Quimbombo

6 months old +:

Offer cooked, chopped okra mixed into scoopable foods like porridge, stew, or a thick soup for baby to eat with their hands or on a pre-loaded spoon. Okra seeds pose a low risk of choking, so there’s no need to remove them from baby’s portion before serving. The okra should be soft enough that it mashes readily when pressed between your thumb and pointer finger. 

If you’d like to offer okra on its own, you can serve a whole large cooked pod, stem removed, for baby to munch on. The okra should be soft enough that it mashes easily when pressed between your thumb and pointer finger. Note that the act of biting into the pod may cause lots of okra seeds to scatter in baby’s mouth. While these seeds present a low choking risk, they may create a confusing sensation in the mouth and be difficult for baby to manage or spit out. As an alternative, you can remove the stem from the whole cooked pod, then gently squeeze the pod until all the seeds have been removed. This will likely cause the pod to break apart and unroll, creating a soft flat section of okra that you can offer for baby to munch on.

9 months old +:

When you see signs of a developing pincer grasp (where the tips of the thumb and pointer finger meet), you can move down in size and offer bite-sized rings or half-moon shapes of soft, cooked okra (stem removed) for baby to practice picking up. The okra should be soft enough that it mashes readily when pressed between your thumb and pointer finger. Cooked okra can get slick and slippery. If baby struggles to pick up the slippery pieces of food, you can roll them in a food like breadcrumbs to help add grip. Alternatively, continue to chop the cooked okra and stir into scoopable foods like porridge, stew, or a thick soup. It's okay to offer okra with the seeds, which present a low risk of choking, although you can remove them if you prefer.

18 months old +:

Serve cooked okra as desired, either chopped, in bite-sized pieces, or in longer sections for biting and tearing practice. At this age, you can serve cooked okra that has been stewed until very soft, or you can serve pan fried or stir fried dishes, where the okra remains a bit more firm. Because okra can be fibrous, the pod can be challenging to break down before the molars come in (typically around 18 months of age) so expect a toddler to spit out pieces as they practice biting and chewing.