Spiced Okra
You don’t have to be at an Indian foods party to enjoy tasty Spiced Okra as an appetizer treat. If you enjoy a combination of spices well- matched to a slight crunch of a buttery ingredient then you will love this little nibble.
I should come clean and say that this is coming from a person who honestly used to think I was not so fond of okra. If like me you fancy New Orleans style Gumbo, well then we both know that okra is a top added ingredient.
There are a couple of keys in preparing delicious Spiced Okra, which incidentally fly off the table when served among my Ladies International Group.
First, is that when choosing your okra besides being bright colored and fresh, they need to be only the size of your finger- no bigger- otherwise they are too tough and not fit for serving as a pop in your mouth appetizer. No bigger than finger size is your only pick!
Besides being finger size, a few minute short cook in salted boiling water seems to reduce or mostly eliminate slime related to preparing this vegetable. For unlike Gumbo, with Spiced Okra, you are creating a nice little appetizer bite, not a thickener to a stew.
Spiced Okra may also be roasted but in this recipe we use the boil then saute in butter and spices method. Served hot out of the pan, well, this appetizer treat may fly right off your table too!
Spiced Okra
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds small sized okra- no bigger than finger sized. You can leave the ends on if using as a pick-up appetizer, otherwise, cut off the end
- 3-5 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper or chili powder, plus more if higher level of spice is preferred
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Instructions
- Drop okra in boiling salted water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, drain
- Heat butter on medium temperature in a large sized nonstick saute pan, swirl around to cover the bottom of the pan
- Sprinkle in the coriander, cumin, and red pepper powder cook for thirty seconds or a bit longer until you catch the scent of the spices, then tumble in the cooked okra, stirring throughout to evenly cover pieces
- Saute okra on low temperature another five minutes, stirring frequently until just tender
- Sprinkle in the salt, stir
- Transfer okra to serving platter and serve hot
- Garnish with cilantro leaves or long hot red pepper if desired
- Spiced okra goes well with yogurt dipping sauce
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