The market · Vegetables · West Africa, South Asia, The Americas, The Middle East

Okra

Ladies' fingers: green pods whose slippery mucilage thickens a stew — the point in West African soups and gumbo.

green · grassy
Okra

What to do with it

Classics built on it
South IndianSambarPigeon-pea lentils cooked with tamarind, vegetables and a roasted spice powder, then tempered — poured over rice, or with idli and dosa.No one here has made it yet

Goes with

tomatoonioncuminprawn

Knowing it

Where to buy
African, Caribbean and South Asian grocers. Small, bright and firm — big pods are woody.
A little history
Probably from Africa; it crossed to the Americas with the slave trade, and 'gumbo' is thought to come from a Bantu word for it.
Worth knowing
For less slime, keep it whole and dry and cook it fast and hot, or add acid.

Kitchens that keep it in

South Louisiana — the Mississippi delta, the bayous and the prairies along the Gulf of MexicoCreole and CajunA dark roux, the holy trinity of onion, celery and green pepper, rice under nearly everything and shellfish from the bayou — city Creole and country Cajun, cooking side by side.10 classics

More vegetables, in season with it

VegetablesAuberginessmoky when charred, creamy14 classicsVegetablesBitter melonsbitter, green, grassybitter1 classicVegetablesBroad beansnutty, greenNot cooked here yetat its peakVegetablesButternut squashsweet, nutty2 classics