Okra with Tomatoes and Curry Leaves

Okra with tomatoes and curry leaves is a very quick dish to make. They’re sometimes known as lady’s fingers. Originating from Africa, okra are now widely used in Indian cooking, and dishes of the Caribbean and the southern states of the USA. I think this dish would be delicious with some chickpeas or lentils stirred in. Otherwise, serve it some white fish and rice, and you have an easy mid-week meal. As I’ve mentioned, I buy my weekly produce from Farmer and Son https://www.farmerandson.com.au at my local market. Last week, Sally gave me a bag of okra to cook. I confess, I’ve never cooked okra, so I made some enquiries. A Turkish friend says she eats them raw alongside meat dishes. Don’t be put off by their furry skins. They taste pretty good. I’m going to put them in the kids’ lunchboxes and see what they think!

I next consulted Stephanie Alexander, or more precisely, ‘The Cook’s Companion,’ a culinary tome of many an Australian kitchen. Her number one rule is to cook okra quickly, so that it remains a little crunchy. If you cook them for a long time, they exude a mucilaginous glue that is perfect for thickening stews, such as the gumbo found in New Orleans. Okra are absolutely delicious stir fried with a little oil, salt and garlic. Perhaps you might like to try your hand at pickling them. I do hope you like this okra with tomato and curry leaves!

If you’re a fan of interesting vegetable dishes, you might like to try a roasted vegetable salad with dukkah from a previous blog post. Roasted Vegetable Salad with Dukkah

Best wishes,

Amanda

PS: If you’d like to read more, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter for stories, recipes and tips for simple, nutritious meals.

Print Recipe

Okra with Tomatoes and Curry Leaves

Okra with tomatoes and curry leaves is a quick and easy dish, delicious on its own, or as an accompaniment to to fish and rice.

Course: Side Dish

Servings: 4 people

Author: Amanda Lawson

Ingredients

• 500 g okra, washed, dried and trimmed of caps
• 1 small red onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and choped
• 1 425g tin cherry tomatoes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 12 curry leaves
• 1 tsp raw sugar
• flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp nigella seeds substitute with black mustard seeds or poppy seeds

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a large fry pan. Add onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes.
• Add okra and curry leaves and cook for a another 2 minutes.
• Add the tinned tomatoes and sugar, and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Taste one of the okra. It should still have a bit of crunch.
• Season to taste, garnish with nigella seeds and serve immediately.