I grew up loving bhindi or okra but it wasn’t one of those vegetables I could drop into my shopping trolley at the local supermarket.
Until recently.
When my mother was here last summer, she let out a high-pitched yelp on first sighting of okra or lady finger at the supermarket. My mother is prone to drama, as an Indian theatre actress. The skill I have sadly inherited is her drama queen antics and not her passion for the stage.
One evening I decided to try out my favourite home recipe for bhindi with the newly supermarket-acquired veggie. A quick search around the blogosphere warned me about the slime that pours out of them like superglue.
Chopping okra was a bit gooey, but it didn’t bother me. What’s a bit of edible glue when you’ve cried for onions and bled for garlic.
The recipe is very much quick and indian. We ate this with rice, as I had made dhal too. Eaten on its own, it’s dry and a better match with rotis, parathas or simply bread.
This recipe served four. Bhindi shrivels up and softens when cooked and can be deceptive when raw. Always use more than you think you’ll need:
1 onion
1 tsp whole cumin
1 tsp coriander powder
Half tsp turmeric powder
Half tsp chilli powder
Pinch of mango powder or amchoor
12 Comments
I love Okra but most ppl hate it!!!It’s their loss!;P
I always fry chopped Okra before adding them to any dish.Looks mouthwatering.Enjoy.
Oh I Love this stuff….I just posted a recipe for Bhindi too…mine’s a bit different though!
Amchoor is a nice twist….
trupti
I love Bhindi in all forms and this one looks a killer !!! I even grew Bhindi in my backyard last summer
A tip might help, wash the bhindi, dry and then chop. If you wash them after chopping there’s alot of those slimy stuff I feel
well thats the way I usually make okra, except that the washing process is reversed. Okras must be washed and wiped really dry before you attempt to cut them. You will hardly get any slime that way. Besides that the reason water is rarely added in any Indian Okra dish, before the okras are cooked.
One of the best low carb high fibre veggies around…good post as usual
I might need to give okra another shot (not a favorite veggie of mine yet). My response to your question about pesto was getting long so turned into a new post!
Thats the way my mom makes it and I love it with paranthas, dahi and pickled onion. Evergreen recipe Mallika!
Thanks so much for the tip ladies. My mother did ask me to wash and dry the okra first before cutting. But I didn’t see the logic in wiping the outside to get rid of internal slime! So I just ignored her.
Basic lesson: always listen to your mother!!
Thank you very much for this delicious and easy to make recipe. I did exactly as you said but only added a bit of extra chilli powder to make it spicier. Yummmy
can I use frozen okra ? How to handle this ?
randi
Hi randi - just use frozen okra. It won’t make a blind bit of difference. Only difference is that you will get the slime while you are pan frying it and also it’ll be quite wet. So you have to keep stir frying until both the slime and the moisture go away.
My frozen okra packs come with “cook when defrosted” instructions. Worth checking yours just in case.
Good luck!
Made this tonight…top scores from my hubby! It was so good!
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