Growing up in the Midwest with a mom who grew in the South means that we had a lot of different types of dishes on the table growing up. BBQ chicken, homemade sweet pickles, and rhubarb-strawberry pie were just a few of treats that were always on the table when spring and summer came around. One of my favorite of these summer dishes was fried okra. Not everyone knows about this wonderful vegetable, but it’s one to get acquainted with.

Okra is a green pod-looking vegetable that grows well in the zones 6-11 in the US. The origin of the plant is disputed, but it believed to have been brought from Africa during the Transatlantic slave trade. This vegetable has a lot of minerals and nutrients and it makes an extremely tasty side dish at dinner. If you don’t have fresh okra in your garden or at the grocery or farmer’s market this summer, you can use frozen okra just fine. Be sure to thaw it before cooking and all should be well.

To start this recipe you’ll need to coat the chopped okra in some all-purpose flour. Then dredge in egg before mixing up the cornmeal coating.

The coating is simple: cornmeal, salt, pepper, and some garlic powder. You can addd whatever spices you want to the mix, but I have found that this simple mixture really is the best for this recipe.

Throw the cornmeal mix in a plastic baggie and toss the okra in the mix 1 cup at a time. Alternately, you can also dredge the okra using 2 forks and a tossing motion instead.

Fry the okra in small bathes in 1″ of 350˚F vegetable oil. Remove to paper towels to drain the excess oil and serve as soon as all the batches are done.

As a kid my mom always served these with ketchup, but a lot of people love to dip their fried okra in ranch dressing. However you choose to have this tasty Southern treat the crispy outside and fresh green taste of okra will always go well together. Try this one for yourself the next time you’re looking for a savory vegetable dish.