Oven Roasted Okra to Make a Believer Out of You

I have done enough self-reflection over the years to admit that I have a fiery, hot-headed personality.  In certain matters, I vastly prefer people who agree with me over people who don't.  It's not that I can't compromise, I can.  On certain things.  But I can also defend something to the death, and loudly.  Obnoxiously, even.  Don't put it past me.  There's nothing I like better than a good word-wrangle, especially when I can claim myself as the ultimate victor.  That last part is important.  Sure, I could try to get it under control, work on my listening skills, try to see where the other party is coming from, blah blah blah.  But you know, when you're right, you're right.  And I have to tell you: I am right about okra.

And today, I'm going to prove it.  Or rather, I'm going to give you the means to prove it yourself, courtesy of my much loved Yamuna's Table by Yamuna Devi.  Aside from winning the IACP award for her more famous Lord Krishna's Cuisine (which I have yet to get my hands on), the woman sang backup for the Beatles, has cooked for Gandhi and studied at the Cordon Bleu as well as all over India.  I'm all about proving my own points, but when you have an expert in your corner to back you up, well, all the better.  Listen, Devi makes eating okra as addicting as eating candy.  And it's easy.  And it's healthy. (Believe it.)

So if okra can do all of that, it seems this little one-sided debate of mine (maybe better labeled a pontification) has surely won you over, and with okra season just around the corner.  I do love it when I win.

Oven-Roasted Okra

Only very slightly adapted from Yamuna Devi's Yamuna's Table

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon water

1/2 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt or herb salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 1/2 lbs. okra, rinsed and patted dry

Lime, cut into wedges

Oven preheated to 500F.  Combine all of the ingredients except the okra and lime in a bowl.  Mix to form a grainy paste.  Toss the okra in the mixture, then spread out on a baking sheet.  Lightly spray the okra with cooking spray, and bake for 10 - 12 minutes.  Shake the pan every once in a while to prevent sticking.  The Okra is done when it's nice and tender.  Serve with lime wedges