Are you familiar with okra? It may remind you of southern American cooking, but before okra was brought to the western hemisphere, it was native to many Mediterranean, African and Middle Eastern cuisines. Also called gumbo or bamia in French, bhindi in Hindi and quimbombo in Spanish, okra is also popular in Turkish cuisine where it's called "bamya" (BAHM'-yah). Out of all the recipes for okra I've tried, my favorite is still this simple Turkish recipe for "zeytinyagli bamya" (zay-TEEN'-yah-luh BAHM'-yah), or okra in olive oil. The key to this recipe is the small number of ingredients.
The okra is seasoned only with onion, salt, pepper and some sugar. No heavy spices and other ingredients that overpower the naturally woody taste of the okra here.
When the okra is properly washed and prepared, there is virtually no stickiness or sliminess. All you have is a light, flavorful spring vegetable dish.
Now is the best season to find tiny, tender baby okra in your grocery store or farmer's market. The larger and more mature the pods, the tougher and slimier they become. If you don't like to go through the trimming, soaking and washing process, you can also use frozen okra in this recipe. In fact, I find that frozen okra is often less slimy than properly prepared fresh okra.
Go ahead, be brave. Try cooking okra Turkish style and see if it will change your mind about this unusual vegetable.
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