This strange vegetable may have come from Africa on the slave ships --experts differ. Most agree that another name for okra, in one of the West African languages, is "gombo" or "gumbo," and the thick stew called Gumbo, usually containing two meat and/or seafood components (e.g., shrimp and andouille sausage) snd served over white rice, is the most palatable use of okra. The "sliminess" that can be quite disagreeable when okra is boiled by itself serves as a thinkening agent in a good gumbo.
Another good okra dish is fried okra: chop the okra into bite-sized pieces, roll in corn meal, and deep-fry. No need to dip the pieces in egg wash or any other liquid; the okra's natural, er, fluids serve to make the cornmeal or corn flour stick tight.