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Why It Works
- Drying okra completely and sautéing it in scorching oil earlier than including liquid helps restrict mucilage launch, stopping a slimy texture.
- Tamarind’s acidity breaks down okra’s mucilage whereas jaggery balances the sourness of the tamarind and helps create a shiny, wealthy sauce.
Okra is a polarizing vegetable. Some individuals adore its grassy taste and tender chunk, whereas others recoil on the very point out of its notorious slime. That slick, sticky texture—brought on by a substance known as mucilage—has earned it a less-than-stellar fame in sure kitchens. However that very same slime is what makes okra so helpful in dishes the place thickening is the aim. In Southern gumbos, for instance, it enriches the broth whereas thickening it; in West African stews like ogbono and ewedu, it contributes a fascinating lush, velvety consistency.
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus, referred to as woman’s fingers in England and English-influenced nations like India) is the edible seed pod of a flowering plant native to East Africa. Over centuries, it is traveled far and broad, adapting to numerous regional cuisines, and in each, cooks have discovered their very own solution to harness or tame its signature mucilage.
In lots of Indian preparations, particularly dry sabzis, cooks go to nice lengths to scale back the vegetable’s sliminess. My household’s recipe for okra—a tangy-sweet Maharashtrian okra sauté—does simply that, with assist from just a few kitchen tips and regional taste signatures. After I was gathering recipes for my e-book The Important Marathi Cookbook, my father’s cousin, Jyoti Marathe Joshi, shared a model handed down from her mom, Susheela Marathe. My aunt instructed me that, like many dishes from our West Coast homeland, this recipe contains a stability of tart and candy: tamarind pulp for acidity and jaggery for mellow sweetness. Our individuals (the Konkanastha neighborhood) often love a little bit of sweetness in our savory meals, and that is the case on this dish. Each components additionally play purposeful roles: Tamarind’s acidity can barely denature the polysaccharides in okra mucilage and cut back the perceived sliminess, whereas jaggery balances the sourness of the tamarind.
Severe Eats / Jatin Sharma
To make sure that the okra is crisp and dry somewhat than gummy, I completely dry it earlier than reducing. Drying okra earlier than reducing is efficient as a result of mucilage is extra more likely to be activated by water, so beginning with dry pods is essential. I additionally reduce the okra into massive chunks somewhat than slices, as much less reduce floor space means much less slime launched from the inside. A fast sauté in scorching oil earlier than the tamarind and jaggery are added to the skillet helps seal the reduce surfaces, additional minimizing the goo.
The result’s tender okra with simply sufficient chunk, cloaked in a lush, sweet-sour sauce, with a texture even slime-averse okra eaters will love. It is an on a regular basis dish that is vivid, daring, and for me, deeply nostalgic. I prefer it greatest with a mound of scorching rice or a stack of chapatis to take in each little bit of the sauce.
This Candy and Bitter Indian Stir-Fry Makes the Most of an Underrated Summer time Veggie
Cook dinner Mode
(Maintain display awake)
For the Tamarind Pulp:
For the Okra:
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1 pound (453 g) recent okra, washed, drained, and dried effectively
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3 tablespoons (45 ml) impartial oil similar to vegetable, avocado, or grapeseed oil
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1 teaspoon entire brown or black mustard seeds
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3/4 teaspoon floor turmeric
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Pinch of asafetida, elective (see notes)
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4 tablespoons tamarind pulp and juice from above
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2 tablespoons chopped or grated jaggery or brown sugar, plus extra if wanted (see notes)
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6 tablespoons water
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1 teaspoon Diamond kosher salt, plus extra to style; for desk salt, use half as a lot by quantity
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1/4 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder (elective)
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2 tablespoons recent cilantro leaves and tender stems, minced (elective)
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For the Tamarind Pulp: In a big steel or glass bowl, cowl tamarind with scorching water. Soak for no less than quarter-hour and as much as 4 hours. Utilizing your palms, press tamarind within the water to separate pulp. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a big bowl. Pour tamarind-water combination by way of it, pushing and urgent on the pulp with palms or a big spoon till all of the water and pulp has handed by way of; discard seeds, skins, and fibers. Cowl liquid and pulp and retailer till wanted, as much as 3 days within the fridge.
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For the Okra: Trim stems of every okra pod, then reduce crosswise into 3/4- to 1-inch items. Maintain a paper towel helpful to wipe down your knife if wanted to take away any slime from the okra.
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Have a splatter display or lid helpful. In a big chrome steel skillet, warmth oil over medium-high till simply smoking. Cut back warmth to low and check the oil with one mustard seed. If it pops immediately, the oil is prepared; if not, return warmth to medium-high for 1 extra minute and retest. When oil is prepared, flip off warmth, then instantly add mustard seeds to scorching oil, cowl with a mesh display or lid, and let seeds pop, shaking the skillet often to forestall them from burning or sticking (it ought to take about 15 seconds for the seeds to pop).
Severe Eats / Jatin Sharma
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Return skillet to low warmth and add turmeric and asafetida, if utilizing, and stir till fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add okra,flip warmth as much as medium, and prepare dinner, stirring consistently, for 1 minute. Cut back warmth to low and add 4 tablespoons ready tamarind pulp, jaggery or brown sugar, and water, stirring effectively to mix. Cowl and prepare dinner, stirring often, till okra is sort of totally tender, 12 to fifteen minutes.
Severe Eats / Jatin Sharma
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Uncover, stir, and add salt and purple chile powder, if utilizing, and prepare dinner uncovered till most of water has evaporated, okra is tender-crisp, and a wealthy brown sauce coats okra, 2 to three minutes. Season to style with salt and jaggery or sugar, if wanted.
Severe Eats / Jatin Sharma
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Serve scorching, garnished with minced cilantro, if desired.
Severe Eats / Jatin Sharma
Particular Tools
Massive steel or glass bowl, fine-mesh strainer, 12-inch skillet, spatter display or lid
Notes
If utilizing jaggery, a pair seconds within the microwave will assist soften it. Then you’ll be able to chop it similar to chocolate with a bread knife. A rasp grater, similar to a microplane, works as effectively.
Asafetida may be discovered at most Indian grocers. I like to recommend the powder bought in small jars, somewhat than massive plastic containers, as a result of the plastic can maintain the aroma. Maintain it tightly shut between makes use of, in any other case, the odor will pervade your kitchen. Whereas it provides a definite taste, you’ll be able to omit it if unavailable, although it is going to be much less fragrant.
Make-Forward and Storage
The tamarind pulp may be ready as much as 3 days forward and refrigerated in an hermetic container for as much as 3 days.
The dish may be cooked as much as 2 hours earlier than serving.
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