I am a chef on a luxury world cruise liner. I love to cook and write recipes that are inspired by foods from all over the world.

Pumpkin is a widely grown vegetable that is extremely versatile in the kitchen. It can be used to in side dishes, soups, main dishes, and even desserts. Ladies' fingers (also known as okra or ochro) is the edible pod of a flowering plant. Okra is cultivated primarily in tropical countries, including, for example, many South Asian countries.

In this recipe, I'll share how to make a healthy and delicious pumpkin and okra stew.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 350 grams pumpkin, peeled and cubed
• 150 grams pigs head, cleaned, boiled, and sliced
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 100 grams okra (ladies' fingers), sliced
• 1/2 small onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• cooking oil, for sauteeing

Utensils

For Preparation:

• 4 medium bowl
• 1 small plate
• chopping board
• knife
• measuring cups

For Cooking:

• wok
• cooking spoon

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Saute onion and garlic. Set aside.
3. In the same pan, cook pumpkin pieces.
4. Add boiled pig's head, as well as the sauteed onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour in water. Cook until pumpkin is almost tender.
6. Add okra slices. Adjust seasoning if needed.
7. Serve with rice.

Tips and Techniques

• Replace pork with any kind of meat such as chicken, beef, fish, or seafood.
• As an alternative to okra, try using snap peas or garden peas.

Questions & Answers

Question: How to alleviate slim in okra?

Answer: 1. Process of cooking. Frying, grilling or roasting okra won't make it too slimy even if you slice it.

2. Straight cut okra to avoid it from being slimy.

3. Cook okra as a whole especially if you're cooking it with water.

4. Wash it or add any ingredients with high acidity into the okra dish to avoid it. Some of these ingredients are lemon, tomato, and vinegar.

© 2019 Travel Chef

Comments

Pamela Oglesby from Sunny Florida on June 26, 2019:

Pigs head is not something we see in the grocery store here. This is an interesting amount of ingredients, and I imagine it tastes great.

Pam Morris from Atlanta Georgia on June 26, 2019:

I never heard of a Pumpkin and Ladies Fingers Stew. After reading the recipes and viewing the ingredients I found this stew to be something I will someday try. Thank you for sharing

Liz Westwood from UK on June 26, 2019:

I appreciate you adding alternative ingredients in case we are unable to obtain the originals. Your pictures are colourful and mouth-watering.