Why It Works
- Toasting and grinding total spices intensify the spices’ aroma and style.
- Blooming the spices in scorching oil improves their style.
- Browning the onions imparts a savory sweetness to the dish.
- Tomato paste intensifies the savoriness of the cooking liquid.
One in every of many first points I bought when it grew to grow to be clear we’d have to isolate at home was a number of baggage of frozen okra, and I don’t really know why.
I like okra hundreds, optimistic, nevertheless of the quite a few meals that appeared low-cost to refill on, like beans and pasta and rice—oh god, I didn’t buy ample rice—frozen okra wouldn’t appear like will probably be extreme on the guidelines of any nevertheless basically essentially the most rabid okra-lover.
Anyway, these baggage of frozen okra ended up taking up some prime freezer precise property, which meant (a number of of) the okra wanted to go, so here’s what I made with it.
That’s how I typically put collectively the frozen okra I buy, which comes as little total pods (versus pre-sliced). There are fewer seeds, which is sort of sad, nevertheless, then once more, I’ve found I want cooking all the mini okra than cut-up mature okra, given that total pods don’t launch that mucilaginous stuff—which, don’t get me improper, I’m a fan of in certain contexts nevertheless not regularly.
That being acknowledged, frozen scale back okra would work proper right here, too, as would any frozen greens. That’s principally solely a flavorful sauce whereby any sort of vegetable is likely to be cooked to good affect. The one issue to recollect is that the greens, irrespective of they’re, are most interesting when on the sweeter side, as that sweetness could be very good when paired with the heat from the chile, the spices, and the acidity of the tomatoes. What which implies is sweet inexperienced beans would work correctly whereas a canned or dried bean is more likely to be too starchy and by no means sweet ample for this particular preparation.
The spice mixture I make the most of consists of spices that many, many people would possibly want obtainable at any given time, given how ubiquitous coriander and cumin are in plenty of completely totally different cuisines. In case you should not have the cardamom, that’s optimistic—skip it.
For the tomato throughout the recipe, you must be at liberty to reap the advantages of irrespective of you have: It’s essential use do-it-yourself tomato sauce, pizza sauce, or the jarred stuff, nevertheless it is also attainable to make use of a tomato purée (like handed or just some canned total tomatoes you have bought blitzed in a blender).
My partner and I ate this okra wrapped in frozen store-bought parathas since I was feeling lazy, nevertheless you can too make your private parathas, wrap the okra in a pita, and even wrap it in a tortilla (or add it to a quesadilla!). It is usually pretty good over rice, significantly if in case you may have some pickleor Indian pickles, in your fridge, although one factor acidic and pickle-y of nearly any type may very well be good with it, too.
Spiced Okra With Tomatoes Recipe
Put together dinner Mode
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For the Spice Mix:
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1 tablespoon total cumin seeds
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1 tablespoon total coriander seeds
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2 pods inexperienced cardamom (optionally obtainable)
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1 total dried habanero (optionally obtainable) (see notes)
For the Okra:
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2 tablespoons (30ml) neutral cooking oilmuch like canola
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1 medium yellow oniondiced
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Kosher salt
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2 medium cloves garlicminced
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One 1-inch piece ginger (1/2 ounce; 15g), smashed and minced
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1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
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1 cup (240ml) water
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1/2 cup (120ml) tomato sauce, do-it-yourself or store-bought (see notes)
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One 14–ounce bag frozen okra pods (see notes)
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Cilantro leaves and tender stemsfor garnish
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Lime wedgesfor serving
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For the Spice Mixture: Combine cumin, coriander, cardamom (if using), and dried habanero (if using) in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Toast spices until fragrant, about 2 minutes. When cool ample to cope with, take away cardamom pods, then place remaining spices in spice grinder or mortar. Using fingers, crack open cardamom pods and take away seeds contained inside; discard hull. Add cardamom seeds to totally different spices. Using spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind spices to optimistic powder. Put apart.
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For the Okra: Heat canola oil in Dutch oven or 3-quart saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions and salt and cook dinner dinner, stirring typically with a picket spoon, until onions are golden and easily starting to brown, about Quarter-hour.
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Stir in garlic and ginger and cook dinner dinner until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste, stir and cook dinner dinner until paste has colored the contents of the pot a reddish-brown, about 1 minute. Mound onions, ginger, and garlic in center of pot and add spice mixture instantly on excessive (that’s to guard in opposition to scorching the spices). Stir collectively, then cook dinner dinner until spices are bloomed and mixture may very well be very fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add water and stir, scraping bottom of pot with picket spoon to dislodge any stuck-on bits. Add tomato sauce and okra and stir to interrupt up frozen okra. (Okra gadgets must be merely submerged throughout the liquid; if not, add further water to cowl them). Ship contents of pot to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring typically, until okra is tender, most of additional liquid has cooked off, and okra is thickly coated in sauce, 10-Quarter-hour. Prime with cilantro and serve immediately as half of an even bigger meal with rice or paratha, passing lime wedges alongside.
Specific Gear
Dutch oven or 3-quart saucepan
Notes
In case you occur to want to utilize a a lot much less spicy dried chile pepper, you presumably can substitute one dried chile arbol or dried Kashmiri crimson chile. It’s possible you’ll as properly omit the chile pepper absolutely.
My native outlets all carry Montana Frozen Little one Okra, which I like hundreds because of the okra come as diminutive nevertheless total pods. It’s essential use irrespective of frozen okra is accessible to you, nevertheless take into accout scale back okra will lend the sauce okra’s attribute sliminess, which isn’t a nasty issue, basically. Full pods is just not going to.
For the tomato sauce, in case you have no obtainable, it is also attainable to make use of tomato purée, like handedotherwise you presumably can blitz a can of total peeled tomatoes using an immersion blender or blender.
Make-Ahead and Storage
In an airtight container throughout the fridge, this okra dish retains for about one week.