Ingredient

Okra

Okra divides people entirely on one issue: the mucilage. Cut an okra pod and heat it in liquid and it releases a viscous, slippery substance that thickens whatever it is in. In West African, Indian and Southern American cooking that is often exactly the point. When it is not, there are reliable ways to avoid it.

What the slime is, and when you want it

Okra pods contain mucilage — long-chain sugars that hold a great deal of water and form a viscous gel when they are released. Cutting the pod opens the cells; heat and moisture then let the mucilage disperse.

In a great many dishes this is the reason okra is there. Gumbo takes its name from a West African word for okra, and okra was the original thickener for it. West African okra soups and stews depend on the texture, which is described as "drawing" and is actively prized. Many South Indian and Middle Eastern okra stews use it the same way.

In others — Indian bhindi masala, fried okra, roasted okra, okra in a salad — it is unwanted, and the goal is a firm, almost crisp pod.

So the first question is never "how do I stop the slime" but "is this a dish that wants it". Both answers are legitimate.

How to avoid the mucilage

These work, and they can be combined.

• Keep it dry. Wash the pods well before you cut them and dry them completely. Water on a cut surface is what mobilises the mucilage — this alone makes a substantial difference.
• Cook it whole. Uncut pods release very little. Trim only the very top of the cap without cutting into the pod, and leave the tip on.
• Use high, dry heat. Roasting, grilling, dry-frying and deep-frying all drive off moisture faster than the mucilage can disperse. Roasted whole okra at a high temperature is barely slippery at all.
• Add acid. Lemon, lime, vinegar or tomato reduces the viscosity. This is why so many okra dishes contain tomato.
• Do not crowd the pan. Crowding traps steam, and steam is the whole problem.
• Cook it hard and briefly, rather than gently and long, when you want it firm.
• Salt at the end, since salt draws out moisture.

How okra is cooked around the world

• Gumbo — Louisiana, where okra thickens the stew and the mucilage is the historical point of it.
• Okro soup — West African, thick, drawing, eaten with fufu or another swallow. The texture is the dish.
• Bhindi masala — North Indian, dry-fried hard with spices, deliberately not slimy.
• Kurkuri bhindi — okra cut into thin strips, tossed in gram flour and spices, and deep-fried into something like crisps.
• Bamya — Middle Eastern and Egyptian, stewed with tomato and lamb, where the tomato acid keeps it in check.
• Pickled okra — Southern American, whole pods in spiced vinegar. No slime, and very good.
• Roasted whole, with oil and salt, at a high temperature, which is the easiest good treatment.
• Charred on a grill, whole, which suits it well.

Choosing and storing it

Okra deteriorates faster than most vegetables and a tired pod is both tough and slimier.

Size

Small to medium pods, roughly the length of a finger. Large pods are woody and fibrous however you cook them.

The snap test

A fresh pod snaps cleanly when you bend the tip. One that bends without breaking is old.

Colour

Bright, even green with no black patches. Blackening at the ridges and tips means it is going.

Feel

Firm and slightly velvety. Any sliminess on the outside of a raw pod is a bad sign.

Storage

A few days at most, in the fridge, in a paper rather than a plastic bag. Trapped moisture blackens it quickly.

Do not wash it until you cook it

And then dry it thoroughly. Wet okra in storage goes slimy on the outside, and wet okra in a pan is the whole problem.

Common questions