Growing and eating your own vegetables is such a pleasure. Earlier in Spring, I spent a couple of weekends preparing small vegetable beds in our backyard and planted a few tomatoes, okra, broccoli, cucumber, eggplant, beans, bell peppers and chilies beside herbs and salad leaves. Thankfully most of my garden is doing well and some of the plants are going out of control. My tomato plants overtook the Malabar spinach and the cucumber plant is sprawling everywhere. This is my first time with cucumber and I am amazed at the speed they grow. I have been enjoying them in salad, pasta, pickle, and dip.
This year I also decided to give okra and eggplant a shot. The eggplants are doing good. I have managed to get one beautiful veg off the plant so far. The okra plants started fruiting three weeks ago. My first memory of okra plants was from my parent’s backyard in India. They grew their plants from seeds sown directly into the garden. I bought 6 pack transplants from a nursery with the goal to have enough pods to feed my family once a week. After about a week of transplanting 2 of them died. The remaining 4 did well.
Once the roots are established okra is easy to grow. Okra has beautiful flowers like hibiscus with yellow creamy petals and a brown/purple velvety inside. The flower opens in the morning and by evening it closes up. The petals fall off leaving a small pod behind. I am picking 8-10 okras a day from 4 plants. If I don’t pick every day they go too big/fibrous very soon.
Okra is a summertime culinary pleasure. I adore this vegetable in every way, fried, stewed, sautéed and roasted or grilled. I prefer roasting in the oven as it takes away its sliminess and adds a delicious toasty flavor. This time I gave rest to my oven and roasted in a grill pan. These are as good and crisp as oven roasted. The recipe can be doubled, tripled and can be roasted in oven and the preparation is really simple. Be sure to choose small tender green okra and let the tops stay to look more fancier.The recipe below is just a guideline you can add the spices to suit your taste. Honestly, okra doesn’t need to be dressed up with a lot of spices. A little bit of sumac or dry mango powder adds a tangy touch.
Okra is a little powerhouse of health benefits, and that should be one reason to try this recipe out.
Ingredients
- 200 g okra
- 2-3 thick slices of red onion
- Few red chilies
- 1 tbsp. oil
- Sumac or amchur to taste (optional but recommended)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wipe okra with a damp towel to clean and pat dry.
- Cut a lengthwise slit in each okra pod, being careful not to cut all the way through.
- Heat a cast iron grill pan.
- Toss okra, red onion, and chilies with olive oil and salt, Spread out in a single layer in the preheated pan.
- Cook until the okra are evenly grilled on all sides, flipping as needed for about 2 -4 minutes (cooking time depends on freshness).
- Transfer the grilled okra to a serving plate. Sprinkle with pepper, and sumac or amchur (dry mango powder. It is best if eaten immediately, while still piping hot from the grill pan.
Monica
We love okra. I remember eating it as a child and wondering what it was. 🙂 On vacation in Charleston last week, we had some stewed okra and okra in rice, etc…all delicious and I would love to try this grill version. We’re planning to grill this weekend so I need to look for okra at the supermarket!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
Haven’t had okra in ages..this looks so good, esp. when it’s from your own garden to the dinner table.
Amrita
You have a lovely veggie garden…okra looks so good
natalia20041989
I have never tried this before, but it’s tempting ☺
Monika
Simple and delicious! And I am so envious of your vegetable garden. One day…
David @ Spiced
Your garden sounds like ours! (Well, it sounds like ours pre-Robbie…our garden is a bit smaller these days.) We grew okra a couple of years ago just for fun, but now I want to grow it again so I can grill it! I’m mainly familiar with okra in stews and gumbos, but I’d love to try it grilled now! 🙂
Easyfoodsmith
The clean simple flavors of this dish is what make it so delicious.
marcie
I toyed with the idea of growing eggplant but didn’t do it this year. Maybe next year! I haven’t had okra in so long and need to change that. It must be amazing on the grill!
Blackswan
Oh wow, I love it! xoxo
Emma - Bake Then Eat
Homegrown fruit and veg always taste better, your okra looks so beautiful.
Blackswan
I enjoy eating Okra too, & grilling it is easy & delicious especially with a nice dipping sauce. Love that you have green hands.
Velva
What a nice garden! I love okra. I’ve grown okra in the past and once it starts producing, it grows so quickly. You have to keep an eye on okra plants ( laugh).
Grilling okra is a fantastic idea. Thanks for the inspiration.