My daughter is having holidays now and it is so nice to be with her and watch her playing. Once the school starts, she leaves early in the morning at around 06.30 am and comes back only by 03.20 pm. It is a long day, I know..So I am making use of these holidays to have lots of fun with her. She loves Bhindi / Okra. Whenever I find organic okra here, I just buy it without thinking twice as they look super cute and small in size (as shown in the picture). When we went shopping last week (most of the time, I go with my daughter), I got once such packet and this is what I made with it. The recipe was seen on one of the Vah chef videos and we just loved it. It has a great nutritional value too because of the addition of peanuts and sesame seeds with Okra. Do not get intimidated by the top layer of oil. Most if it comes from the natural source – peanuts and sesame seeds. This goes very well with rice and idlis. The gravy with tamarind and jaggery with the richness of the nuts will definitely satisfy your palette.
Ingredients:
| Bhindi / Okra | 1 cup |
| Sesame seeds | 1 tbsp |
| Peanuts | 1 tbsp |
| Fresh coconut | 1 tbsp |
| Mustard seeds | 1 tsp |
| Fenugreek seeds | 1/4 tsp |
| Red chillies | 2 or 3 |
| Chopped onions | 1/4 cup |
| Curry leaves | as needed |
| Ginger garlic paste | 1 tsp |
| Turmeric powder | a pinch |
| Red chilli powder | 1 tsp |
| Cumin powder | 1/2 tsp |
| Coriander powder | 1 tsp |
| Mint leaves | as needed |
| Coriander leaves | as needed |
| Tamarind | gooseberry sized or 1 tbsp paste |
| Jaggery | 1/2 tsp |
| Salt | as needed |
| Oil | 1 tbsp and for frying |
Method:
1. Wash the okra well and pat them dry with a paper towel or clean cloth. Cut them into bite sized pieces if they are long.
2. In a heated pan, dry roast the peanuts, sesame seeds and coconut separately and keep them aside. Prepare a mixture by grinding these together once they are cool enough to handle.
3. In a pan, add a little oil, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds,red chillies and curry leaves. Allow the mustard seeds to splutter. Add onions and ginger garlic paste. Saute them till they lose the raw flavour.
4. Add the mixture you have prepared (peanut sesame seed coconut). Also add enough water to make it a thin liquid. Now is the time to add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Cover the pan with the lid and allow it to boil and thicken for at least half an hour on a slow flame. Add salt.
5. After about half an hour, the mixture would have become really thick and the oil would have separated. Add chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves as necessary.
6. Add the tamarind juice to this. You can either soak a gooseberry sized tamarind ball in water and extract the juice or use tamarind paste.
7. Add jaggery now. This will balance the sourness whenever tamarind is added to a gravy. Cook it again on a slow flame. The raw tamarind smell and flavour should go away.
8. Meanwhile, fry the okra (in another pan) in less oil. There is no need to deep fry it. Fry on a slow flame and this also retains the green colour of the vegetable.
9. Add the fried Okra to the gravy. Add salt required for the vegetable and let it cook again for a few minutes until the okra absorbs the flavour of the gravy.
10. Switch off the flame. Cover the pan and let it sit for a few more minutes.
11. Serve with steamed rice.
Hope you liked this tasty Okra gravy. Try this at home and let me know the outcome..
Wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year in advance..
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