Okra /Ladyfingers With Tangy & Hot Dried Shrimps Garnishing

This dish reminds me of my grandma...she used to make blanched okra/ladyfingers for us. The most special about this dish  is she will mix  pounded raw dried shrimps together with lots of bird's eye chillies , garlic and add squeeze garden grown calamasi juice over the lovely mixture and pour over the blanched okra.  This dish alone is a real appetizer and that was the only way my siblings and myself will eat okra  those days when we were younger!  As many of us know that okra has mucilage (    is a thick, gluey substance produced by most plants and some microorganisms. )   and not many people will love this green but if I tell you how great it is you will want to eat more of this green everyday :)

You can either cook them in curry or blanch it and serve it with sambal or my grandma style...mix the pounded raw dried shrimps with chopped chillies, fresh garlic and calamasi juice and a pinch of salt to taste...you will simply love this tangy and hot dried shrimps garnishing ....one word it is delicious !  No oil and it is so healthy.  

Talking about healthy...let me tell you about Okra and its health benefits.  Besides being low in calories it is aplenty with vitamins of the category A, Thiamin, B6, C, folic acid, riboflavin, calcium, zinc and dietary fiber. Eating okra is much recommended for pregnant woman besides other for it is rich in folic acid which is essential in the neural tube formation of the fetus during 4-12 weeks of gestation period in the mother's womb.  Wow...this is great news for pregnant women and nutritionists claims that the mucilage and fiber found in okra helps adjust blood sugar by regulating its absorption in the small intestine and it helps reabsorb water and traps excess cholesterol, metabolic toxins and surplus bile in its mucilage and slips it out through the stool. Due to greater percentage of water in the bulk it thereby prevents constipation, gas and bloating in the abdomen. With this information, I think I will add more of this green into my meal plan :) 

( Printable Recipe )

Ingredients:-?

15 pieces of young okra

(A)

1/2 cup dried shrimps - soak and pound coarsely

5 pips of garlic- chopped fine

7 bird's eye chillies - chopped fine

4 calamasi - squeeze for juice

salt to taste

Method:-

Mix together ingredients A in a bowl and leave aside.

Blanched okra in hot boiling water , with 1 tbsp olive oil added , till it is just cooked. Take out and drain off excess water . Cut off the head and end part of the okra and arrange neatly in a row on a serving plate.  Garnish with the the dried shrimps mixture and this dish can be served as appetizer or a main dish with hot steaming rice.

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Enjoy and have a nice day :)

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