This post is a result of a gazillion phone calls to my mum in a desperate attempt at trying to cook bhindi or okra so that it's not slimy.For a long time now, cooking bhindi or okra or ladies finger or whatever you like to call it has been a hit or miss for me.There are days when I have perfectly spiced, crisp green beauties that are just waiting to be had with chapati and dal.And then there are days when they just turn into a gooey, slimy mess no matter what I do, which makes me want to weep in frustration.It's important to wash Okra, irrespective of what anyone says to you to get rid of any dirt or chemicals still stuck to the skin.Wash uncut Okra under running water, and then pat it dry with a cloth towel before cutting.Within 5-10 minutes of adding Okra to the pan, add a souring agent of choice or based on the recipe you choose.The souring agent immediately cuts the sliminess, and ensures sure the greens are tender and crisp.It's simple - covering a dish while cooking traps steam and increases moisture.Heat 1 ½ tablespoons Oil in a pan, and add 250 grams sliced Okra to it. .
Roasted Okra Recipe
Roasting okra with olive oil and garlic is one of the best ways to prepare this tasty vegetable.High-heat baking enhances the okra's taste, makes it wonderfully creamy, and removes the slime typical to this vegetable.I happen to love it - I find it incredibly flavorful and enjoy its unique taste.A common objection to this vegetable is its sliminess, but high-heat roasting takes care of that.Then, you arrange the coated okra in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.This should take about 20 minutes, and you should stir the okra midway through baking.To improve the texture of this vegetable and remove its slime, you'll want to make sure you bake it at very high heat.If we must compare okra to another vegetable, I suppose eggplant has a somewhat similar flavor profile.It's crunchy and grassy when raw, very different from its flavor and texture when cooked, which is savory and creamy.But I find that for many who supposedly dislike okra, once they try it roasted, they change their minds!The best way to vary this basic recipe is to add more spices such as onion powder, smoked paprika, dried thyme, and cumin.Another tasty variation is to use melted butter instead of olive oil and to sprinkle the okra with grated parmesan after the initial 10 minutes of baking.Baked catfish - this dish has a wonderful crispy coating of almond flour.They're not as good as the freshly made dish, but they do keep fairly well up to the fourth day. .
A Brilliant Trick for Avoiding Slimy Okra
A recipe featured in the 40th anniversary September issue of Food & Wine suggests a different approach.The idea comes from Indian chef Suvir Saran and is featured in a list of our 40 best recipes from the last 40 years.Food & Wine executive editor Karen Shimizu loves the recipe so much that she cooked it two weeks in a row."If you cut them up like you do an onion, leaving the top on so that it holds the vegetable together while you make your incisions, it’s a lot less messy and you have more control.However you feel about the mucilage, slicing okra into long, skinny strips instead of rounds is worth a try, and in this recipe, you can expect a dynamic mix of crispy, crunchy, raw and fresh textures that will leave you planning to add this salad into your weekly rotation, too. .
How To Make Okra Less Slimy: The Secret Lies In Speed
In the Southern states the green pod is fried, pickled, grilled and added to stews.It’s believed that okra was brought to the states from Africa, so its stronghold in Southern cuisine makes sense.Both plants contain mucilage (a thick, syrupy substance) that when used smartly can be used to make chewy confections or thicken stews, such as gumbo.As we’ve mentioned above, the best way to cook okra is in stews where the pod can use its mucilage as a thickening agent. .
How to cook okra that tastes great and isn't slimy
In the garden and the field, it puts on a stunning display, producing striking flowers that give way to pert emerald-green (or wine-colored) pods, with cross-sections that resemble eyelets.Choose your plan ArrowRight Okra has a sweet, grassy flavor that takes on more depth with longer cooking and a texture that can be crisp and juicy or dense and creamy.Okra mucilage has its admirers: In West Africa and the Southern United States, it’s valued as a culinary tool, used to thicken gumbos and lend body to other soups and stews.In Greece, whole pods are bathed with vinegar and sometimes salt before being rinsed, dried, pan-seared, then combined with tomatoes (more acid) to bake or stew.In the U.S. South, cooks often batter and fry it, braise it with tomatoes and onions, or boil it, to serve dressed in vinaigrette or to dip in butter or hollandaise.Thinking about how many more fans okra could win without its texture getting in the way, I wanted to look more closely at which measures were most effective at toning down its viscosity and which would best translate to a variety of preparations.Viscosity peaks at neutral to alkaline pH, Preston said, which is why exposing okra to acidic ingredients, such as vinegar or tomatoes, tones it down.Some African cooks, she said, go in the other direction, adding baking soda (which raises pH to a more alkaline level) to okra soup to augment its thickening effect.Buying smaller pods was useless, which makes botanical sense: The gel “buffers the plant against water loss during the day,” Preston said.For the dishes here, I’m highlighting methods that nearly eliminated okra’s slippery quality or cut it back substantially while enhancing its taste or texture.For a spiced pilaf that marries Indian seasoning with Southern method, I marinated the okra in citrus and salt, then cooked it along with the rice so its buttery flavor could permeate every grain.
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3 Non-Slimy Okra Recipes
However, this superfood often receives criticism for its “mucilaginous” pods, making the vegetable have a slimy consistency when it’s cooked.There are ways to combat this texture, though, from cooking okra at high temperatures or cutting pieces into chunks rather than slices.As air fryers continue to take the cooking world by storm, we turn to Laurie Fleming of the Fork To Spoon food blog for a delicious, low-maintenance air-fried okra recipe.Laurie’s recipe doesn’t outwardly include seasonings, but she suggests adding cayenne pepper, paprika or garlic powder to the flour mixture to add some Southern flavor.3.89 from 17 votes Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 12 mins Course Appetizer or Side, vegetable Cuisine American/Southern Servings 4 servings Calories 274 kcal Equipment air fryer Ingredients 1x 2x 3x 1 pound okra fresh.Then to bread, toss your diced okra into the flour, then into the egg wash, and then into the breadcrumbs.This recipe comes from Sara and Pam Brand, the mother-daughter duo behind Biscuits and Burlap.This method is simple and leaves you with okra that’s perfect for elevating a sandwich, salad, charcuterie spread or even a Bloody Mary.However, if you’re not a fan of spice, you can add fewer red pepper flakes — or leave them out altogether.5 from 1 vote Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 10 mins Resting Time 5 d Course Appetizer or Side, vegetable Cuisine American/Southern Servings 2 jars Calories 131 kcal Equipment Pint jars Ingredients 1x 2x 3x ¾-1 pound whole okra washed.1-1½ tsp red pepper flakes optional Instructions Place 2 garlic cloves and 1 bay leaf in each of 2 pint-sized glass jars.Remove from heat and stir in peppercorns and red pepper flakes, making sure salt and sugar are dissolved.While the recipe calls for sesame seeds, Jennifer says you can leave them out or substitute them for half a teaspoon of dried herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage or oregano.4.67 from 9 votes Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 6 mins Cook Time 30 mins Course Appetizer or Side, vegetable Cuisine American/Southern Servings 4 servings Calories 68 kcal Ingredients 1x 2x 3x 4 cups fresh okra chopped, width-wise.⅛ tsp black pepper Instructions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. .
Air Fryer Okra (Crispy and Not Slimy)
Air fryer okra is the perfect last-minute appetizer to serve at your next party.This Southern-style okra is fried to perfection in an air fryer, no oil needed!This air fryer okra recipe is so simple and easy to make.An air fryer is absolutely the best kitchen tool that makes cooking okra easier and quicker.In addition, an air fryer can cook food that tastes deep fried without the need to add oil!Cooking fresh okra quickly at high heats such as air-fried, deep-fried, or grilled helps eliminate a lot of slimes!The cornmeal breading mixture is seasoned perfectly with light spices and herbs.Wash and rub the fresh okra thoroughly under cold running water.To start, you need to set up two dishes and put them in the right order to simplify preparation and create less mess.Lightly grease the air fryer basket with cooking spray.Shake the basket and continue cooking until lightly golden and crispy, about 5 minutes more.Second, place the fried okra on a baking sheet in a single layer, freeze for 1-2 hours, and then transfer to a freezer bag or an airtight container.If properly stored, these fried okra will maintain the best quality for up to 3 months.Next, once you’re ready to reheat, simply cook frozen fried okra in the preheated air fryer for the recommended time based on your air fryer brand/user manual (they do differ).In this recipe, I used the Ninja Foodi Digital Fry, Convection Oven, Toaster, Air Fryer, Flip-Away for Storage, with XL Capacity, and a Stainless Steel Finish. .
How to Cook Okra that's Crisp, not Slimy
Learn how to cook okra to transform this underappreciated green vegetable into a delicious side dish or entree for any busy night.You quickly rinse it, dry it, slice it into halves, sauté it with olive oil and garlic for 10 minutes in a large skillet, plate it, and season it with salt.If this is your first time cooking okra, there’s no need to worry about your vegetables coming out slimy, despite what you may have heard or tried in the past.For this reason, one fo the easiest ways to reduce slime in your okra dish is to cut it as little as possible.In the case that you’re following a recipe that requires you to cut the okra quite a bit, an easy trick is to freeze the vegetables before cooking.Rinse, don’t soak : The longer okra is exposed to water, the more slime it will release.While, like all produce, you must wash okra right before cooking it, instead of soaking the vegetables, give them a quick rinse and use your hands to gently scrub them to remove any dirt or other debris on the outside.This does double duty by cleaning the outside of the vegetables and reducing the amount of slime the okra will produce when cooked.High heat is key : Forget about slowly cooking okra, which only softens it up to release more slime.It takes only 15 minutes from start to finish and always delivers a healthy, crisp, and satisfying side dish for nearly any meal.As mentioned above, the best way to wash okra to reduce the amount of slime in your dish is quickly.Pick up the skillet and swirl it to coat the bottom of the pan in a thin but even layer of oil.However, if that doesn’t bother you, you can serve uncooked okra as a crunchy fresh crudite for dipping.This recipe makes a simple side dish that pairs well with a wide variety of meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetarian entrees.Try it with pan-seared pork chops or tender brined chicken breast for a healthy lean dinner option.To round out the plate with some carbohydrates, try fluffy white or brown rice, quinoa or mashed potatoes.Spices like hot peppers, paprika, and curry seasonings are all classic flavor pairings for okra.In addition, other crops that grow in warm climates like tomatoes, bell peppers, and corn are popular pairings with this unique green vegetable.While it has a similar shape and color to some hot peppers, okra has a mild flavor that tastes fresh and grassy, rather than spicy.Unlike jalapeños or hot peppers, the seeds do not pack any spice or extra flavor than the flesh of the vegetable. .
Easy Oven Roasted Okra
This method for roasted okra comes together quickly and tastes delicious – perfectly seasoned and a little crispy.Lucky for you, this method of cooking okra results in a crispy side dish, no slime!olive oil – to coat the okra pieces for roasting and help the delicious spices stick.seasonings and spices – I like using fresh or dried thyme, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper.I have seen roasted okra prepared in two ways – by slicing it into long strips like I did, or by cutting it into discs.Honestly, this roasted okra can be paired with just about any protein option – beans, tofu, tuna or chicken… the possibilities are endless! .
