This stewed okra is a quick and easy side dish to whip up. If you ever tried making my vegan style Jollof Rice, there will definitely be extra Jollof tomato “stew” base to use in other recipes. You could have stored this in the freezer, or to make it fresh simply refer back to the recipe. After watching lots of African cooking videos on YouTube from vlogger Mark Wiens, I wanted to try cooking like my father’s African ancestors might have done.
The proportions are really flexible and really dependent on your personal preferences, you can’t really go wrong with stewed okra. I like to use 2 cups of tomato mixture to about 4 cups of cut okra. I also added about a cup or two of water. The Jollof seasoning for this stewed okra (pictured below) is the same from my recipe which is a blend of black pepper, allspice, coriander, smoked paprika, and white pepper. The combination of scotch bonnet peppers and ginger will give your okra a clean, spicy edge you will feel in your sinuses. Garlic, red onion and scallions provide a dreamy trio of aromatics while the stovetop-roasted red pepper cools everything off with a slightly sweet edge.
My Jollof seasoning consisting of black pepper, white pepper, allspice, coriander, and smoked paprika.
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh okra, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 cups Jollof tomato mixture
- 1 tablespoon Jollof seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Heat the coconut oil to a medium-high temperature, so the tomato mixture should sizzle when added.
- Stir in the tomato mixture and seasoning and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes with the lid ajar.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the okra (and water if needed).
- Cook at a medium low temperature until the okra is no longer tough, stirring occasionally. It should be done in approximately 30 – 40 minutes.
Yield: 4 servings
Fresh okra from Elliniki Agora market in Astoria, Queens.
