Okra - what is this exotic vegetable, and how can we cook it for the benefit of our own health? The fruits of this plant, also called okra or gambo, are elongated boxes, octagonal, light green in color. Fresh young okra is very tasty, recipes from which are found in abundance in American and Turkish cuisines.
Features okra
The fruits of this plant are eaten fresh as a component of vegetable and mixed salads. They are boiled, fried, stewed and canned. The most popular is a slightly immature okra. What is this ingredient, and what function does it perform in dishes? In addition to giving a pleasant taste, a viscous consistency, which can be achieved by adding okra fruits, is very important.
For example, when cooking gumbo soup traditional for Louisiana, proper thickening will help to achieve just okra. What are these exotic dishes in which you can add such an unusual ingredient? In Turkey it’s lamb stew, in Armenia it’s classic bozbash with the same meat (delicate okra pods go well with stewed pieces), in Africa and in the south of the USA - the already mentioned gumbo soup in several variations, in India - fried in corn flour pods with
cheese panir.
Healing okra
What is this interesting vegetable, we can understand by preparing delicious dishes from it. But in addition to interesting tastes, okra also has healing properties. It is rich in vitamins, oils, calcium and iron and helps to restore strength during exhaustion. A small amount of calories helps to use okru when dieting with weight control. The mucous substances contained in okra make it possible to alleviate the condition of people suffering from peptic ulcer and gastritis of various etiologies. A decoction of pods is used to treat bronchitis.
Preliminary preparation of okra and recipes for dishes from it
Fruits blanch for a couple of minutes in boiling water, but so that they do not boil and maintain a delicate texture. Also, they can be quickly fried over high heat in deep fat. In this case, okra will be an independent dish. It can also be seasoned with salad dressings, used as a side dish. Frying okra and minced meat separately, seasoned with garlic and pepper, you can lay these ingredients in layers in pots. The top layer should be from okra. Pour tomato juice with spices and simmer in the oven over low heat, sprinkle with cheese on top. Lamb stew , sliced, suggests that the meat will be pre-cooked over low heat. Okra should also be boiled. How to cook this dish so that it does not turn out tasteless? You should add fried onions, a little tomato paste, do not spare butter and salt. Then squeeze a whole lemon into the prepared dish, season with pepper and simmer for half an hour over low heat.
Gumbo
This thick soup is common in Creole and Cajun cuisines. It can be prepared on the basis of chicken or seafood. Take a rich broth. Fry okru in oil, it will serve as a thickener. Separate the chicken fillet and ham and onions in a pan. Add all this to the broth along with okra and chili. After the soup has boiled a little and thickened, it should be served hot with white rice cooked separately.