Saturday, September 1, 2007

Oh, for Okri...

Where I grew up, in the south and in the countryside,
my grandparents had a decent size garden.
Aside from the watermelons

that we liked to eat the hearts out of (lol),
one of our favorite garden-grown foods to eat was okri.
Many people know it as okra,
but somewhere in that Arkansan countryside,
with a deep, southern drawl... it was okri.

Well, a few days ago my pastor's wife gave us a bag of it.
Ally and I were excited to cook it up today!
I had a few people inquire how I cook it
so I thought I'd share, just for fun.
It's real easy and we love the taste.
If you don't like okri,

the photos may not look appetizing. ;o)


After washing the okri, I patted it dry
and sliced it up...




Then I sprinkled it with a bit of cornmeal
(just like Gramma did)...



I melted some butter (not margarine) in the skillet
and then added the okri...


After a few minutes of frying and stirring,
waiting until it was golden browned,
I placed it in a bowl for serving...


Mmmm....
Ally and I just shared the bowl together!
It was delicious! ;o)

Restaurant okri ain't got nothin'
on homemade okri. ;o)


15 comments:

Chyrll said...

That looks wonderful!

Three Sisters Blog said...

The okra looks delicious!

Amy ~ (Life's Small Treasures) said...

Wow that looks SOOOOO good! My DH loves fried Okra ;) (Northern here)

Have a wonderful evening!

~Amy

MyHubbysHelper said...

I'm a huge okra fan and we actually grow it in our small backyard garden. My Hubby had never had it before, along with quite a few other southern delicacies. I always tease him about all the yummy things I have introduced him too :). I bread and fry my okra in oil. Just like I do with squash and zucchini and green tomatoes :)!!!!
I'm very glad you and Ally got to enjoy it!! Have a great day!!!!
Mrs. Bowman

Dawn said...

I have never tried okra before, mainly because I never knew what it was...LOL.
Your pictures make it look good though.
What does it taste like? I mean, does it taste close to any other vegetable?
I don't even know if our commissary sells okra...we live on a tiny base and our commissary is even tinyer (is that a word...LOL).

Bless you!
Dawn

Anonymous said...

Oh, I always have loved okri. I didn't even know that it WAS "okra", until after I was married. Grandma had a big garden and your description sounds just like mine, only my grandma was in Alabama, where I was born. We had fried okri, collard greens, and white corn with lard, among many other gastronomic wonders.
Oh, my! 8-D

Anonymous said...

glad to see you going back to you "roots", I'm sure you remember me cooking okra also, all you kid loved it, try flatening it then dip it in little flour and corn meal and fry in good oil.umm I want some
love, your mom

Christie Belle said...

Oh me, I love fried okra. LOVE it. I love fried squash too. I could eat those 2 things everyday. I like that y'all call it okri, that is too cute. That picture of it just looks so appetizing:) I know what will be on my grocery list next trip. Oh, I loved the pictures of Will playing the Alamo. Such a wonderful imagination.

Karen said...

Ok, my grandma used to call it that, too, but for some reason it never stuck with us. But, it's one of our favorite veggies, even though we almost always fry it! It's almost addictive, like chips. ;0) And, yes it does have to be done at home.....I've yet to find good okri OUT.

Madeleine said...

Well, my northern roots are now showing, in the fact that the whole okri/okra thing is totally lost on me.

I have never seen in with my own four eyes, though I've heard tell a supermaket about 40 minutes from here has some. (from our southern friends who are desperate for some.)

I dunno, it looks strangely familiar to zuccini. ;)

If I should ever get my hands on it, and cook it up....I'll let you know. lol ~madeleine

Anonymous said...

8-O Madeleine, oh, you poor thang! You need to go get you a mess of okri and get it fried up right! LOL! It is NOTHING like zucchini... :-D Don't even try it your first time yourself. Get your southern friends to fry you up some to try first. You certainly want the real thing for your first taste. ;-)

HsKubes said...

Chyrll and Three Sisters ~ Thank you. ;o) It was delicious!

Amy ~ It is very good. ;o)

Mrs. Bowman ~ How wonderful to grow it in your garden! Yum! How sweet of you to introduce your husband to it. I hope he likes it. ;o)

Dawn ~ Oh, Dawn, if your commisary sells it, give it a try.
I can't really describe what it tastes like. It doesn't really taste like any other vegetable that I can think of. It really is one of those that you just have to try. ;o)

Ginny ~ I have always loved it, too. How fun that y'all didn't call it 'okra' either. Your 'gastronomic wonders' comment made me chuckle. We grew up that way, too. One of my other favorites it fried taters! Oh, YUM! ;o)

Mommy ~ lol... Yep, since Bill brought me back down south, I've been getting in touch with my "roots". ;o) I do remember your okri, too... yum, yum, yum! By the way, I saw you called it 'okra'. Mama, you've been up north too long. LOL ;o)
I LOVE YOU!

Christie ~ Ooh... we love fried okri and squash, too... and zucchini. Mmmmm!!

Karen ~ How neat that your grandma called it that, too. That name just always stuck with us. Calling it 'okra' just seems wrong. lol
We love it fried, too (just no other way than that) and, yes, it is addictive! We could eat it everyday!

Madeleine ~ I agree with Ginny. See if one of your southern friends will fry some up for you. Mmmmm Mmmmm!


~ Christina

Kristi said...

We love okri 'round these parts too, dearie! And yours looks divine! :)

~Kristi

Susan said...

Hi, my name is Susan, I'm a friend of Kristi's. I've been reading your blog for quite a while now, but have not commented. I couldn't resist today! We ALWAYS called it okri. I didn't know what an "okra" was until I met my husbands family. My grandma fried it just like you, and my mom uses mazola, they both always said you have to let it get a little "slimy" before cornmealing it, which I cant say for sure since I haven't cooked it myself. I just request it when I visit!!We also ate it with tomatoes, or boiled in white peas.
Anyways, your blog is a blessing to me, I really enjoed your post about nature studies. Happy Homeschooling!!Susan D

HsKubes said...

Kristi ~ Thank you. ;o)

Susan ~ Thank you for leaving a comment and for visiting me. ;o)
How nice it is to meet another that knows it by okri. ;o) I, too, let it get a little slimy before putting it in the cornmeal. Mmmm!


~ Christina

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails