Awright, Buddy,
1st off, in a good, well seasoned iron skillet, put yerself one cup of oil and one cup of flour.
(A lot of folks tend to heat their oil ifrst before adding the flour but I don't.)
Grab yerself an old wooden spoon and start stirring over a medium heat until it gets the color of a worn copper penny, the missus calls it a red mud color. It takes about 20minutes of constant stirring fer it to get that color.
Run everybody outa the house so as not to distract ya's whilst yer stirring or you is gonna burn it and it won't be any good. If you do burn it, dump it out and start all over again.
Once ya ya git yer roux made, take a large pot and add yer chopped onions, yer chopped celery, cut up okra (but this don't go in till last or it'll cook to pieces).
Cut up a chicken and fill the pot about half way with water after the chicken is in. Bring it to a boil.
After it gits to boilin, add yer roux a spoonful at a time stirring it in real good each time.
Add in some sausage, season to taste (some good spices to add would be: salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, maybe some garlic....that's the nice thing about spices... ya kin add what ya like an' leave out what ya don't).
Turn the heat down to a simmer until the chicken is almost down. This is the best time to be adding that okra.
And when the okra is done, it's BON APPETITE.
Now, my friend, this is just a basic recipe. I wrote chicken in as the meat for this one but you can make it a seafood gumbo, a crawfish gumbo, a gator/croc gumbo. Just about any type of gumbo ya prefer.
Some folks add everything but the kitchen sink whilst others make it about as basic as ya kin git it.
The key ingredient though be the roux. As far as quantities of ingredients I have listed here, I really can't tell ya. The only measurin' I do is for the roux. Everything else I dump in per my taste.
Whilst others may chime in an' give ya's their take on gumbo, I can assure ya's that the one thing we'd all agree on would be the importance of the roux to a gumbo recipe or any recipe that might come along requiring one.
Hope ya find yerself a good one that ya's like, my friend.
By the way, friend, excuse me ignorance but what th' heck be a Tagine?
Dad