes Canh Chua. Otherwise, okra is excellent in dishes with tomatoes, onions and corn, and goes well with shellfish and fish. It has a mild taste, perhaps slightly reminiscent of eggplant.