bhindi ka raita | crisp fried okra in yogurt

Raita is so simple why would someone need a recipe for it, be it cucumber raita or okra (bhindi) raita. We anyways customize our raita recipe depending on how simple or heavy or spicy the other dishes on the table are, the recipe is not so rigid and keeps changing according to the seasons too. The intrinsic beauty of Indian cuisines, especially home cooking, is that we use each produce in just the right way to suit ourselves.

Bhindi ka raita is often made with a little mature okra (bhindi) that has not turned fibrous but has lost the tenderness. The mature fibrous okra is also used in some curries I will share sometime, right now it is about bhindi ka raita. I had shared this bhindi ka raita on instagram and many had asked the recipe. I hope you like it when you make.

In the traditional recipe the bhindi slices are deep fried to make the raita but I never do that. Slow cooking in very little oil in a shallow wide pan works wonderfully to crisp up the bhindi slices to make a great textured bhindi raita.

ingredients 
(2 large servings)
about a dozen large slightly mature okra or 20 small tender ones
2 green chilies chopped finely
4 springs of curry leaves chopped finely
1 tsp cumin seeds (sometimes we use ajwain seeds)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
2 tsp mustard oil
pinch of asafoetida (optional)
1 cup whisked home made cultured yogurt

preparation 

Rinse the okra and pat them dry. Remove the crowns and hold them together over the chopping board. Slice them all together in very thin roundels.

Heat the mustard oil in a flat base and tip in the asafoetida and cumin seeds and let them splutter and get aromatic.

Now add the chopped chilies, curry leaves and the sliced okra, mix well and lower the heat. Spread out the okra slices over the surface of flat base pan and let them brown slowly and dehydrate a bit. Stir after every 3-4 minutes and let it cook for about 10 minutes on very low heat so the okra becomes almost crisp. Add the salt, pepper and roasted cumin powder and take off the heat.

You can bake the okra in the oven after mixing all the ingredients too. 

Now pour everything over the whisked yogurt, adjust seasoning and serve chilled or at room temperature.

We serve this bhindi ka raita mostly with dal chawal meals but any roti or paratha subzi meal also feels great with this raita. The heat level of the raita is always adjusted according to the type of subzi and dal made for the meal.

okra and baby potatoes with butter garlic sauce

This okra (bhindi) and baby potatoes with butter garlic kept ringing in my head until I made it at home the very next day after meeting Bridget White Kumar. This Anglo Indian recipe is being served at the J W Marriot Aerocity right now where she has curated a menu around this cuisine, I loved it so much that I had to share it with you all too.

Note that this version of okra in butter garlic is my recreation after tasting it at the festival and not the authentic way Bridget makes it, there might be a minor variation in her original recipe of okra in butter garlic.

ingredients
(2 servings)

300 gm tender okra (bhindi), caps removed and cut in one inch pieces diagonally
300 gm baby potatoes, boiled, peeled and halved
100 gm or a large onion sliced
one large tomato chopped finely
50 gm butter
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup milk (optional) 

preparation

Heat a pan and add the butter and garlic together, let them sizzle while stirring till the garlic gets aromatic.

Add the sliced onions and baby potatoes and toss well to coat evenly. Keep cooking for a couple of minutes.

Add the chopped okra, salt and pepper and toss well to coat. Keep tossing or stirring lightly for 5 minutes, add the tomatoes, mix well and cover to cook for 5-7 minutes on medium heat. The okra should be cooked by now, the onions a nice shade of pink and the tomatoes completely mushy.

Cook a few minutes more if the okra is not cooked well. Add milk, stir and cover to cook for a minute, adjust consistency by adding a little more milk if you wish. Check and adjust seasoning.

Serve hot with soft rotis or bread rolls.

okra stir fry with coconut and ginger | bhindi nariyal ki subzi...

Okra or ladies fingers are called bhindi or bhendi in Indian languages. This is a favorite vegetable in my household for two reasons. One I don't have to peel them and secondly the husband likes them. Ah and there is another reason too, both of us can eat this vegetable on it's own most of the times. So I cook a lot of okra when I do and we rarely have any leftovers.

This is one of those okra recipe that you can eat in large servings. More so if you love coconut. And this is one of those okra recipes that don't get slimy after cooking, even if you just cook the vegetable mildly, not fried to death.

ingredients...

okra/ladies fingers/bhindi 400 gm
dry red chilies 2-3 broken
sliced garlic pods 2 tsp or to taste
ginger julienne 1 tbsp or more
grated fresh coconut 3/4 cup
turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
mustard or sesame oil or use olive oil if you wish 1 tbsp or a little more depending on what kind of pan you are using

lime juice to taste (optional)

procedure...

Wash and drain the okra and let them get dry before chopping them. Remove the cap (the stalk) and slit lengthwise twice at cross angles so it is quartered. Chop the whole thing from the middle if the okra is too long.

Heat oil in a pan (or kadhai) and tip in the broken red chilies and sliced garlic. Wait till the garlic gets slightly aromatic and pinkish (not brown) and add the sliced okra. Add salt and stir fry on medium flame for about 5 minutes.

Add the salt and turmeric powder and stir fry for another 5 minutes or so. The okra shouldn't brown but get cooked.

Add the grated coconut and ginger julienne, mix well, cook for another couple of minutes and take it off heat. Serve hot or at room temperature. Lime juice can be added after adjusting seasoning.

Goes well with an Indian meal as a side dish. Simple flavors, freshness of coconut and ginger is the first thing that this brings to the palate, the mild heat of chilly and garlic complements really well.

sarson wali sookhi bhindi : baby okra stir fried with mustard seasoning...

Okra, ladies fingers or bhindi as we call it in Hindi, is a favorite summer vegetable at my home. We both love it and I get 2 kilos of okra every week when I do my vegetable shopping at the weekly market. I can have a dry okra stir fry for a meal, especially if it has some kind of souring agent added, be it yogurt or amchoor or tomatoes. A ghee fried salt and pepper okra is a favorite of the husband but I like it only when the okra is very fresh and the subzi is made freshly. Kashmiri spiced okra is another favorite and I love many quick ways to cook okra and have it as a meal.

That reminds me, Many people don't like okra due to the slime it has. I would suggest using baby okra for such people or cooking okra just before serving as the sliminess feels worse when you eat okra that was cooked sometime back. Using dry powders like besan (chickpea flour) or peanut powder can reduce the sliminess if you wish and deep frying the okra also reduces sliminess, but I never deep fry any subzi for daily consumption.

Washing and then air drying the okra before chopping also reduces the slime, cooking or steaming the okra whole also helps in preventing the oozing of slime from them. And try all possible variation you come across as okra is one healthy vegetable you shouldn't miss out on. As for me, I can even have it in sambar, kadhi or thin curries. Slime doesn't deter me when it is okra or bhindi.

For this sookhi subzi with okra, I use desi (heirloom) summer tomatoes and powdered yellow mustard. A stir fry with about 500 gm okra cooks in about 10 minutes, though you need some time to chop the vegetables. Using baby okra is best for this subzi, just remove the stalk and cut into two halves if the okra is more than 2 inches. Rest will come together in just 10 minutes.

ingredients...
(2-4 servings depending on how this is served)

baby okra (bhindi) 500 gm
tomatoes 150 gm or 2 large
finely chopped green chilies and garlic 2 tsp each or to taste
yellow mustard powder 1.5 tbsp or a little more
turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 2 tbsp

procedure...

Chop off the stalks from all the okra. Some of the larger okra can be cut into two so all of them are about an inch long pieces.

Chop the tomatoes into half and then slice them thinly. This can be done when the okra is being cooked.

Heat mustard oil in a deep pan (or kadhai), add the chopped green chilies and garlic and immediately tip in the okra. Add salt and turmeric powder and stir fry for about 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

Add the sliced tomatoes as soon as the okra get blistered. You don't want the okra to cook completely and get mushy. Stir fry along with the tomatoes till they are softer. Add the mustard powder and stir fry for abut 3-4 minutes more. This last phase of stir frying will be on low flame so all the flavors meld well together.

You can add a little water to make a light gravy, but I like it dry as the subzi is quite moist and soft already. A tangy taste of mustard is complemented well by the tart tomatoes. You can use amchoor if you wish as okra tastes yummy that way too. Garlic and chilly can be added in the form of a paste and the heat can be adjusted to taste. This recipe can be a regular at your home as it would be liked by everyone. I am yet to find someone who didn't like this subzi. Just take care of individual preference of heat tolerance and how much tartness one likes in a curry.

Serve this okra stir fry hot with any Indian meal as a side dish. I suggest cooking this just when you plan to serve it if you are serving it to a large gathering, in this quantity it stays well for about 3-4 hours at room temperature and tastes well even cold. I tell you the husband loves this in his lunch box and I have it like a meal sometimes along with some daal.

Two recipes with okra... a dahi wali bhindi (okra in a curds tomato gravy) and a ginger okra stir fried ....

Some of my favorite recipes never see the light of the day on this blog unfortunately. My being lazy and sometimes the pictures being unsatisfactory are few of the reasons. But my long time readers and friends would know that I never bother much about the pictures as long as the recipe is represented well and it tastes good. So when Shail Mohan asked for a few okra recipes on facebook I just checked and saw two terrific recipes with okra in my drafts folder , this dahi wali bhindi was written completely and the adraki bhindi or ginger okra stir fried had just a dark picture and the ingredient list.

I have also posted a Kashmiri masale ki sookhi bhindi (okra stir fried with a Kashmir style fennel spice mix)
and a Ghee fried peppery okra on my other blog.

Many times I make some recipe for dinner and take pictures anyways hoping they will turn up good or mediocre or I will brighten them up on picasa. I never bothered about even cropping and brightening my pictures back then, so these pictures come to you straight out of the camera, the recipes are both terrific and all okra lovers will be glad to try these.

The dahi wali bhindi is richer and can be served as a standalone subzi for your dinner chapati , I never tried it with rice but many of you might find it good with rice too. I can eat this subzi on it's own too ...I do that with many vegetables anyways :-)


ingredients...

Bhindi / okra 250 gm (tipped and cut into inch long pieces)
fresh curds 1 cup

fennel powder 2 tsp
black pepper powder 1 tsp
finely chopped ginger 1 tbsp
tomatoes chopped lengthwise 1 cup
green chillies slit lengthwise 2-3 nos.
2 cloves
2-3 petals of star anise
1 small black cardamom or half a fat one

salt to taste
mustard oil 1 tbsp

procedure..

Heat the oil in a kadai or pan and tip in the whole spices , wait till they crackle and then tip in the chopped ginger and green chillies .

Wait for a few seconds till the chillies change color and the ginger is fried , throw in the cut bhindi ( okra ) and fry till the bhindi pieces are slightly browned in the corners..

Add the tomatoes and salt to taste and fry till the tomatoes wilt ..

Whip the curds ( at room temperature ) with powdered spices ( fennel and pepper powders ) and some red chilly powder if you like it hot . Pour this mixture over the cooking bhindi , mix well and allow a gentle boil .

Take off heat and keep covered for a couple of minutes for the flavors to blend.

Serve hot with chapatis or as a side dish ...

The spice level can be adjusted if you like it mild or hot , it is a great blend of sour hot and spicy with dominant aromas of black cardamom , star anise and fennel .... curds and tomatoes as a base are great together .

The okra doesn't get slimy if you fry it well till the surface is almost dry ( so that the juices are sealed in ). There is no turmeric powder used in this curry so the color remains a nice creamy red , although the pictures look yellowish because it was cooked for dinner and clicked in artificial light...

adraki bhindi or ginger okra stir fried...


ingredients...
okra cut in two pieces and slit lengthwise taking care not to slit all the way 400 gm
ginger julienne 2-3 tbsp or more if you like ginger the way I do
5-6 garlic cloves peeled and slit into two halves
turmeric powder 1 tsp (optional)
black pepper powder 2 tsp or more if you like
amchoor powder 1/2 tsp or to taste
salt to taste
mustard oil or any other oil of your choice 2 tbsp

There are no chillies in the recipe as the heat from ginger and black pepper is quite high, you can throw in a few slit green chillies if you like. Sometimes I use the less hot varieties of green chillies for this stir fry as the flavor of the green chillies enhances the overall taste.

procedure...


Heat oil in  a kadai and tip in the ginger and garlic first. Let the ginger get a little cooked and almost caremalised , the garlic is cut in bigger chunks so it doesn't get browned before the ginger cooks. The ginger just needs to release some flavor in the oil and get fried.

Add the cut okra and toss to fry . Cooking is done on high heat in this case and you have to keep tossing or stirring with a spatula. Do not brown the okra, just a few brownish specks here and there and about 3/4th done okra is what we are aiming for.

Sprinkle the salt and turmeric powder if using, mix in to cook then sprinkle the black pepper powder and toss well to mix. In these 2 minutes the okra cooks some more. Take off heat.

Sprinkle the amchoor powder , mix well and serve hot. You can choose to sprinkle some chaat masala over it  if you like. Its a hot tangy dish and makes a nice side dish for traditional Indian lunch or dinner.

For me it can be a salad too ...Yes, I told you I do that :-)


cheers...