Bendekai Gojju | South Indian Bhindi Curry | Indian Okra Sauce: Karnataka Recipes

...Okra in a sweet, sour 'n' spicy sauce....

Tender, fresh, light green colored, smooth skinned & small sized okra always tempt me to buy them. I'm also lucky to get fresh okra in the nearest Indian stores here. My son loves bhindi/okra & he always tempts me to buy them. He used to love the bhindi besan & nothing else from okra. This time I convinced him for this gojju & told him that it is amma's classic gojju recipe. He loved every bit of it. In the coming months, it will be only bendekai gojju at my home & you know why ;)

Bendekai gojju / Bendekayi gojju is a Karnataka specialty. It is spicy, sweet n sour & blends beautifully with the stir fried okra. Each & every member of my family/extended family prepare this gojju & I haven't heard from any of them not liking it.. Some love to eat them with akki rotti, some with white rice & some more with chapathi/roti. I love to eat them with all of them.

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Serves: 2-3 

Ingredients:

Okra/Ladies Finger/Bendekai : 1 lb (around half a kilo)
Oil: 1 tbsp
Brown sugar/Jaggery/bella: medium lime sized
Tamarind paste: 1 tsp*
Salt: As needed 

For the spice paste:

Oil: 1/2 tsp

Gram dal /Channa dal /Kadalebele : 1 tbsp

Black gram dal/ Urad dal/Uddinabele : 1/2 tbsp

Sesame seeds: 1 tsp
Green chilies: 4 nos
Coriander leaves: 1/4th cup, tightly packed
Grated coconut: 1/4th cup, fresh or frozen

For the tempering:
Oil: 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 4-6 nos, torn

Method:
Chop the okra into thin slices.(about 1/4th of an inch). If you are handling the okra for the first time, refer to the notes below before doing anything. It is that important!!

For the spice paste:
Heat the oil in a small pan. When the oil is hot, throw in the channa dal & urad dal. When they turn light brown, add the sesame seeds & broken green chilies. Turn off the heat after 30-40 secs. Let it cool.

Throw in the coriander leaves, grated coconut & the roasted dal + green chilies to a food processor jar. Add  about 2-3 tbsp water & grind it to a smooth paste.
In a broad pan, add oil & saute/stir fry the okra slices on a medium-high heat until the okra is soft & crunchy.
Transfer the fried okra to a bowl.

Take another sauce pan, to prepare the gojju. Heat oil. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds & curry leaves to it.

When seeds crackle & leaves wilt, scoop in the spice paste, add the salt, jaggery, tamarind extract, and add around half a cup of water to it. Cook on a low-medium heat until the raw smell of the jaggery & tamarind disappears.

Throw in the fried okra to the sauce & boil it on a medium heat. Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat.

Serve it hot with rice, roti or akki rotti.

Notes:

• As okra is used in a sauce, it is very crucial to remove the slime from the okra. Below are some tips to remove the slime from the okra. 
• Never cut a wet okra. Keep the chopping board, knife & the okra completely dry. 
• After washing the okra, dry them on a kitchen towel & wipe them all dry again before using. 
• Use a broad pan to saute the okra. Add more oil & saute it on a high heat to remove the slime & keep the okra crisp. 
• Adding a pinch of amchur powder/mango powder (easily available at Indian Stores) while sauteing the okra does the trick of removing the slime too.
• My other tips on how to remove the slime could be found here. 
• Adjust the consistency of the sauce as preferred by your family. 

Bhendi Saasime (Stir fried okra in mustard,coconut paste)

Very soothing side dish for people during summer. Saasime(some people call it saasive), hashi, methi tambli, are all said to have cooling effects on the body & helps one to fight summer temperatures. Hence, one of them will definitely feature in a 'hot day' menu in South Canara/Udupi.

As Singapore's climate is very similar to Mangalore/South Canara's weather, I prefer doing this atleast 2 times a week or sometimes more.

Here is one such saasime prepared using bendekayi/ladies finger.


6-8 thinly sliced bendekayi
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1 big pinch turmeric
1 big pinch tamarind powder/amchur powder
1/2 cup curd
3 tbsp grated coconut(fresh/frozen)
1 green chilli
salt according to taste
1 tsp oil

Method:

• Add the oil to a broad kadai, when oil is hot, add jeera & urad dal.
• When urad dal becomes golden brown, add bendekayi (sliced), amchur powder & fry it in oil until crisp. Remove from flame & allow it to cool.
  

• Make a fine paste of grated coconut, green chilli, turmeric & mustard seeds.
• Add this paste, curd & salt to the cooled bendekayi. Bhendi saasime is ready to be served. It is a great side dish for rice & also for roti.
  

Note: For bhendi to be crispier, add the paste, curd & salt just before serving.

Bhindi Besan (Okra & gram flour sabzi)

Our team in office was considered as the DReaM team, one can think of. We used to have lunch, coffee together and also work, ofcourse...:))) . Other groups/teams were amazed & sometimes jealous to see our unity. Fantastic team members.

Let me tell you why I'm telling this...I learnt this recipe from one of my colleagues. He explained the preparation on lunch table so well that we felt as if we had it :)) We all used to carry our lunch boxes(as usual, fed up of canteen food) & sometimes wonder what the other guy had in his/her box, b'cos we used to eat from other boxes more than from our lunch box..Now dont say this is a normal scene everywhere. I would agree, it would be a normal scene, if it was college.., not between professionals all having more than 6-8 years experience (some being managers too!!). Not only that, on lunch table we used to share the recipes. I used to learn atleast 2 recipes/week & sometimes share my recipes too. Coming to bhindi besan, I learnt it from Niraj and here is the recipe of this Maharastrian dish.

Ingredients:
1/2kg bhindi/bendekayi/okra/ladies finger (cut into small pieces)

1 big onion sliced
1 tablespoon jeera/cumin seeds
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon amchur powder
6-8 tablespoons of gram flour/besan/kadale hittu.
4-5 tablespoons oil
salt according to taste

For garnishing:
coriander leaves


Method:

• In a large kadai add little oil. Add jeera to it.
• Add onions and saute for a minute
• Now, add bhindi to it.
• Sprinkle garam masala, chilli powder, salt, amchur powder, besan on it
• Now, start mixing the bhindi with the besan (do this from the sides of the kadai, only small quantities at a time) - if you do it altogether, there are chances that the mixture will become sticky
• Continue this until the entire bhindi is coated with besan.
• Close the lid and cook it for a minute
• Now, mix it altogether and garnish with coriander leaves

Note:
This dish doesnot require the bhindi to be stiff-fried beforehand. So, the cooking time is much lesser than other bhindi dishes.

Bendekayi Podi (Okra Pakora)

Let me tell you my story about this podi. I'm married to a person who belongs to South Canara District, Karnataka, India. His mother tongue is Tulu & I dont understand that :( But, in my in-laws house, they normally speak Kannada ( a regional language of India). I face a lot of problem (even now!!)when I go to his village, as they dont speak Kannada. Meanwhile, let me tell you.., podi means bonda/bajji or pakora in Tulu.

First time when I went to his village, I was amazed to see the variety of food prepared there. Even though I ate most of them for the first time, they tasted so good & felt like eating again & again. I can never forget the halasina kayi dose (raw jacfruit dosa)!! I'm missing them :(( After going there, I started eating lot of leafy vegetables like ondelaga(Alternate Name: timare, English : Brahmi) & kesuvina yele(English: taro leaf, colocasia leaves). Their food preparation was quite interesting & was amazed at the variety of items they prepare. Some of them to name are patrode (made from kesuvina yele), jee gujje podi ( breadfruit bajji/pakora), jee gujje idli, nendra bale hannina jamoon ( A sweet dish made from banana), timare tambli(brahmi tambli), karjoora barfi (a sweet made from dates). Aren't they sounding yummy?? I'll try to learn the recipe of each of them & try to publish.

Seems like, I'm lost in those memories.Let me come back to bendekayi podi...
I attended a Brahmopadesham function in his village & when they were serving the food.., they said...., podi.., podi. I didn't understand what it was" ??? " & said " no" to that. My husband's aunty who was sitting next to me suggested me to taste that as it was a different kind of pakora/bajji. I ate it & then realized it is ladies finger pakora :)) I had never heard or tasted before this pakora.It was sooooo tasty that I fell in love with it. I asked few of his relatives for the recipe but.., didnot get any response. Finally, I got the recipe..........., I was so happy that I tried it on the very next day & it turned out to be a disaster.

Relax ...., dont be shocked. I'm not posting that disaster recipe here. I have learnt it quite well now & here goes the recipe. Do prepare & enjoy eating!!. Dont forget to post me a comment..,after eating.



Ingredients:
Gram Flour (Besan) - 1 small cup
Corn Flour - 1 table spoon
Ajwain - 1 pinch
Chilli powder - According to taste
Salt - According to taste
Baking Soda - 1/2 pinch
Bendekaayi/Ladies Finger/Bhindi/Okra - 4 - 5 nos
Oil - for deep frying

Method:

• Wash and dry bendekayi and cut into small rings
  
• Mix together besan, corn flour, chilli powder, baking soda, ajwain and salt in a bowl
• Add water and make a paste (thicker than idli batter).
• Heat the oil in a kadai
  
• Mix ladies finger to the paste. (If you prepare this in large quantities, dont add all the ladies finger to the paste. Add as much required to fry once in a kadai. If you add all, the paste becomes sticky).
  
• Make small balls of the mixture & deep fry in oil. It should be fried on a very slow flame. The ladies finger needs to be cooked properly.
  
• Remove once it becomes crispy & golden brown in color.
• Serve hot with sauce.