Recipe: Easy Fried Okra

Don't cut up the pods like almost every other recipe for this does. They get gooey and force more of the batter than you want to stick to the vegetable and also cause the pieces to stick together. It's so much easier to do it "tempura style" like I recommend here.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. of fresh okra pods

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 cup of corn meal

4 cups of lowfat buttermilk

1 tbsp. cayenne pepper

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. onion powder

Sea salt to taste

4 cups of canola or other neutral oil for frying

Directions:

Mix the flour, corn meal, buttermilk, and spices together well to create a batter a little thicker than the consistency of pancake batter (add more flour/corn meal or buttermilk in equal parts to get the right consistency). Put all the okra pods in the batter and allow to sit for about 30 minutes.

Use a wok for the frying. Heat the oil in the wok over high heat. Working in batches, place the battered pods into the oil one at a time. Cook until the crust turns lightly brown. Scoop the okra out with a wire strainer and place onto a brown paper sack or paper towels to drain off excess oil. Season generously with salt. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.