Served with White Rice?
Have you ever found yourself window-shopping at your local grocery store? I do that from time to time and every time I do it. I get surprised. I suddenly see things I never knew existed, or things I had never seen before and suddenly, ooh and aah and omg, rend the air. “How come I have never seen this,” I ask myself, “or omg I never knew I could find this here”
The other day I was window-shopping, (why do we call it window-shopping even though there are no windows once you are inside the store?), when I suddenly noticed Okra (lady’s finger, bhindi, Gumbo). This Okra container is right next to the herbs, and I buy herbs every week and yet I had never noticed it, before. I was so excited to see Okra, because I can’t remember when I last cooked anything with Okra. So there and then I decided to make some Okra soup, or stew or whatever.
I am not really an expert at cooking with Okra, but there is always a first, and second and third time before you become an expert. I immediately went searching for a recipe and after looking at ten or so different recipes and borrowing ingredients from everywhere I came up with this recipe. It’s a fusion of the many recipes I ‘googled’.
Most of those recipes seemed to suggest that Okra should be cooked for at least 15 minutes so I set 15 minutes on the timer and went on to do other things. After 12 minutes my okra was falling apart, it was mushy (or was it because I soaked it in vinegar before cooking?). Don’t ask me why I soaked it in vinegar, in my ‘googling’ ventures some recipe suggested soaking Okra in vinegar, and I said “this sounds cool, vinegar it shall be!”. That’s how my Okra got a dose of salted and diluted vinegar, but I liked the end result. I think next time I make this stew again I shall simmer okra for barely 5 minutes. I like my veggies a bit crunchy. Mushy or not the stew was delicious and the next day I mixed the left overs with beans and made some Okra-bean stew. It was very good as well, so maybe next time I shall be posting Okra-bean stew. Enjoy the Okra stew, if you have a palate for gooey-slimy Okra!
- Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 800g (1½ pounds) skinless, boneless chicken (I used thighs), cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 cup finely chopped, onions
- 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ¾ cup finely chopped celery (I large stem/stalk)
- 2½ cups skinned, seeded and chopped tomatoes, (about 400g, 140z)
- 2 teaspoons ground garam masala
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼-½ teaspoon, cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste blended with two tablespoons water (optional)
- 500ml (2 cups) low sodium chicken broth
- 300g fresh okra pods, cut into 1-inch pieces, soaked in salted vinegar water (you can adjust amount if you like)
- ½ cup red capsicum (bell pepper) julienned
- 1 cup green capsicum (bell pepper), julienned
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (add at end of cooking before serving)
Remember to always assemble ingredients before you start cooking.
Add 2-3 tablespoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt to 1 litre (1 quart) water. Soak cut okra for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse thoroughly, set aside.
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken in batches, cook for about 6 minutes until brown on both sides. Remove chicken from pan, set aside. Cook the rest of the chicken.
Heat the remaining olive oil in the pan,
add onions, garlic and celery and sauté 8 minutes till soft, stirring from time to time.
Increase heat, add tomatoes, garam masala, paprika and cayenne pepper
and cook 8 minutes,
then add tomato paste and continue cooking, another two minutes.
Add stock and chicken, season with salt and pepper,
bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Add okra on top, continue to simmer about 10 minutes or until okra is tender.
Add the peppers in the last 5 minutes. If you prefer your peppers fully cooked, add them earlier.
Adjust seasoning and add the fresh coriander just before serving.
Serve with your favourite accompaniment
I served mine with some steamed white rice
My Okra was mushy, but I loved the stew anyway. Enjoy if you ever try…
Chicken and Okra Stew
Preparation time: 20 minutes; Cooking time: 1 hour Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 800g (1½ pounds) skinless, boneless chicken (I used thighs), cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup, finely chopped onions
- 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ¾ cup, finely chopped celery (I large stem)
- 2½ cups tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped (about 400g, 140z)
- 2 teaspoons ground garam masala
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼-½ teaspoon, cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste blended with two tablespoons water (optional)
- 500ml (2 cups) low sodium chicken broth
- 300g fresh okra pods, cut into 1-inch pieces, soaked in salted vinegar water (you can adjust amount if you like)
- ½ cup red capsicum (bell pepper) julienned
- 1 cup green capsicum (bell pepper), julienned
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (add at end of cooking before serving)
Instructions
- Add 2-3 tablespoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt to 1 litre (1 quart) water. Soak cut okra for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse thoroughly, set aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in batches, cook for about 5 minutes until brown on both sides. Remove chicken from pan, set aside. Cook the rest of the chicken.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in the pan, add onions, garlic and celery and sauté 8 minutes till soft, stirring from time to time.
- Increase heat, add tomatoes, garam masala, paprika and cayenne pepper and cook 8 minutes, then add tomato paste and continue cooking, another two minutes.
- Add stock and chicken, season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add okra on top, continue to simmer about 10 minutes or until okra is tender. Add the peppers in the last 5 minutes. If you prefer your peppers fully cooked, add them earlier. Adjust seasoning and add the fresh coriander just before serving.
Points to note:
- The okra I bought cooked very fast and was mushy in 12 minutes. I prefer mine a bit crunchy.
- You can adjust ingredients to suite your palate or use this as a basis to make your own Okra Stew.
- The last time I made this stew, I cooked the peppers together with the celery and onions. (13 October 2015)
myfavouritepastime.com
My Favourite Pastime 
Very tasty, like the Bulgarian stew! I like it 🙂
Omg do you eat okra in Bulgaria? I don’t know much about your country, but I’m determined to learn more because of you. I look forward to interacting with you and I also look forward to learning about Bulgarian Food. I’m so excited to have met you. Thanks again, for visiting me, several times today!!!
That looks wonderful and the okra in our garden is just starting to come in, so the timing is perfect. Thanks!
Thanks for visiting my blog. It was my first time to make an okra stew and I really loved it. Nice to know you have okra in your garden. I really envy people with gardens. I wish you a very pleasant week ahead!
Liz, thank you for your response to Chilled Asparagus Soup (http://wp.me/27pPl). I can’t tell you how much I loooooove okra. This is utterly beautiful!
I’m not really an expert on Okra, but I did enjoy this meal and have made it several times. Please give me some Okra recipes. Have a lovely week!!!
Nor am I remotely an expert, Liz, but you’ve raised an interesting challenge. Let’s see what we can do with it!
I have a simple Okra recipe a friend gave me a few weeks ago. I shall be trying it soon. I will be posting that soon. Thanks and enjoy the rest of the week!!!
What a kind friend you have! I’ll look forward to your post.
Hope it will be okay, thanks!
Oh, I’m sure it will be interesting, and I do indeed look forward to your post. One can’t go wrong with okra!
Hi Liz! I wanted to tell you I’ve put up the Persian Beef Okra Stew that you asked for on my blog:
http://parisaskitchen.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/beef-okra-stew-khoreshte-bamieh/
Let me know what you think if you make it!
Have a lovely day~~
Parisa
I have seen it. It’s very simple and easy to make. I shall make it one of these evenings with some steamed rice. Will let you know the outcome. Have a pleasant evening. I am just having my breakfast!!!!
Sure, would love to know what you think! Yes I know and you probably have a much better weather than the chilly 8C here!!
We are at 18C too low for this time of the year but just perfect for us. I dread that summer is coming soon…then it will be so hot and sticky 35C and above. Let me enjoy the good weather while it lasts. Enjoy your evening! Will let you know when i cook the stew!
This looks so delicious ! I’ve never eaten okras so far (not easy to find in France). Definitely have to try !! Your recipes are really appetizing !
It’s mainly eaten in West Africa. We get okras at least once a week in our local supermarket. A small box. Not many people eat it. Also eaten in India. Your recipes are appetizing too! Thanks for being here. Have a wonderful week!
I have been way too busy lately – I cannot believe how many of your recipes I have missed. And they are all making my fingers itch to try them out – okra, for example, I have never cooked with. How am I supped to catch up 🙂
Hi Afra,
I was really getting worried about you, but I’m glad you are fine and just busy. I am trying to post as much as possible this year because next year might be too busy for me. I had tasted Okra before, but not cooked it ever, but the end results were nice. It’s now on my list of rare things to cook, maybe once a month. Thanks for liking so many of my posts. Have a pleasant week!
Hi Liz! I really love your okra stew. There’s a Persian Okra stew that I always make, it has much fewer ingredients than yours, and is usually made with beef/lamb. I should make yours soon too,looks amazing!
~~Parisa
It was my first time to make Okra stew. I really liked it. It tasted very nice. Can I have the recipe for the Persian Okra stew? Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!
Sure,I’m making it this weekend actually, I’ll post the recipe with pics on my blog and let you know 😉
That would really be great. I shall wait for you to post the recipe on your blog. Thanks so much for being here. Have a great day!!!
I am yet to try okra because of the texture really, dont like slimy! But it looks good. Thank you for stopping by my blog. Happy blogging 🙂
Ha ha slimy is why I tried it. I wanted to get used to that sliminess. At first, every bite you take, you think of the slime, but if you just forget about it and continue eating, it starts tasting ‘normal’. Just seen your lovely couscous salad. I shall try that one. Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely weekend!!!
This looks amazing! I will have to try this. I am from the South, so down here we mostly fry our Okra. I do love fried okra, but of course fried isn’t always good for you so I make it in moderation. I can’t wait to try this so I will have another delicious way to cook okra.
Someone from the South told me the same thing about frying okra in batter. I want to try that. It was really my first time cooking okra-I have eaten it before but not cooked it. I liked the end results and will definitely cook it again. Thanks and have a wonderful weekend!! I saw you nice and brown pan-fried chicken and I have bookmarked it.
Okra is delicious. We call it bhindi over here and it’s one of my favorite vegetables.
I am trying to develop a palate for okra, could you please give me one or two of your favourite recipes. I am sure you have some good ones. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend! I just saw that you made some brownies!!! I am posting brownies today….
Thank you! My mother is the one who makes the okra; I talked to her and she told me what she does…She fries onions until translucent in oil, takes them out and adds cooks the okra. She said it will become sticky for a while, and after the stickiness goes away, she adds cumin,crushed red peppers, salt, tumeric, pepper, a bit of garlic and crushed dried pomegranate seeds. Then, she chops tomatoes, puts them in with the okra and adds the onions. I’ll try to make it myself sometime so I can give you exact amounts and more details, but I found this recipe which seems similar to my mom’s: http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/bhindi-do-pyaza-okra-with-onions-recipe/. 🙂 Have a good weekend too!
Omg you went to so much trouble to get me this, I thought you had a readymade recipe. I appreciate your efforts in writing all this for me, I feel a bit guilty for giving you too much work. Thanks so much and thanks also, for the link you’ve provided. I really appreciate the kind gesture. You don’t have to make it unless you really want to. I can also google some okra recipes. Thanks so much for taking so much of your time. Tell your Mum thank you and have a wonderful weekend!
No, it wasn’t at all a problem! I actually loved writing it so it wasn’t work; in fact I’d like to thank you for giving me the chance to learn more about this ingredient.
Okay if you’re absolutely sure that it wasn’t a problem then I’m happy. I have also learnt a lot from you and other bloggers. thanks so much for providing the information. Wish you happy blogging and hope to see you always! Take care!
That looks like a delicious dish. I get hungry just from looking at the pictures.
Hi Munchow
It was a delicious meal. I really enjoyed ti while it lasted. Thanks so much for stopping here and for leaving me a note. Wish you a wonderful weekend. Hope to see you from time to time. Liz
May you have a great weekend, too. And, yes, I will be back.
I am glad to hear you will be back. I did read your post on photographic development and the different approaches. It was very interesting. I learnt a lot coz I am not really a professional photographer. I just take photos for fun. Thanks all the same, for sharing all that information.
Good for you Liz! I sometimes think we get caught up in the same old, same old, all the time. That is why it’s nice to go to other countries and try their cuisines and with the varieties and selections of produce available to us these days it’s really worth our while trying new things. Like you, I would want to find out what to do with it prior to cooking or eating. Obviously the vinegar trick was a worthwhile tip! Your dishes always look so appetizing. I’m sure you could even make liver look good!
Hi Sandy, is it okay to call you Sandy?
Thanks so much for being here and for showing me the other exciting side of you. This is so exciting. I peeped at the blog and loved it. I shall be browsing there tomorrow. I love travelling, It’s just that at the moment my travelling is minimal due to family commitments. But I have been to so many countries and tasted all sorts of foods until I have lost my identity!!! The okra stew was a lovely venture and in the end I loved it. The picture taking part was a challenge but I know with time I will learn more tricks of the trade. Thanks so much for being consistent. I am really glad I met you. Have a lovely weekend and happy blogging in the other blog!!!
I’ve never been much of an okra fan, Liz. The few times I’ve tried it, I found the texture kind of off-putting. I think that’s more a matter of preparation than anything else. It certainly looks good in your dish. Maybe it’s time I gave it another go, using your recipe. Heaven knows I love stew and this one yo’ve prepared looks delicious. The ingredient is fantastic. I hope you’ve a great weekend ahead.
Hi John,
I have not been much of an okra fan either, but I am trying to develop a palate for the sliminess of okra. I don’t know whether it’s the vinegar that I soaked it in but the end result was surprisingly nice. My kids ate it too, which is something, because they can be so choosy at times. And I think okra fused with bell peppers gives a vey nice taste, and smell too. Thanks so much for stopping here, you know how much I appreciate. I hope you had a wonderful day and will have a lovely weekend. My weekend started today coz my kids didn’t go to school!
Liz! This looks beautiful. It prolly tastes as nice too. In Nigeria its called okra soup, it kinda looks like this when its prepared the Nigerian way….. a little bit of difference though- we dont soak in vinegar before cooking and we dont add bell pepper. Well done! Its prolly the African in you that has come to the fore !
P.S: Maybe if I decide not to like taking pictures too , I would take pictures half as nice as this….. just maybe. *winks*.
Have a fabulous weekend.
Okay I’m not an expert on Okra, I basically crafted this recipe by googling and fusing until I had something. I liked the end result though. The stew tasted very nice. I think Okra is cooked in most parts of the world, and so there are variations from one place to the other. I would love some recipes from Nigeria though, if you have any good one. The photography is the hardest part of blogging for me, because I’m not really an expert on that either. I was contemplating going for a one or two day course on photography because I sometimes get frustrated, when I can’t get it right. Thank for visiting my blog and thanks for joining the conversation. Have a pleasant day and a wonderful weekend!!!
Hello Liz, You can find loads of Nigerian recipes on http://www.iqfoodplatter.com..Enjoy your day.
Thank you so much for this link. I shall be posting some Nigerian foods in due course. How lovely. Have a great day too!
Yaaayy! I look forward to seeing the pictures.If you have any questions about the recipes shoot me a message OK? cheers.
Okay I shall not hesitate to ask queries If need be. Enjoy your evening. Thanks for stopping here several times!!!
okro as we call it here in Nigeria is a very popular one here too, usually we grate the okra and eat it with our local processed cassava, absolutely divine!!
Thanks for letting me know how you call it in Nigeria. Could you please give me some Nigerian recipes for Okro? You can also link me to some sites. And what is that product of Okro + Cassava called and what do you serve it with? thanks for stopping by. I love learning new things. Have a great weekend!!!!
This stew looks so good! When I was a kid I remember my mom used to batter and fry okra. It was delicious! She dipped them in egg and used corn meal rather than flour. Very crunchy on the outside and slightly mushy inside. I loved them. I’ve also had okra in stew while visiting Greece. What a great little delight! Thank you for posting this. It’s time to introduce them to my family!
I want to try batter and fry, it sounds really delicious, I would add some cayenne pepper to it too. I have gotten many ideas from other readers as well, so now I wont be short of what to do with okra. Thanks for stopping here. Hope you had a pleasant day? Have a fantastic weekend!!!!
Looks and sounds lovely – I adore okra – known over here as ladies fingers….must link this to my lamb and okra recipe! Wonderful, Liz!!
Hi Keith,
I’m terribly sorry I haven’t visited “From Alfredo’s with love” for so long. I have been seeing and liking the posts. Now I’m on my way to Alfredo’s. Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for always understanding and being a steady networker! I value your presence here, always!
Hey! I love your blog – going no where! If you can find out how I can link our recipes let me know – others have dome it to mine – means they can see recipes with similar ingredients. Enjoy your evening! And if u ever visit the UK you are v welcome to stay with us!
Keith I am not so tech savvy but I will try to find out and let you know, if I do find out how to do it. I am glad you are going nowhere, I am going nowhere too, so that makes the two of us. I will catch you on that open invitation, you never know. I might just pop into the uK. If you are ever anywhere near Toronto, you are welcome too. Thanks. My best wishes to your wonderful family!!!
This looks absolutely delicious!!!
It was delicious, not much of an okra fun, but I think I got hooked coz I am planning to try it again. Have a lovely weekend!
Great tip on the okra soaking. Thank you.
I just learnt that from googling, never did it before, but I liked the end result. It tasted very nice. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
I love Okra. it’s good stuff and very good for your health.
I haven’t really been eating okra much but I’m now learning how to eat it. It tasted very nice, so I would make it again. Thanks for stopping by.
Hope you enjoy the Dragon Boat Festival. Pleasant day to you, splendid weekend, and all the best during the festivities! Liz
Thanks Liz!
Have you tried to just bake it in the oven? Sprinkle a little salt and black pepper, drizzle some olive oil. It’s simple and delicious. I also put it under the broiler for a few minutes to make it crispy. Have a good weekend!
Thanks so much for giving me more tips on how to cook okra, I’m going to try that the next time the store has a fresh batch of okra. I shall let you know how it turns out. Thanks and great weekend to you!
Looks great, I’ve always wanted to try okra.
I tried it and I liked it. I think it’s a dish I can cook from time to time and I discovered some websites with okra recipes that I’m gonna try as well. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day and a splendid weekend!
Well you’ve certainly inspired me to try it, it’s very visually appealing too I think. I hope you have a great weekend too!
It did taste nice. I saw the pancakes. I love pancakes. We make them at least thrice a week. Enjoy your weekend!
That’s great:) I love them too, I have a recipe for really fluffy ones that I adore, and sourdough pancakes are really great too.
Please pass on the recipe. I love them fluffy ones. I can try out tomorrow morning for breakfast. Thanks in advance!
I’ve memorized the recipe, hope you like it. Might do a post about them at some point. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fluffy-pancakes-2/
Thanks. Will take some pictures after making them. Thanks so much. Much appreciated! Take care!!!
You’re welcome:)
Love okra. This looks delish 😀
I have just seen your Bengali style okra stir fry. I must try that one coz it’s simple. I am not an expert on Okra cooking!!!! Thanks for liking my stew! Have a great weekend!!