Bhindi or Ladies Finger is one of my favourite vegetables. When fried right, it is crisp and super yummy. I remember my grandmother’s telling us to eat this vegetable when we were young saying that eating this vegetable will improve your brain. Though I have no idea if this is true or just an old wives tale, it did ensure that this became one of my favourite vegetables ever.

Okra is scientifically known as Abelmoschus esculentus, and it might have originated in parts of Western Africa and Asia. It has been cultivated since the 12th century BC. While researching on the benefits of Ladies Finger for this post, I realised that this unassuming vegetable actually has many benefits. Bhindi has one of the richest sources of potassium, folic acid, vitamins B and C, calcium, and fibre. Okra alleviates asthma, lowers cholesterol, protects the heart, manages diabetes, boosts your immune system, improves vision, prevents kidney diseases and is a very good addition for pregnant women to eat.

A note of warning though, this recipe does use more oil than usual, so keep that in mind while making it. If you are on a diet, this recipe is probably not for you. This version of bhindi masala is made using a modified basic Punjabi gravy.

Bhindi Masala

Ingredients:

• 20-25 ladies fingers, washed and completely dried
• 1 large and 1 medium sized onion
• 3 medium sized tomatoes
• 8-10 garlic pods
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 6-8 pieces of cashewnuts
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp dry mango powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 3-4 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

• Make sure the ladies fingers are completely dry. Then top and tail them and cut them into one inch pieces. Keep wiping your knife with a kitchen towel to remove all the slime from the seeds of the okra. Keep aside.
• Chop the large onion vertically into long thin slices and keep aside.
• In a blender, blend the ginger, garlic, the medium sized onion, tomatoes and cashewnuts into a fio a fine paste. Keep aside.
• Heat the oil in a pan and when it is hot, add the okra in batches along with a pinch of salt and let it cook. The okra should turn dark green and crisp. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
• In the same pan, with the balance oil, add the cumin seeds and when the seeds pop, add the sliced onions. Stir and let the onions become translucent.
• When the onions become translucent, add in the blended gravy and let it come to a rolling boil. Add in the spices – salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and raw mango powder and let it simmer for around 5-10 minutes.
• Add water to thin the gravy to the consistency you want. Add in the garam masala powder and check for seasoning and add what seems to be missing.
• Add in the fried ladies finger and give it a simmer and switch off the flame after garnishing with the finely chopped coriander leaves.
• If you don’t have access to dry mango powder, you can substitute it with 1 tsp lemon juice. Add the lemon juice at the very end, just after you switch off the flame.

This goes very well with both Indian flatbreads and even rice.