ABSTRACT Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.), like most fruits and vegetables, deteriorates quickly after harvesting due to its high moisture content and respiration rate. To preserve it and mitigate the post-harvest losses, a developed evacuated tube solar dryer (ETSD) with heat pipes was used to dry fresh okra. Thermal profiling of the ETSD was carried out to investigate the range of temperature gain inside the drying chamber. The effect of different blanching temperatures, viz. 70, 80, and 90°C, on drying characteristics and physical properties like color, water activity, and rehydration kinetics of okra were investigated. The energy efficiency of the collector ranged from 13.21% to 42.67%. Similarly, the convective mass transfer coefficient was calculated and ranged from 3.41 × 10−07 to 8.57 × 10−07 m/s. The okra blanched at 80°C, showing maximum greenness retention and lower water activity. The rehydration ratio was 6.05, 7.19, 7.73, and 7.41 for control, and okra blanched at 70, 80, and 90°C. The rehydration kinetics were analyzed using four distinct models: Peleg, Weibull, exponential, and first order. The Weibull model demonstrated the most accurate fit to the data. It is suggested that okra blanched at 80°C and dried under ETSD gives better retention of color and a higher mass transfer and rehydration rate.