Okro: The drive behind this vegetable

This vegetable also known as Okra, Ochro, Okro, Bhindi, Bamia, Bamieh, Gumbo, quimgumbo and even Lady Fingers, is one of our planets most nutritious and mouth-watering vegetables.
Okra traces its origin from what was known as Abyssinia (Ethiopia) spreading right through to the Eastern Mediterranean regions, India, Africa, North America, South America and the Caribbean. Though long popular South of the Sahara and in the Caribbean, it is only now being recognized and sold in non-continental supermarkets around the UK and in other Western Countries.
Hibiscus Esculentus is a small green pod best used as a thickener of soups. Its flavour and texture are unique. For comparison, its taste falls between that of the eggplant and the asparagus.

It blends well with other vegetables such as tomatoes, chilli peppers, spinach, mushrooms and exudes a sticky juice which when added to any liquid will thicken it.

Okra can also be breaded and fried, in which case the juice exudes less.
This unusual vegetable does not only offer a superb taste, but also is nutritious and medicinal. It is a good source of Vitamin C, Folic Acid, essential B vitamins as well as magnesium, manganese and potassium. Okra is also high in dietary fibre.
The ripe seeds of Okra are sometimes roasted, ground and brewed as a substitute for coffee. A close relative to the Okra plant – Roselle is used as a good source of cloth fibre. In countries such as Turkey and Cyprus, the leaves are used in preparing medicinal remedies to soothe and reduce swellings and inflammations.
In some southern regions the seeds are of more value than the pods because of their ability to yield oil. When the pods are ripe, their seeds yield edible oil somewhat equal to other more expensive oils such as olive or sunflower oils.
This vegetable is marketed processed as well as fresh and frozen. Small young pods no more than 3.5 inches long are the most tender and have the most nutritional content. As the vegetable matures, it becomes tough, dry and dull.
Okra can be served raw, or prepared in the several ways: boiled and microwaved.

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