Fried Okra

Okra is indigenous to West Africa where it has been a nutritious source of food for thousands of years. The plant was brought to the Americas by European traders during the enslavement of African people in the 16th century. Okra became a staple in Southern cuisine because it was easy to grow in poor soil and hot, humid climates in the southern region of the U.S. The process of deep-frying battered vegetables in oil is rooted in West African and Congolese cuisines, and enslaved Africans in the Americas continued to fry okra in much of the same way it was fried in West African cuisine, except corn meal was used as batter because corn was more readily available than grains commonly used in Africa such as millet. During the economic depression that occurred in the post-Civil War Reconstruction period in the South, battering and frying vegetables and meat helped increase servings and the heartiness of meals, and by the mid-19th century, fried foods became a defining feature of Southern cuisine. By the 20th century fried okra had become a permanent dish in both wealthy and poor households throughout the South, and the popularity of Soul Food during the Civil Rights Movement called attention to the role of okra in African-American history.