Spicy Fried Okra

About a year ago, I read about a little bar not too far from Leeds train station, called Bundobust, which served small Indian nibbly dishes. As part of our ongoing, but interrupted, culinary-veggie tour of Yorkshire eateries, I went to check out the place with my friend Caroline. Though we did that awkward thing of one of us waiting inside the restaurant, the other one waiting outside, when we finally found each other, we found that Bundobust served up some pretty good stuff, from pots of creamy black lentil dhal and rice, to the more interesting bundo chaat, a combination of samosa pastry, chickpeas, potato and relish. But the star was their okra fries, thin and crispy, in a chickpea batter, dusted with salt and mango powder.

Banish all thoughts of slimy ‘ladies fingers’- FRYING okra is the key. With Leicester having so many brilliant Indian ingredients knocking around its market, I couldn’t resist trying out a recipe; this is a nod to the crispy, salty flavours of Bundobust, but the batter is heavier (leading to a more crunchy coating) and they’re flash-baked in the oven to be healthier.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons gram flour

2 teaspoons mild curry powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dried mixed herbs

1 small handful fresh coriander, chopped

1 medium-sized fresh green chilli (adjust size/seeds if it’s a spicy one!)

1 dessertspoon tomato puree

½ teaspoon minced ginger

1 dessertspoon sunflower/vegetable oil, plus more for cooking

2-3 handfuls okra.

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to gas 7 or 220°C.

2) Keeping the okra aside, combine all other ingredients in a large bowl, including the dessertspoon of sunflower or vegetable oil.

3) Add enough water (anything from 50-100ml) to make a sticky mix that falls off the spoon- it should be thick enough to coat the okra and cling to it, rather than running off.

4) Wash the okra, cut off their tops and slice lengthways into two thin pieces.

5) Add the sliced okra into the gram flour mix and stir to coat with your hands; if the mixture is too thick, add a little more water. It should really be the consistency of a raw onion bhaji batter (or what you imagine that looks like!) If it’s too runny, stir in another spoonful of gram flour.

6) Line a large baking tray and drizzle with a little oil, before dispersing the coated okra. Try to do this individually, rather than tipping the bowl out; you want them to be spaced apart if possible, but it’s ok if a few stick together!

7) Drizzle over a little more oil (about a dessertspoon, but remember that they’ll never be as calorific as any deep-fried version) before cooking on a high heat for 15-20 minutes, until crisp and dark golden, turning occasionally.

Pile up onto kitchen paper and serve!