Ingredient: Dried Okra (with Recipe for Armenian Okra & Meat in Tangy Tomato Sauce)

Yesterday I hit the ingredient jackpot, and didn’t have to leave Anchorage to do it.

While sharing morning coffee with my friends Marie and Ankine, our conversation turned to the ingredients we bring home from our travels because they aren’t available in Alaska. Marie included dried okra in the list of foods that fill her luggage.

Dried okra? My ears perked up. I’d never heard of dried okra, and was full of questions. Where did the dried okra come from? How did Marie use it? How is the okra dried?

Marie opened the refrigerator and removed a jar of the tiniest okra I had ever seen. The 1” long baby okra were strung on cotton string like a necklace and dried until hard. The okra came from Turkey, via a California speciality market.

Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to

http://www.laurieconstantino.com/hard-to-find-dried-okra-worth-seeking-out/

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