Okra Curry Recipe (Easy & Never Slimy)
This okra curry is a flavorful, aromatic dish made with warm spices, tomato paste, and coconut milk, and it comes together in about 25 minutes. It’s vegan and gluten-free, and it needs only 11 easy-to-find ingredients. If you’ve avoided okra because of the slime factor, this method keeps it from turning gummy, so you get a rich, thick, well-spiced curry instead.
A glance at this post:
- Learn how to cook okra properly so it stays tender without becoming slimy
- Get a complete ingredient list and step-by-step instructions for making okra curry from scratch
- Discover practical tips that make this curry easier to prepare and more flavorful
- Master a simple okra curry recipe you can prepare any weeknight
There was a time a few years ago when I was juggling hunting for a house while selling the one we lived in. While in the middle of all this stress, I cut down on the amount of fresh produce I bought, opting for frozen food.
It was during this time, that comfort food like this shrimp curry and this tasty and easy okra curry, became staples with frozen naan.
We love this okra curry because:
- It’s flavorful and aromatic, made with ingredients you can pick up at any grocery store, and you might already have several of them on hand
- It’s an easy curry to make in a hurry
- It’s gluten-free and vegan
Ingredients
You’ll need 11 easy-to-find main ingredients:
- Frozen okra
- Olive oil
- Red onion
- Fresh ginger
- Fresh garlic
- Coriander powder
- Turmeric powder
- Chili powder
- Smoked paprika
- Tomato paste
- Coconut milk
Plus water, salt and pepper to taste, and optional cilantro or chili flakes for garnish.
How to Make Easy Okra Curry
- Prep the aromatics. Peel the onion, garlic, and ginger. Chop them, keeping the onion separate from the ginger and garlic.
- Sauté the onion. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Add ginger and garlic. Stir them in and sauté for about 2 minutes.
- Bloom the spices. Add the coriander, turmeric, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Sauté for about a minute, mixing well.
- Build the curry. Add the tomato paste, coconut milk, water, and frozen okra. Stir well, then cover and simmer for 4–5 minutes over medium heat.
- Finish. Uncover, remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve garnished with cilantro and chili flakes, alongside rice or roti.
Tips for Okra Curry
Use frozen okra. It tends to hold up better in a simmered curry than fresh, and it’s easy to add straight from the freezer. Fresh okra works too, but you may need to adjust the simmer time so it cooks through without getting slimy or mushy.
Sauté the onion low and slow. A full 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring often, builds a deeper, sweeter base.
Bloom the spices. Sauté the coriander, turmeric, chili powder, and smoked paprika for about a minute before adding the wet ingredients to wake up their flavor.
Simmer it in sauce, not water. Okra cooked in a simmering curry with tomato paste and coconut milk releases less of the sticky mucilage that causes sliminess than okra boiled in plain water.
Don’t over-simmer it. Cook just until heated through, about 4–5 minutes once everything is combined.
Uncover it as soon as it’s done. Taking the lid off right away stops residual steam from continuing to soften it.
Salt at the end. Everyone’s preference is different, so season once the curry is done rather than early.
Tips, Variations, and Substitutions
Fresh okra instead of frozen: Works well, but adjust the simmer time so it cooks through without turning slimy.
Coconut milk: Full-fat gives the richest, creamiest sauce. Light coconut milk works too, but the curry will be thinner.
Heat level: The chili powder and optional chili flakes control the spice. Leave off the chili flakes, or reduce the chili powder, for a milder curry.
Protein add-ins: Stir in cooked chickpeas or cubed tofu for extra protein, or serve alongside a chicken curry or shrimp curry for a mixed spread.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this easy okra curry alongside chicken curry and some rice pilaf for a full meal.
For a vegan or vegetarian dinner, pair it with chickpea spinach curry, a broccoli kale salad, and some roti.
It also pairs well with a spread of other curries and sides, like pan-roasted radishes with berbere or a dollop of peanut butter chutney on the side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cooking okra in a simmering sauce rather than boiling it in water, using frozen okra, and not over-simmering it all help reduce the sliminess. Removing the pan from the heat as soon as the okra is heated through also helps.
Okra contains a natural mucilage that releases when it’s cut and cooked, especially in water. Cooking it in a thicker, spiced sauce and not overcooking it both limit how much of that mucilage shows up in the final dish.
I have made this curry many times with frozen okra but not with fresh okra. If you use fresh okra, you may need to adjust the simmer time so it cooks through properly without becoming mushy or slimy.
Yes, this recipe uses oil, vegetables, and coconut milk, with no animal products.
Yes. Reduce or leave out the chili powder and skip the optional chili flakes garnish.
This hasn’t been tested on this recipe, so start with refrigerating leftovers in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Test freezing a small portion first if you’d like to try it, since coconut milk-based curries can sometimes separate when thawed.
Ingredients
- 12 oz package frozen okra
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 Red onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 inch chunk of ginger
- 4 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Chili powder
- 2 tsp Smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1/2 cup Coconut milk (I used Chaokoh brand)
- 1/4 cup vegetable stock or water to thin the curry
- Salt and pepper to taste
- OPTIONAL – cilantro / chili flakes to garnish
Instructions
- First off, peel and finely chop the red onion, garlic cloves, and fresh ginger. Keep the onion separate from the ginger and garlic.
- Add oil to a large sauté pan and add the onion. Cook the onion over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until the onion is lightly golden brown. Stir often so the onion does not burn.
- Then add in the chopped ginger and garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes.
- Add the coriander, turmeric, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Sauté for about a minute, stirring well so all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Then add the tomato paste, coconut milk, and frozen okra. Give this a good stir.
- Cover and let simmer for about 4- 5 minutes over medium heat.
- When done, uncover and remove from heat.
- If the curry is too thick, stir in the vegetable stock or water. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve garnished with cilantro and chili flakes. Enjoy with rice or roti.
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Nutrition
Hoping y’all enjoy this easy okra curry recipe as much as my daughter and I have!
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Okra is such good stuff. And we buy it frozen all the time. Unless you get really fresh (preferably smaller) okra IMO, frozen is better quality. A bit less crispy, but that doesn’t matter so much in a dish like this.
Ah, I think you can be forgiven about the house hunting mistake. Even the sanest of folks go nuts when it comes time for house hunting. As I’ve noted before, we can make this whole problem go away if you just move up here to our neighborhood. Of course, then you’d have a new problem – like needing to make this okra curry all the time! I do love okra, but I’ve never had it in this form. It sounds delicious!! Oh, and happy belated birthday!
I love the colour of this curry…so deep and beautiful and I bet it tastes amazingly delicious.