These okra cornmeal cakes are pan fried with a crispy outside and spicy soft center. They’re perfect with the refreshing cilantro lime yogurt dip.
Sometimes there’s really not much to say about a recipe.
Why okra cakes?
Well, to be honest, it all has to do with stubbornness. Okra can be gross and I can be stubborn.
So obviously that meant I needed to come up with a way to enjoy eating the slimy-interior wheel shaped vegetable besides just frying into little bites (because if you’ve never tried it that way, it’s gooood).
ps- air fryer okra is a much healthier way to enjoy “fried” okra if that’s your thing.
I did, the result are these crispy cornmeal cakes with generous pieces of okra shining through and they’re pretty delicious.
There’s a world of difference between these fun crunchy cakes and this stewed okra and tomatoes recipe but weirdly, they’re both delicious if you need a way to use up the seasonal summer vegetable.
Other than that though, I have nothing else to say about this recipe.
Instead, things that are running through my mind as I sit on this 5 hour flight out to Las Vegas for a week of “vacation” (can it be called vacation when there’s 10+ miles of hiking planned for every day?)…
1. Did Vegas become an Asian hot spot or something? I’m one of maybe 3 non-Asians on this flight. And I’m on Delta, not like Cathway Pacific or something. Odd.
2. Why oh why did I not carve out time to get a pedicure before this trip? Every time I glance at my non-polished toe nails in the flip flops I’m wearing right now, I want to cringe. I hate naked toes.
3. What the HELL is the man sitting behind me doing to the back of my chair? When I sit on a plane, I don’t touch the seat in front of me unless absolutely necessary for tray table adjustments. In fact, I try not to touch anything (hello, germ factory) so when someone can consistently pound the back of mine for 4+ hours, I legitimately do not understand what they could be doing.
4. I have 7 Delta drink tickets sitting in my wallet from back in the days when I was a fancy schmancy (yeah, not really) business traveler and yet, I always find myself on horrifically early morning flights where I can’t even think of drinking anything but coffee.
5. Are we going to end up having to eat at crappy chain restaurants this whole trip? A quick search last night for semi-decent restaurants surrounding the national parks looked pretty grim.
6. I don’t even know what time zone Vegas is in. And then to complicate things, we’re driving to Arizona. Doesn’t Arizona not do daylight savings? Or is that another state? Why are random states even allowed to make up their own time. If there’s one thing the government should regulate, it should be the damn time!
7. I forgot to reprogram the thermostat downstairs while we’re away and considering our electricity rates doubled in the past 2 months, that’s just awesome. At least the plants will be nice and air-conditioned.
8. I can’t believe I paid $4.59 for a Cliff bar at the airport when I packed 6 of them for the trip. And then left them in the bag I decided to check last minute.
9. People who leave their window shades down on a plane when not watching tv bother me. How can you not want to look out the window?!
10. Does getting up at 2:45am mean I can eat an extra meal today?
And one more thing on the okra cakes…
You should make them.
Okra Cornmeal Cakes with Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dip
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sliced okra rounds
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 1/2 cup diced red pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup water
- salt & pepper
- 1/4 cup oil for frying, coconut, canola, etc.
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Combine the cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the egg and water.
- Add the egg and water mixture to the cornmeal mixture and stir together with a spatula.
- Mix in the okra, jalapeno, red pepper and garlic.
- Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once hot, form the batter into patties and pan fry on each side for about 3 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
- Mix the yogurt, lime and cilantro together in a small bowl and serve with the hot cakes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I know my family is going to love this new recipe…will go to the market tomorrow,(can hardly wait)Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.Sylvia
I made these today but added some onion and fat-free cheddar cheese. They were very good.
I tried these last night. The concept was good, but the recipe didn’t have enough binder and I couldn’t even form cakes with it. I ended up making them as best I could and baking them, since flipping was not an option. The batter was extremely dry. I will try again with my own corn batter recipe.
TWO THINGS:
#9, I mean, seriously.. #soannoying
Fresh okra + summer + pan fried = awesome!
There’s always okra sample at my grocery store, and I’m always intrigued by it, but never know what to do with it. These cakes look like the perfect vessel for those interesting little buggers!
I’m actually loving this idea. The only thing I would do different is add some curry powder to the mix. Did you use frozen or fresh okras? It’s challenging to work with okra but I find they do well simmered whole in curries and deep-fried or in raitas. I’ll be trying this one, some day :)
I think it still counts as a vacation. And mimosa? You can drink in the morning!!
Those look great! I love vegetable patties, I’ll have to try this okra variation sometime soon. The cilantro lime dip looks delicious too! :)
These look so good! And that dip, I want it on everything! Pinned
Haha @ this ” Does getting up at 2:45am mean I can eat an extra meal today?”
That always goes through my head on early morning flight days!
I hope that you have a fun trip and these look fab! Supa creative and ANYTHING with cilantro lime dip is always a good choice. Pinned!