My friend Erica brought me a bag full of okra grown by her next door neighbor. (You can see Erica’s picture of the farmer with his impressive okra crop here.) She also recommended this recipe, which has way better pictures than my food blog ever will. And, because I tweaked the recipe, and it turned out more gumbo than Indian, I’m going to add her ingredients and instructions verbatim. Ya win some and ya lose some, eh?

Ingredients:

2 small eggplants (or 1 large regular eggplant)
3 T olive oil, divided
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T fresh ginger, grated
1/2 t each curry powder
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t cayenne pepper
S&P
1 green bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, chopped
12 ounces fresh okra, tough ends removed and sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

Accompaniments:
1 handful cilantro, roughly chopped
Naan bread
Plain Greek yogurt
Jasmine rice
Lime wedges

Instructions:

Preheat the oven set to broil. Rub 1 tablespoon of the oil on the eggplants, broil for 15 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle, peel, and chop.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the onions for 2 minutes, add the garlic and ginger and cook for another 4 minutes. Stir in all of the spices to coat. Add the pepper, okra, tomatoes with their juices, and stir to combine. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve with any of the accompaniments listed above.