When Gourmandistan had a larger garden, we once planted several rows of okra. We dreamt of the days we’d spend enjoying Southern cormeal-battered, deep fried tiny pods. Unfortunately, our okra seemed to grow so quickly that a tiny bud in the morning would become a six-inch monster by afternoon, unusable (at least to us) for anything. Our recent visits to Chai Pani introduced us to another way to enjoy fried okra, and now we (at least Steve) think we might welcome larger pods into our domain.
After enjoying meals at this delightfully funky Asheville, North Carolina Indian street food restaurant, both on our way to and on our way back from our recent trip to Dewees Island, we returned home with a determination to see if we could make at least some of the delicious dishes we had. While we have yet to become brave enough to attempt bhel puri or papri chaat, Michelle realized she had the chops (and the lime and salt) to try and replicate Chai Pani’s fried okra. It’s an amazingly simple recipe, with the salt and lime somehow making the okra seem more exotic than any Southerner could imagine. Chef Meherwan Irani seems to be a delightful fellow, who credits his mom with this method of frying okra.
Chai Pani has opened a branch outside of Atlanta, making us wish Mr. Irani would take a look at Louisville. Though we’d be more than happy to revisit Asheville again. Especially if it means another trip to the beach, perhaps for a month during horrible February. (Right, Buffy?)
Filed under: Appetizers, Cooking, Food, India, Okra, Recipes, Restaurants, Vegetables, Vegetarian
