Okra is one of the vegetables with a fairly bad culinary reputation. Most of us do not like it at all or are not certain how to integrate it into a healthy and various diet as are used to consume it only as a side dish and fried.
Yes, okra is slimy – we hear you; and the taste appeals closer to an asparagus and eggplant mix, which can not be highly praised.
But okra is actually a very versatile vegetable with a rich history and a fancy colloquial name “lady’s fingers” (the literal translation of the vegetable’s name in Hindi – bhindi).
And it is gaining popularity in the last years as a super food for people with or at risk of diabetes when used as a seed and peel extract or pickled. Indeed, okra has been used in some traditional cultures for centuries to help stabilise blood sugar levels.
The related to cotton and other mallow family plants – okra, most likely originated around Ethiopia and was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians by the 12th century B.C.
During the Bantu migration the plant spread to Western Africa, where, in Angola, it got the name quilobo, from which the name gumbo originated. The famous gumbo stew, with a main ingredient-okra, originated in 18th century Louisiana and got its name by the Bantu language spoken by the many African slaves involved in the Louisiana households.
The name okra comes from Nigeria, from the Igbo language, which called the sticky plant – okuru.
As we have already learned, the vegetable spread on the North American continent at the beginning of the 18th century along the route of slave trade.
Okra in Europe
But when comes to Europe, the plant came through the Mediterranean route of trade with the Middle East.
The first time the English readers got to read about the slimy plant was back in 1679. When Thomas Trapham in his A discourse of the state of health in the island of Jamaica described okra as an important ingredient of the local cuisine: “A food easy of digestion may well be admitted likewise the young Ocra an agreeable Food as well for the species as individual, dressed variously according to pleasure.”
Unsurprisingly, all written references in the following couple of centuries come from only travellers and colonists in the Indies who describe the plant itself, along with its culinary implementation.
Next time when you see okra in your plate, think of its rich history and numerous health benefits – to only name a few – source of antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and minerals which can lower cholesterol and improve digestion and blood sugar levels.
