Bhindi was the first thing my mom made when I came back home after 40 days of volunteering in Uttarakhand! That itself shows how much I love it 🙂
Everyone loves bhindi!
Bhindi, also known as ladies-finger and Okra is one vegetable which is liked by kids and adults alike. Everyone loves bhindi! And it features at least once a week in my dinner menu so how to make it different ways? An interesting thing about vegetables (as with meats) is that the taste changes with the way you cut it. My mother used to make a simple fry recipe cutting them width-wise into circle. Length wise cuts were reserved for the stuffed bhindi recipe. But now she ha sort of mixed the two versions for another everyday variety :). I also realized that my recipe of bhindi uses a lot of spices, while my mom’s is very limited in spice and a lot more in taste! Of course it comes with mother’s love as the main ingredient :). While in Uttarakhand, I also learnt the benefits of cooking with fewer spices and I’m sure it will be reflected in my cooking more and more. Here is my mom’s recipe:
Bhindi Fry
Preparation Time: 10 mins | Cooking Time: 20 mins | Serves 2
200 gms bhindi (Okra or Ladies-finger)
1 medium sized onion, sliced
2 green chillies, slit lengthwise
A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp dry mango powder (amchoor)
Salt to taste
~3 tbsp of Oil
Juice of 1 lime (optional)
- Wash and dry the okra before cutting. It’s important that they are properly dried else it doesn’t cook properly
- Remove the head of the Okra and slit them lengthwise into two
- Heat oil in a pan
- Once the oil is hot, add asafoetida and cumin seeds
- When the seeds start to sputter add the green chillies and okra
- Sauté for about 5-6 minutes till the okra is slightly cooked
- Add onions
- Cook for another 5 minutes
- Add all spices and cook for about 10 minutes until the Okra is soft. Remove from heat.
- Drizzle the lime juice over and serve hot with Indian bread.
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