GREEN is the colour between blue and yellow in the spectrum; coloured like grass or emeralds.
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers, bhendi, bhindi, bamia, ochro or gumbo, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is valued for its edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with supporters of West African, Ethiopian, and South Asian origins. The plant is cultivated in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions around the world.
The products of the plant are mucilaginous, resulting in the characteristic "goo" or slime when the seed pods are cooked; the mucilage contains soluble fibre. Some people prefer to minimise the sliminess; keeping the pods intact, and brief cooking, for example stir-frying, help to achieve this. Cooking with acidic ingredients such as a few drops of lemon juice, tomatoes, or vinegar may also help. Alternatively, the pods can be sliced thinly and cooked for a long time so the mucilage dissolves, as in gumbo (recipe for gumbo here). The immature pods may be pickled.
Okra is a popular health food due to its high fibre, vitamin C, and folate content. Okra is also known for being high in antioxidants. Okra is also a good source of calcium and potassium. Stir fried okra Okra leaves may be cooked in a similar way to the greens of beets or dandelions. Since the entire plant is edible, the leaves are also eaten raw in salads.
Okra seeds may be roasted and ground to form a caffeine-free substitute for coffee. Greenish-yellow edible okra oil is pressed from okra seeds; it has a pleasant taste and odour, and is high in unsaturated fats such as oleic acid and linoleic acid.
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Hi Nick,
ReplyDeleteI think we are on the same wavelength, my post for next week should be the okra, but I'm going to change it :))
Nice pic with all the okras!
so let us cook!
ReplyDeleteHerzlich Pippa
I have never heard of these before, cool shot :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting..
Reminds me of my college days in Georgia...okra was cheap!
ReplyDeleteTook me a while before I warmed up to okra, since I didn't know it in Holland, but now it reminds me on the delicious Southern dishes I learned to love!
ReplyDeleteI am afraid I have never tried okra. It looks like a mini capsicum.
ReplyDeleteApologies... I have had great trouble getting this page to load today, and then my link wouldn't go through either. Now there are 2 links to the same post. Please delete one.
My grade one section is OKRA!
ReplyDeleteI love eating okra. I like dipping cooked okra in salted fish with spicy vinegar..