Ladies finger aka Bhindi is one of my favourite vegetables. I love preparing this very simple and quick bhindi masala/ladies finger masala as it goes well with both rice and any form of roti. Bhindi Masala/Okra Masala is an aromatic, delicious and nutritious vegetable side dish. Ladies finger is a very popular vegetable with innumerable health benefits and is also known as Okra and popularly called Bhindi in Hindi.
Here are a few tips to avoid ladies finger/bhindi from becoming sticky while cooking, you can add any one of the following tips given below if required.
- One teaspoon of yoghurt /curd (plain) while cooking.
- A little besan while cooking.
- Few drops of lemon juice while cooking.
- Cook bhindi uncovered for the first few minutes.
Now over to the recipe of bhindi masala/Ladies finger masala/Okra masala/Vendakka masala…….
Ingredients
- ½ Kg Ladies finger (tender ones)
- 2 Onions, thinly sliced
- 2 Tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1-2 Green Chillies, slit
- 1 tbsp. Ginger garlic paste
- ¼ tsp. Turmeric powder
- 2 ½ tsp. Coriander powder
- 1 tsp. Cumin powder
- 1 tsp. Red chilli powder or as needed
- 2 tbsps. Oil
- 1 tsp. Cumin seeds
- ½ tsp. Garam masala
- 2 tbsps. Coriander leaves, chopped
Method
- Wash ladies finger/okra well, wipe it dry with a clean towel, otherwise it will become sticky while cooking. Cut the base and the tip of the ladies finger. Then cut it into 2-inch long pieces.
- Heat oil in a kadai and saute the ladies finger uncovered until it is half cooked or browns lightly. Keep it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan/kadai, add cumin seeds, when it splutters, add onions, green chillies and saute.
- Next add a tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste after onions turn golden brown and saute for a few minutes until the raw flavour goes.
- Then add chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, salt as needed and cook until tomatoes become mushy. If the masala mixture becomes dry, you can add a tbsp of water and continue cooking until tomatoes become mushy.
- Then add ladies finger, cover and cook on low heat, stirring from time to time, until ladies finger/okra becomes soft.
- Garnish with coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with chapati or rice or naan.
