Bhindi Fry

When I talk to my school kids about veggies, Bhindi is the favorite of most of them! Even my sister who was such a fussy eater as a child,  and would survive only on yogurt and rice loved Bhindi.

OMG, everytime I type Bhindi reminds me of Maya Sarabhai in the TV show Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. According to her Bhindi sounds so middle class and Monisha, her daughter in law, should call it Okra. :-) HA HA Hilarious! You should watch this episode of YouTube.

So coming back to my Bhindi/Okra /ladyfinger :) :) So, all you folks away from home and your parents, try this way out... it is easy to make, and with few ingredients and few tricks, it will not make this okra slimy! I know it is the slimy texture that stops most of us from trying this vegetable.

Select the ones that are tiny and skinny. Large bulged ones are hard to chop and have big seeds in them. Don't stand in the grocery store to snap off the edge on each of the bhindis to see if it is crisp and perfect. I really hate to see people doing that.

Dry wipe bhindi. Cut the top and bottom ends and cut in 1-2 cm. pieces.
4-5 cups of chopped bhindi.

Heat 4-5 tbsp. oil in a pan.

Add 1 tsp. cumin seeds and 1 tsp. mustard seeds. You could add chopped green chillies too.

When they start crackling,

Add a pinch on turmeric.

Add chopped bhindis. Sprinkle some salt and toss them lightly. I just toss them by tossing the pan using the handles.

Do not cover it. Any steam or water content can make it slimy (unless you use even more oil).
Toss them again lightly after 4-5 minutes.

When they are tender to touch. Add 1tsp. red chilli powder and 1 tbsp. coriander powder.

Toss them again and cook for 4-5 minutes. If you like them slightly crisp and charred, Allow it to cook on high temperature and the bhindi closer to the bottom of the pan will get crisper.

While the bhindi cooks, make roti/chapatis/phulkas.

Garnish with cilantro and enjoy! Tastes amazing with a side of chilled plain yogurt and rice :)

Quick and Easy Bhindi Fry