Dear readers,

We don’t often write about restaurants on Culinate — our emphasis is on home cooking. But that doesn’t mean we don’t eat out. We do, occasionally, and when we do we often try to order things we wouldn’t make at home. Recently, I’ve been enjoying Bollywood Theater, a new Indian restaurant in Portland, and (following my rule of thumb) one of the things I’ve really been loving there is the fried okra, served with lime and raita. I’ve never cooked okra at home — never, in fact, eaten much okra at all — but boy am I a fan of this dish.

This week on the site, Tennessee-based Megan Scott addresses okra three ways: fried Indian-style, frittered, and fresh — yep, dipped in a tangy homemade ranch dressing. You can bet I’ll be trying some of these recipes at home — and I hope you will too.

Kim Carlson
Editorial Director