The Okra Show

Nov2
Hahahaaa… the other day a friend at P101 told me how she began learning kitchen rules and cooking after her wedding date was fixed. she thought she knew it all until on the 3rd day after wedding she was asked to cook bhindi aka okra aka ladies finger. she chopped ’em into pieces and dumped them in a pressure cooker with water and spices! whooopss!! it surely is something you will laugh at a lot in future. but for now it was such a gigantic mistake!!
she isnt the only one who told me about such a blunder. a few other friends also tried cooking bhindi the similar way. freak! how can you even think of it??

well, i in that matter didnt make that mistake. (doesnt mean i never made a cooking blunder… remember this?? )
but for now, i make perfect gujju bhindi sabzi and i hereby declare the recipe open to use. just mention my name/blog url in case u are referring it to others. feels nice when ppl appreciate it u see.

Okra
i diced the bhindi and added a medium sized potato (i thought the quantity wasn’t just enough… cooking intuition )

add 5 tsps of vegetable oil in a kadhai or a deep cooking vessel and let it heat at a medium flame. once its evenly heated.. add 2 huge spoons of garlic paste *optional* (garlic petals smashed into paste with salt and red chili powder), saute it for a few seconds.
next- add the bhindi (and potato) into the vessel and mix well, put a lid over the container and let the lid be a little deep (i use a thali / dish as a lid) so that you can pour in half a glass of water over the lid. that means no water inside the vessel but over the lid. let it cook for a minute.

next- drag the lid carefully aside. the water filled lid still needs to used. add in the spices – chili powder, coriander-jeera powder, and salt. use it as per the taste you or your family likes. gujju food is normally very spicy. you may prefer to vary according to your taste buds. 
mix it well and notice it getting sticky. put on the lid again… if the water has evaporated, fill it again. 
let it cook for 7 mins. (varies according to quantity,… plz keep on checking it)
Okra
once cooked, garnish it with coriander (i dont do with mine… )
serve it with chappati or parantha. 

things to take care of :
1. do not dice the veggies very thin… these are not french fries.. if tastes better if kept bigger.
2. be careful with the chili powder in case you are adding garlic paste. you dont want the burning sensation later. 
3. heat it again in case it still feels sticky. 
4. do NOT add water in the vessel.
5. do NOT cook it at high flame. low to medium is just perfect.
6. let the bhindi cook a little in oil/garlic paste before adding the spices. let the oil seep in for a better taste.
7. do NOT overdo the quantity of oil… you dont want others to typecast gujju recipe as oily and unhealthy. its NOT^^ 


lemme know if you tried it… lemme know if you have a yummy okra recipe too. 
would love to read or share with my readers.

cheers!
aavjo 🙂


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