Chicken & Sausage (Okra) Gumbo

After being recently schooled on the subject of Gumbo, I decided to revisit the subject - sans the maligned Lima beans. However, I chose to stick with the okra as thickening agent this time around, but I vow to return and try out a roux based version.

Ingredients:
- oil
- salt & pepper
- 4 pieces of chicken - ca. 650 g (1.5 lb)
- 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
- ca. 250 g fresh okra, finely sliced
- 2 red chillies, seeds removed, chopped
- 1 yellow & 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
- ca. 175 g (1/3 lb) sausage, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, mashed
- water
- rice

Oil was heated in a large, deep, pan, and the chicken pieces were salted and peppered before being browned on all sides. The chicken pieces were removed from the pan and the onions and okra were added. The pan was covered for 10-15 minutes with occasional stirring (at which point the okra appeared to have exuded a clear, sticky liquid - this is what's needed for thickening the stew). Then the chillies and bell peppers were added together with the sausage, garlic, 0.5 L (2 cups) of water and the chicken pieces. The pot was brought to a boil, covered and allowed to simmer for ca. 40 minutes.

While the gumbo simmered, rice were cooked in lightly salted water. The gumbo was served with no more rice than for the overall texture to be that of a thick stew.

This was much more appreciated in the little home than the previous version.