Okra gets a bad wrap. I grew up in Irmo, South Carolina, home of the Okra Strut, so perhaps I have a soft spot for the little green guys. The most common complaint seems to be that okra is slimy. I know of two recipes and one prep work tip that eliminate the possibility of slime. The first of these recipes calls for stuffing the okra with a spicy paste of tomatoes, spices and sesame seeds. Stuffing the okra with this masala heavy paste ensures that the insides get coated with plenty of flavor and, well, no slime.
As for the prep work tip, it’s a bit cumbersome but well worth the time spent. Wash the okra thoroughly in a colander. Use a paper towel to dry each piece of okra individually, being sure not to leave any water drops behind. Spread the okra out on a towel or cutting board while you make the masala paste giving them a chance to air dry even further.
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Masala Stuffed Okra Boats This recipe calls for amchur powder, a spice of dried, powdered green mangos. It adds a sour, tangy flavor to the masala paste which makes the paste taste slightly spicy – not chili-heat spicy but masala-heavy spicy due to the sourness and acidity. You may want to reduce the masala measurements below or sprinkle lemon juice over the okra at the end to reduce the heat. Also, you can substitute lemon juice or tamarind paste in step 3 if you don’t have amchur. If you’re not up for stuffing the okra, you can cut the okra in half and combine the okra and masala paste in a bowl together until the okra is fully coated (although I happen to love the little, green masala filled boats). This okra dish goes really well with sambar, rice and a little yogurt. ~30 pieces of okra 1. Wash the okra then dry each okra piece using a paper towel. Spread out on a cutting board or kitchen towel while making the masala. 2. In a wide skillet on medium low heat, heat about a tablespoon of cooking oil. When hot, add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes until tomatoes are melted down. 3. Stir in the masalas and the sesame seeds. Continue cooking on medium heat, stirring frequently to make sure the masala does not burn, for about 5 minutes or until the water has evaporated. Remove from heat and allow to cool. 4. While the masala paste cools, cut the heads and tails off of the okra. Carefully cut a vertical slit in the okra starting from the stem side and cutting towards the pointed end. Stuffing the okra will be easier if you cut all the way on the stem side rather than just creating a slit. 5. Using your fingers, pinch off a dime sized portion of the masala paste with your right hand. Use your left hand to gently pry open the slit and your right hand to spread the paste inside the okra. It doesn’t have to be beautiful – some of the masala will (and should) spill out when the okra goes back in the pan. Repeat until you have rows of masala stuffed okra boats. 6. Using the same wide skillet, heat about another tablespoon of oil. When hot, add the onions and saute on medium heat until translucent without letting them brown/burn. 7. Add the okra in a single layer in the skillet and gently mix in with the onions. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes on medium low heat, stirring occasionally (gently so as to not break up the okra too much). Sprinkle with salt to taste. 8. Uncover and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. |
Masala paste for stuffing
Masala Stuffed Okra Boats
20 responses to “Masala Stuffed Okra Boats”
That sounds delicious and look yum too! Just posted an okra recipe too 🙂
Okra is my daughter favorite, I will be more than happy to make this dish for her. Looks delicious.
Am always used to the dry stuffings…this is new.Looks wonderful,bookmarked!
ND: Nithya, I would love to see a recipe with dry stuffings…do you have one up on your blog?
i love okras, the filling looks great, love the addition of sesame seeds, yummy!!
This looks absolutely awesome !
I am a huge fan of okra, and this recipe sounds incredibly delicious. I’ve planted okra in my vegetable garden and am surely going to make this recipe as soon as possible. Thanks for posting it!
ND: Vaishali, I wish we could have a vegetable garden! Unfortunately not possible in our Brooklyn apartment. Let me know how the okra turns out.
I have been wanting to try okra. Stuffing them with a tasty masala sounds good.
Beautiful food photography. I absolutely LOVE the logo of your site. Where did you find this font? 😛
ND: Thanks Jackie! I really appreciate the lovely comments. My brother actually made my logo using a photo that I took of my spice box. For the font, I think I googled “hinde looking font” and finally found one, which I think is Samarkan.
What a creative idea – I love all the layers of flavor in this dish too, it looks fantastic!
oh so very cuuuutteee!
ND: Thanks! Love that okra can be cute 🙂
I loved your recipe! I had never made okra with tomatoes before; but couldn’t believe how amazing they turned out! The taste was the same as what I remember from being in India!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Jahnavi
ND: Thanks Jahnavi! I’m glad to hear that the recipe turned out well for you and that you enjoyed it. It’s so great to get the feedback.
Beautiful! Wish I could eat all of that now!
Hi,
DO you use frozen okra???easier for me to get frozen okra than the fresh ones…
I haven’t used frozen whole okra before, but it sounds like it should be fine. Give it a shot and let me know how it works out.
[…] book and my failure to post the recipe before now meant I had to look elsewhere and that lead me to this recipe. It’s pretty straight-forward as far as masalas go. You simply make a paste out of diced […]
Hi Nithya,
Thanks so much for the terrific tips about preparing okra without a mess! I had been having such problems, but it always looks fresh and appealing at the market. I tried your okra boats recipe, and it worked wonderfully! It is very tasty, and I had just the right amount of filling for our “boats.” I wonder, which of the quantities would I change if we want to make it just a little spicier?
Wonderful website!
Hi Jandbindia, you could increase just the red chili powder a little bit or that plus the garam masala – either of which would make it spicier. My suggestion though would be to increase each of the spices proportionately so you get more flavor rather than just pure heat. Thanks!
Hi Nithya, I tried these stuffed okra recipe..thank you for sharing!
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