Okra, or rather ‘ladies fingers’ tends to divide people. Those in the negative camp tend to complain about  ‘a slimy texture’ as the main reason for not raving about this vegetable.  I have recently discovered the reason for this and the way to keep slime at bay whenever you cook with okra.

It’s simple. After washing the okra you need to dry them throughly. There cannot be a drop of water remaining on the okra. You need to dry each and every okra with a dry tea towel. It only takes a moment to do but the finished result when you eat your okra will be worth the little drying exercise.

In Cochin recently I was shown a very simple and straightforward okra dish, which is great to accompany meats, fish or dal. Ten minutes max and you have yourself a tasty little dish. If you also prepare my speedy dal then you have yourself a satisfying feast in no time at all.

Did you know there is also a vegetable called ‘gentleman’s toes’? I am totally serious. You can find out more about this tasty vegetable on my blog post here.

So remember don’t add water when cooking with okra and make sure the okra is super dry before cooking with it.

Dry-Fried Ginger and Turmeric Okra

Serves 2

1 tbsp coconut oil

250g okra, washed and completely dried and then chopped and sliced (see photos above)

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1 tsp salt

1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the okra, spices and salt and stir.
3. Place a lid on the pan and stir at intervals for 6-8 minutes.
4. Taste to see if the okra has softened but still holds its shape.
5. Serve immediately.