This unusual vegetable is grown all over the world and looks like a green bean as Picasso might have painted it. Cooked briefly, it has a beautiful crunch and a fabulous flavour – try it with coconut in an Indian-inspired stir-fry. Alternatively, cook it for ages in a stew (such as American gumbo) until it collapses completely and helps thicken the dish. Whatever you do, don’t take the middle way and cook it for any time between these extremes – it’ll be glutinous and slimy. Okra is ‘bhindi’ on Indian restaurant menus and is colloquially known as lady’s fingers, though not many ladies would be pleased with such a comparison. ‘E.T.’s fingers’ would be more accurate.
Okra recipe
Sweet potato gumbo with cornbread