Ladies’ finger tomato sauce is a delicious, easy to make and nutritious sauce which you can serve alongside rice, over potatoes or even with pasta! This dish is not slimy like okra (ladies’ finger) dishes can tend to be. This is due to the acidity of the tomatoes added to the dish, which naturally reduce the amount of slime the okra releases. The dish is also very minimally agitated using utensils in order to not promote the release of a lot of slime from the okra.
Okra is a pod which is high is a great source of nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese. It also contains some protein, vitamin A, thiamin (vitamin B-1), riboflavin (vitamin B-2), niacin (vitamin B-3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), folate (vitamin B-9), vitamin E, choline, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, a little omega-6 fatty acid, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. The other ingredients in this recipe further enhance the nutritional value of the final dish making it nutritious while still offering a tasty experience. You can find more about the roles of the aforementioned nutrients in our Nutrient Index.
Without further ado, here’s our Ladies’ Finger Tomato Sauce recipe.
Bon Appétit!
Ingredients
1/2 a Large Purple Onion, sliced into strips
10 Okra pods, gently rinsed, patted dry and sliced into 0.5-1cm rounds (ends discarded)
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, sliced (optional)
4 Rehydrated Dried Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced (substitute with fresh mushrooms)
1/2-1tsp Ginger, minced
1-2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Birdeye Chillies, thinly sliced (to reduce heat, take out seeds or exclude)
Water
Sea Salt
1/2tsp Smoked Paprika
1/4tsp Black Pepper
10g Vegetable Stock Cube
1 x 400g Peeled Plum Tomatoes (substitute with chopped tomatoes)
1/4tsp Dried Basil
1/2tsp Ground Coriander
Method
- Heat up a few tablespoons of water in a pan until it starts simmering.
- Add the onions, ginger, garlic and chillies to the pan and cook until fragrant and the onions soften adding more water as necessary to prevent burning.
- Add the okra, optional red bell peppers and mushrooms to the pan and give the pan a shake to distribute them around the pan and cook for 2mins. (N.B.: Do not use a spoon)
- Pour in the can of tomatoes and use a spoon to gently break up the tomatoes into smaller bits.
- Gently move the contents of the pan around to evenly combine all the ingredients then leave the contents of the pan to cook on high heat for approximately 5mins. (N.B.: Do not stir as it cooks, but you can shake the pan a few times to ensure nothing is burning)
- Sprinkle on the dried basil and ground coriander. Slowly and gently, stir them in to fully combine them with the sauce.
- Cook the sauce for an additional 2mins, but lower the heat to a medium level.
Serve.
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