Bharwan Bhindi | Okra Stuffed with Indian Spices : Punjabi Recipes

I generally avoid buying okra. Not because, I don't like it.., but I feel it takes a helluva time to prepare it. Even if I buy, I make either bhindi besan or bendekai gojju. However recently when I bought okra, my friend suggested me to try out bharwan bhindi. She referred the Harpal Singh's recipe. I tried his recipe & we all liked it. You can try it too!

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:
Okra: 1 lb/ 0.5 kg
Onion: 1 medium sized or 1/2 cup cubed onions
Ginger: 1 inch piece, finely chopped
Garlic: 2 pods or 4 -5 small pods, julienned
Green chili: 2 nos, slit
Oil: 2 tbsp

For the stuffing/spice powders:
Coriander powder: 2 tbsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Amchur powder (Mango powder): 1 tsp
Chaat masala: 1/2 tsp
Salt: As needed
Red chili powder: 1 tsp, more or less
Asafoetida: a big pinch
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp

Method:
With a damp towel, clean the okra & let it dry completely. Or, you could also wipe the with a dry paper towel instead of air drying it. Trim the edges of the okra & make a slit in the center of the okra leaving 1/2 inch gap on each side.

Mix all the spice powders including salt in a small bowl.

Fill in the spice powders carefully in the okra. Keep the stuffed okra aside.

Heat oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, throw in the garlic & ginger. When garlic turns golden brown, throw in the slit green chili.

Add the cubed onion & saute till the onions are translucent.

Add the stuffed okra & if you have any left over spice powder mixture, pour it over the okra.

Mix the okra gently & cook it covered on a medium heat. Do stir in between to avoid burning of the okra & the spices. Cook for about 15 mins until the okra is soft, but not mushy.
Remove it from the heat & garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve the stuffed okra hot with roti (Indian bread) or rice and lentils.

Notes: 

• It is important to use equal sized okra to ensure even cooking.Also, do not buy long okras. 
• Okras are very slimy. Hence, it is important to dry the okras completely before slitting them.
• Shallots taste much better than the normal onions. If you get shallots, use them instead of the onions. 

Bendekayi huli | koddel | Okra Sambar : Vegan Okra Side dish

Though I stayed in India for 5 weeks, I feel I could have stayed there for long (btw, this was my second visit this year..).., yeh dil maange more! My son's condition is no better than mine. Last weekend.., he was telling me.., appa mane aithalla, eega punah ajji manege hogona!! (Now that we visited daddy's house, I think we should go now to grandmom's home!!).


This recipe is to revive the memories I spent with my loved ones. My mom-in-law makes excellent ladies finger sambar. I learnt this from her. Before I jump into the recipe, here is a quick note. For this recipe, you don't have to fry the ladies finger to remove the stickiness from it. Tamarind water + jaggery + salt will do it for you. (I have mentioned here about how to remove the stickiness of the ladies finger). So, even if you are an amateur in using ladies finger, you can go ahead preparing this one.  


Ingredients: (Serves 4-6)
Ladies Finger/Okra: 2 cups (chopped into 1 inch long pieces)
Tamarind : 1 medium lemon sized (soaked in water)
Jaggery: 1.5 tsp (adjust according to your family needs)
Salt:According to taste
Toor dal/Pigeon peas: a fistful (optional, my mom-in-law never adds it)
Turmeric: a pinch


For sambar masala/spice paste:
Grated coconut: 1 cup (fresh/frozen)
Oil: 1 tsp
Urad dal: 1 tsp
Cinnamon: 1/2 inch stick
Mustard seeds: 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Dhania/Coriander seeds: 2.5 tsps
Curry leaves: a string (8-10)
Red chillies: 4-6 nos (adjust according to the heat needed)
Asafoetida: a pinch


For tempering:
Coconut oil: 1 tsp (any oil of your choice could be used)
Mustard seeds: 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves: 4-6 nos


For garnishing:
Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp (finely chopped)


Method:
For spice paste:

• Meantime, while the ladies finger is being cooked, prepare the ground paste. Add the oil to a small pan, when oil is hot, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds. When the seeds turn golden brown, add cinnamon, coriander seeds, curry leaves. Saute till the seeds leave out a nice aroma & curry leaves become crisp. Add the red chillies & saute till the red chillies change color(takes around 30secs to 1 minute). Turn off the heat & add asafoetida. Allow the roasted spices to cool. 

• Once the spices come to room temperature, make a fine paste of the spices + grated coconut, by adding enough water. 

For the sambar:

• Pressure cook the pigeon peas/toor dal with a small pinch of turmeric for 3-4 whistles. Allow it to cool & mash it gently.
• Extract the juice from the tamarind. Squeeze the juice & dilute it by adding 2 cups of water. 
• Pour the tamarind juice to a big vessel. Add salt, jaggery to the tamarind juice. Add the chopped ladies finger to the tamarind water. Boil the vegetable till soft & yet firm.

• When the ladies finger is cooked, add the cooked dal, spice paste & mix well. Pour in a 1/2 cup (a little less is fine too) of water & allow the mixture to boil on a medium-high heat. 
• Finally prepare the tempering* using the ingredients mentioned under tempering section & pour the tempering on the sambar prepared. Garnish it with corinander leaves. Mix well & serve hot with rice & a side dish of your choice.

*Here is the method for preparing the tempering. Heat oil in a small pan. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves & saute till curry leaves are crisp. Turn off the heat. Tempering is ready.

Bhindi Dopyaza (Ladies-Finger & Onion Stir-fry)

Couple of weeks before, we went to Phuket, an Island in the south of Thailand. Here are some of the pictures. White sand, crystal clear water, beautiful beaches & great food. Exotic place to say the least. We were in water for almost 5-6 hours a day & got tanned to the core. We normally do not experiment with food since my hubby prefers Indian vegetarian food. But, this time, we tried Thai veg food and I was thoroughly impressed with it.

Now coming to today's recipe. I have love/hate relationship with okra/ladies finger. If it is not properly cooked, I hate it , otherwise I love all the dishes with okra. My mom, mom-in-law & sis-in-law all have their own secrets to fry the okra to reduce the slimness. My mom fries the okra on a high flame for sometime. My mom-in-law usually cook the okra in tamarind water & avoid frying them. My sis-in-law adds a little hulipudi/amchur powder while frying the okra as it helps to reduce the stickyness. I have found that all these methods work.

This recipe is adapted from the great cook Tarla Dalal.I followed her recipe, except for adding the curd/yogurt at the end. I added lemon juice instead. Also, I caramelize the onion to get a sweetish tinge to the dish. Our family loves it this way. 

Ingredients:

Okra/Ladies Finger: 30-40 (tender & small ones)

Onion: 2 medium sized (sliced)

Ginger paste: 1 tsp

Green chilli : 2 no (finely chopped)

Oil: 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp

Kalonji/Nigella seeds: 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder: a pinch (optional)

Sugar: a pinch (optional)

Lemon juice: 1 tsp

Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp (for garnishing)

Salt: According to taste

For frying the okra:

Oil: 2 tsp

Amchur powder/huli pudi/tamarind powder: a pinch (optional)

Method:

• Wash the okra & pat them dry. Ensure no moisture on the okra. Clean & dry the knife too. Cut them into 1cm rings or slice them. 
• Frying the okra/ladies finger: Heat the oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, add the okra & fry them on a medium. After a minute or two, add the amchur powder & continue frying until the stickiness of the okra is completely removed. It might take around 5 minutes. Also, fry the okra in batches if you are planning to prepare in bulk. Remove the okra from flame & place the fried okra on a plate (ensure plate is dry).
• Wipe the pan with the kitchen towel & heat the pan again. Add oil. When oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When cumin seeds turn golden brown, add kalonji & fry for 3-5 secs. Add sliced onion, ginger, green chilli & saute for a minute or two.
• At this stage, I would like to caramelize the onion. Hence add a pinch of sugar & saute for a min on high flame
• Now add the fried okra, salt, red chilli powder & cook for another 2-3 minutes. 
• Finally add the lemon juice & coriander leaves & mix well.
• Serve it hot with roti or any other Indian bread. 

Tips:

• I personally feel caramelizing the onion adds a zing to the dish. But you can skip it if you do not prefer it. 
• Ensure to use a broad pan to fry the okra as it helps to reduce the sliminess of okra faster.