Okra and Baby Potato Stew

Do you believe that okra should never be cooked moist? This okra and baby potato stew will make you re-evaluate that belief! When simmered in a flavorful tomato curry, okra and potatoes get infused with a delicious tang and, thanks to the acidity of the tomatoes, none of the okra slime.

This recipe is supremely easy to put together – no anxious sun-drying of washed okra, no meticulous wiping with kitchen towel…you can immediately cook the okra post-washing.

Note: Pick very fresh, bright green, tender baby okra for this recipe.

You Need:

[Servies 3-4]

• Fresh okra – 250 grams
• Baby potatoes – 250 grams
• Tomatoes – 4
• Green chilies – 2
• Garlic – 6 small cloves (~2 teaspoons when chopped)
• Salt – to taste
• Red chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon (more if you like it hotter)
• Pepper powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Vegetable or peanut oil – 2 teaspoons

How To Make Okra and Baby Potato Stew:

1. Prep the vegetables

Wash the baby potatoes: In lukewarm water, soak the baby potatoes for 10 minutes. Scrub the skin clean. Wash in a couple of changes of water.

Note: I cook the baby potatoes with skin on in this recipe, so washed them well. If you’d rather peel the potatoes, go ahead and can do that.

With a fork or toothpick, prick holes all over each baby potato’s surface. [This will help the potatoes cook faster and absorb the flavors of the curry.]

Wash the okra. Snip the top off each okra. Cut into 2-inch pieces if the okra is long; anything under 3-inches means you can leave the okra whole.

Peel and finely chop garlic cloves. Slit the green chilies vertically.

Quarter the tomatoes and place them in a food processor or mixie.

Puree the tomatoes.

2. Cook

Heat oil in a thick-bottomed pan. When the oil is hot, add to it cumin seeds and chopped garlic.

After the cumin seeds have spluttered and the garlic turned golden, add to the pan turmeric powder and give it a quick stir.

Add tomato puree to the pan. Bring to a boil. Set heat to its lowest setting. Mix salt, pepper and red chili powder into the bubbling puree. Cook covered, undisturbed, for five minutes.

Stir the tomato curry, add baby potatoes and green chilies to the pan.

Cook for 12-13 minutes with the pan covered. Stir the contents of the pan once or twice in between, for even cooking.

Tip in the okra into the pan.

Mix. Stew the vegetables covered for another 20 minutes or till the potatoes and okra are tender and have absorbed the flavors of the tomato curry. Stir around once, gently, in between.

Baby potato and okra stew is ready.

Serve hot with rice.

Notes:

Like the idea of stews? Check out lauki aloo stew. chow chow stew, express mooli sambar – radish lentil stew.

Interested in more okra recipes? Try dahi bhindi. bhindi do pyaza, okra stuffed with peanut spice.