This post is a part of the mega Blogging Marathon and A-Z challenge. I have chosen ‘popular American dishes’ as my theme.
The whole idea of American cuisine as theme started when I was going through the index of a book which had some really popular dishes. Going through the index made it easy for me because I could see a lot of options for a particular alphabet before making the final decision. So now, whenever I pick a book and I go straight to the end to see the alphabetical listing of recipes :D.
Coming to the recipe here, fried okra is a Southern classic. I was interested in trying this out and it tasted good – as all fried things do!! But for most part, I will be staying with my Indian way of serving okra which is just sauteing until the sliminess goes off with some salt and a bit of chili powder. You can spice it up more, but this is all that the basic recipe needs. Okra is used heavily in Indian cuisine.
When I started making this, I thought 2 cups of flour mix or even 2 cups of buttermilk is a lot for the quantity of okra used. But in the end, there wasn’t a lot of butter milk left over to be discarded. There was a lot of left over flour mix though, but the quantity was needed to make the dredging part easy. When it comes to the last batch for frying, make sure you have drained the okra well enough before adding to the flour mix. The buttermilk will tend to collect at the bottom and the last batch will have a lot more liquid than the previous ones.
Read on for the recipe and the picture tour!
Clean and trim tip and stem from 1/2 kg okra. Cut them into 1/2″ thick rounds. Add the okra into a mix of 2 cups buttermilk whisked with one egg. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
Combine one cup all purpose flour and one cup cornmeal with seasonings : salt, pepper and garlic powder. Remove a batch of okra from the buttermilk with a slotted spoon so that excess liquid drains off and dredge it in the flour mix.
Deep fry in batches. Drain in paper towels. Serve as a side dish or a snack.
Recipe source: Southern Living
Ingredients:
- 1/2 kg/ 1 lb Okra
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 egg (optional)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- salt, pepper, garlic powder – to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Method:
- Clean and trim tip and stem from 1/2 kg okra. Cut them into 1/2″ thick rounds.
- Add the okra into a mix of 2 cups buttermilk whisked with one egg. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
- Combine one cup all purpose flour and one cup cornmeal with seasonings : salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Remove a batch of okra from the buttermilk with a slotted spoon so that excess liquid drains off and dredge it in the flour mix.
- Deep fry in batches. Drain in paper towels. Serve as a side dish or a snack.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63
My Kitchen Trials 
I am an American with Soutgern Roots and I am so impressed with how you nailed this recipe. Great job!
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one of my all time fave snacks – yours looks so perfectly crispy
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After moving South, I realized how much okra is used here. Every store I go to has whole okras deep fried like chips and people buy them like crazy. I still could not eat those as I thought they were too oily for my taste, but this version with the flour coating is absolutely something I would love. You have come up with a lovely choice for the alphabet!
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Fried okra looks so crispy and crunchy. Perfectly made Rajani.
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Amazing recipe to use okra!! Loved the way you made it :)
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That sure is an authentic Southern fried okra. I love these, my good friends are from South Carolina and they are always making these as a party starter..
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A very tempting snack. Presented beautifully as well.
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Great.. Pretty much all the American fried recipes uses buttermilk naa.. But for okra it helps a lot to remove that ooyi gooyeness. Amazing pick for O.
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We are ardent fan of okra and have tried almost dishes .This American version of fried okra looks so addictive .Love the last picture showing how crispy they are.
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Those fried okra bites looks prefect to munch without any guilt, am in love with these crispy beauties.
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Wow , these fried beauties look excellent , i am so so tempted to grab them !
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Fried okra looks very nice, Rajani. Never tried the American version of okra fry. I always end up making okra stir fry with lot of chili powder :)
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Wow, Rajani. That surely looks super inviting. Amazing snaps…
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Gosh that’s surely is a tempting snack..As you said we use okra so much in our cuisine that every possible avatar is tried with..I love the one with besan..this with flour will surely be more addictive..good one Rajani..even I have the habit of checking out the last page with alphabet listing..makes it such an interesting read..btw I am so enjoying your American theme..
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As you mentioned, I love the crisply baked okra curry with chili and cumin powders. This one looks ral crispy and inviting when we forget about the frying and calories.
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