Spiced Okra
I’ve been creating (and eating) a lot of keto diet appropriate meals lately and spiced okra is one of the fun side dishes I’ve come up with to use as a fiber rich, low carb side kick to any protein meal mail dish you wish to prepare. I paired the spiced okra with a butter chicken that had a similar lightly spiced Indian flavor profile and it went beautifully together. I think you could even just add protein in the form of chicken chunks or paneer (an Indian style cheese similar in texture to a cheese curd) to the dish to make it an easy main dish option too.
When preparing okra, you’ll want to take care not to overcook it. Most dishes that use okra, use it for its thickening properties so it’s often added to soups. In this case, we don’t want it to thicken our sauce too much. As okra cooks, it releases a watery liquid similar to aloe vera which is what causes the gelling effect. To reduce this effect, slice okra while it’s chilled in larger slices. Cook these on high heat to minimize the gel as well. Pairing okra with tomatoes is also a great trick to reduce the gel effect as the acidity cuts through it and helps it to cook off leaving you with a pleasing plateful of perfect pods.
- 1 pound okra, sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¾ cup diced tomatoes, about 2-3 fresh seeded tomatoes (or you can use canned)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add all remaining ingredients and cook 12-15 minutes.
- Okra should still be tender-crisp.
- Serve hot.
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