Dehydrated okra

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Whether you call it a fruit or vegetable, okra is a very popular plant that is consumed by many people all over the world. And it is prepared based on the preference of the people consuming it. In many African countries for example,  prefer it very slimy. The slimier, the better. So they make it into a soup, okro soup. While others try to get rid of the slime. Some people season and fry or dry the okra for a snack, some others pickle it or make it into a dish. Whichever way you prefer to consume okra, it is a versatile and nutritious plant. Dried okra soup is a very popular Nigerian dish known as miyan busheshen kubewa in Hausa dialect. The okra has to be dried to make this soup. And despite the dehydration of the okra, it does not lose its viscosity.

• Wash and drain the okra. Pat dry with a paper towel or a piece of cloth (this reduces slime when cutting the okra).
• Cut to any desired size (the bigger the size, the longer it will take to dehydrate). Add spices if you want to eat it as a snack.
• Spread the cut okra in a pan/sheet. You could use a wire rack. The advantage of using a wire rack is that you don't have to flip to the other side the okra mid way into the drying process,
• Set your oven between 120 - 140 degrees F or 50 -60 degrees C. You can preheat your oven if you want.
• Let it dry out for about 4 hours or longer depending on the size of your okra and oven temperature. Do not forget to flip the okra mid way if you are using a baking sheet.
• When the okra is dehydrated, cool it and store in an  air tight container. You could also blend or pound it into powder before storing it.

Ingredient

Okra