Bacon Wrapped Peanut Butter Stuffed Okra

It is time for the Secret Recipe Club and I definitely had a challenge with this one, but the result was a fantastic tasting appetizer/snack.

I was assigned the blog Lite Bite, a fabulous looking blog, with very tasty recipes from India.  The author Sanjeeta is a fabulous cook that focuses on easy, light, and healthy recipes for the busy family.  Something in the United States that we can definitely take a lesson from.  Our idea of a fast and easy meal is a drive through, which is probably why we rank generally in the top 10 on the list of most obese countries.

I definitely found lots of recipes that I wanted to try on her site, but had a hard time to find something that I can do on the grill.  Lucky for me, the day I was assigned her blog, the latest post was a perfect one for me, Peanut Butter Stuffed Okra and Ridge Gourd.  Okra has been towards the top of my grilling bucket list, so I was able to take care of the Secret Recipe Club post along with crossing an item off my grilling bucket list!  Of course, I am going to do what every American BBQ person does when stuffing a vegetable and grilling it, wrap it in bacon.  Yes, yes I know I mentioned America’s obesity problem, then I do the typical American thing, wrap something in bacon, but I just couldn’t resist!  Now I did have some reservations about wrapping these in bacon, I was definitely worried that I was going to ruin the taste of the wonderful little bite, but at the end I was definitely glad I did at the end.  This was a fabulous appetizer to our dinner and will be grilling these again and again in the future.

Here is my take on this recipe:

Ingredients:

• 12 Okra
• 4 tablespoons Peanut Butter
• 1 small Onion, grated
• 2 teaspoons Ginger-Garlic Paste
• 2 teaspoons Chipotle Chili Powder
• 2 teaspoon Ground Coriander
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Thick-cut bacon

Directions:

Prepare the grill for medium-high indirect grilling (don’t want the flare-ups from the bacon).

Prepare the stuffing for the Okra, by combining the peanut butter, onion, ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and salt in a bowl.  Make sure to mix thoroughly.

Wash and dry the Okra, chop off the heads and tail ends and make a slit from the top to the bottom end.  Place the stuffing in a piping bag (or Ziploc bag, with a small hole cut on one end).  Stuff the peanut butter mixture into the slits of the okra.  Wrap each okra with bacon, cut off any excess, and secure with a toothpick.

Place the bacon wrapped okra on the grill over indirect heat and grill till the bacon is nice and crisp and the okra has softened up.

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