Bhindi Masala (Okra with Indian Spices)

I prefer to see the goodness in every situation, I am a glass half full kinda girl. With this Covid-19 and social distancing going on, I have decided to try and post all those recipes that I have been meaning to. Normally Debarshi and I used to spend all our weekends socializing. Now with that out of the picture, cooking and watching TV have become two of our main projects. We have completed and shared our baby registry, installed the car seat and now we just need to finish packing the hospital bag. With 2 weeks remaining, I am trying to finish and post my uncompleted articles so that I don’t forget these amazing recipes. A tip for you, if you like cooking: try to write all your tips and tricks while you are cooking the dish. That way if something clicked, you will always have it and if something goes wrong, that is a lesson worth mentioning in your personal notes. You can also post those comments on my blog so that other users can also benefit from it.

I have prepared this Bhindi Masala recipe quite a few times but I never got around to clicking any decent photos. So, when one of my friends texted me saying that she wants a new okra recipe, I asked her to click some photos so that I can finally post this recipe on my blog. I must say she has done a marvelous job with the colors and light. As per her feedback, the dish tasted awesome! She served it with some Arhar Dal and plain Rotis. 

Bhindi Masala is a vegetarian Indian dish prepared with okra, onion, tomatoes & well balanced spices! You can enjoy this stir-fry with Roti, dal, rice, Namkeen Puri, Luchi or Paratha, the combinations are endless. If you like okra this recipe is a must try. 

Now, when buying okra, always try to choose tender and fresh ones because they take less time to cook and taste very good. Okra has a tendency to turn slimy so make sure to wash and dry it well before cutting. If the knife starts sticking too much use a paper towel to clean it up. Also, never chop okra too small because the more you chop, the more slime it oozes out. Last but not the least, use adequate amount of oil in the recipe so that the okras dry up well and taste fried. 

So, prepare this dish then post your photos and comments using my hashtag #lifewithoutalu

Ingredients:

• Okra - 3 cups, do not use the pre-chopped frozen bags
• Onion - 1 cup, chopped
• Tomato - 2 medium size, chopped/ pureed
• Ginger - ½ inch, chopped finely or paste
• Garlic - 2-3, chopped finely or paste
• Coriander Powder - ½ teaspoon
• Red Chili Powder - ¼ teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - ½ teaspoon
• Garam Masala - ½ teaspoon
• Amchur Powder - ½ teaspoon
• Salt - as per taste (about ½ teaspoon)
• Mustard Oil - 2-3 tablespoons

Preparation:

• Wash the Okra and let the water drain out completely. Spread it on a plate and pat it dry. Leave it for 10 minutes.
• Remove the heads and tails of Okras.
• Now cut the Okra into medium pieces. Do not cut too small as it will make it slimier while cooking. Also, keep an eye out for worms, they are not very common but better to be safe.
• Now we are ready to cook.

Directions:

• Heat a pot/ wok on high heat.
• Add the Mustard Oil in it. When the oil begins to smoke, reduce the heat to medium low so that it cools off a bit. This is done to remove the pungent taste and smell of the Mustard Oil.
• Add the Garlic, Ginger and Onion in it. Fry on medium – medium low heat till the onion looks golden red.
• Now add the Tomato. Add the spices (Coriander Powder, Red Chili Powder, Turmeric Powder and Salt) as well. Stir to mix. Fry on medium low – low heat till the tomato dries up and you can see the oil separating.
• Add the okra now. Mix. Increase the heat to medium high. This is done to dry the sliminess of the okra. Stir occasionally. Do not cover the pan while cooking as it will only make the Okra slimier. 
• Once the okra looks a little fried (about 5-7 minutes), add the Garam Masala.  Reduce the heat to medium low, keep stirring occasionally till all the slime dries up.
• Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 5-10 minutes.
• Add the Amchur Powder and stir to mix. Bhindi Masala is ready! Serve hot with Plain Paratha/Luchi/ Namkeen Puri/ Roti/ Rice and dal.

Love Okra? Try these recipes as well:

• Bhindi Kalonji – Okra with Indian spices
• Alu Bhindi (Bengali Torkari - Potatoes with Okra stir fry)
• Bhindi Pyaz (Okra and Onion stir-fry)
• Bhindi fried in Kalonji seeds
• Masala Alu Bhindi (Stir-fried Potatoes with Okra and spices)
• Air Fried Okra (Bhindi/ Lady Finger)