Friday, September 11, 2009

Nutty Okra Masala - A definite hit!

'What's cooking?'
'Bendekai ....'
'Ohhh no..... i dont want it.... i'll just have somthing else....'
'Listen, it'll be nice.....'
'No, it'll be sticky and slimy.... i dont like it at all....'
This used to be Dee's reaction to Okra, till I started making dishes with okra not sticky, slimy, flabby and broken....
'And now the conversation goes like this....
'What are u making?'
'Bendekai .....'
'Wow... You're making that peanut wala bhindi, right??'
'Hmmmm....'
'Make that please... i love it.....'
So would be everyone's demand - even my inlaws'. We've all fallen in love with this variant of Bhindi masala. I've even made it for guests, shared it with colleagues, lunch pals, and well, every one gets bowled over for this! And they'll definitely ask for the recipe, even the guys would! And a pal who tasted it, urged me to put it on my blog soon, and thanks to her, the post is up for u all!
Well, i actually got this recipe from Sia's Monsoon Spice here; Thanks Sia for a wonderful combination. I had read it and got a fair idea of the ingredients and method, though not noted it, and later tried it out after a few days. I did not follow it completely, though, and made some modifications to suit my taste and method.....
You just got to try it, and I can guarantee it's gonna be a BIG HIT! Be sure to follow the instructions to handle okra, though.


Nutty Okra Masala

Preparation time : 10 min
Cooking time : 20 min
Serves : 4-5

Ingredients:
Okra/Ladies finger - ½ - ¾ kg
Onions - 2 big
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

For spice powder:
Peanuts - 1 tbsp
Bengal gram dal - ½ tbsp
Black gram dal - ½ tbsp
Sesame seeds - ½ tbsp
Dry red chilies - 10-15 depending on taste
Curry leaves - 10-12 leaves

For tempering:
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Black gram dal - 1 tsp
Peanuts - ½ tbsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 10 - 12 leaves


Method:
Spice powder
• Heat a skillet and roast all the ingredients except sesame seeds
• When they are almost roasted, add sesame seeds and turn off the flame, continue stirring for a few more seconds
• Cool slightly and grind it to a coarse powder
• This can be prepared in larger quantity and stored for multiple uses
Okra masala
• Wash the okra, wipe it with a kitchen towel and dry it completely
• Chop it on a dry cutting board with a dry knife, into ¾” pieces
• In a heavy bottomed pan, heat1 tbsp oil and add the chopped okras
• Roast the okra on a high flame, continuously stirring, till the slime vanishes. • Add a little more oil if needed
• Add salt and mix in thoroughly, continuing heat for 2 more minutes
• Chop onions and in a separate pan, heat the remaining oil and sauté till translucent
• Mix the roasted okra, add the spice powder prepared above and mix thoroughly till the spice powder is evenly coated over the okras
Tempering
• Heat oil in a small skillet, add mustard and allow to splutter
• Add peanuts and after a few seconds add black gram dal and curry leaves
• When the nuts and dal are done, add sesame seeds and turn off the flame
• Add this to the above prepared okra-onion masala and mix well
• Serve with chapathis / rice

Tips n Tricks:
• Make sure there is no water content in the okra, or the dish will turn into a disaster.
• Don’t worry if the walls of the pan get charred, it can be easily washed off.
• Never cook the okras with the pan covered, it gets soft and broken rather than staying crunchy

Variations:
• Dry grated coconut can also be added, but I prefer without it

14 comments:

  1. Hi , first time here.U've attracted me by this dish .I luv okra.This is Very new to me.Will try & let u know.

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  2. Hi Chitra,

    Thanks for dropping by..... I'll be happy to hear from u....

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  3. Wow...love that peanut powder twist to the recipe...looks drool worthy...congrats on the award....and thank u for thinking of me....

    Nice to know that u r also from Bangalore....where do u stay in Bangalore....I stay at Indiranagar.

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  4. @ Kitchen Flavours
    Hey... i stay in BSK area now.... i used to be very close to Indiranagar - in CV Raman Nagar earlier....

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  5. wow this recipe looks yummy and delicious. You can visit my blof view my recipes and give ur comments.

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  6. Wow...nice to know...BSK means banashankari....?r u there on Facebook?

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  7. Hey there.....new to ur space.... I really loved this dish will try for sure... I used to make beans upkari vth peanut never knew cud make it vth bendekai too..... I just like bendekai..... Yum

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  8. @ Kitcen queen
    Thanks! Yup, will visit ur blog too..

    @ Kamala
    Thanks!

    @ Aps
    Thanks, this surely tastes awesome..... and u'll love it, esp if u like bendekai... try it and let me know...

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  9. hi sum, I tried dill rice.. it came out nicely..tastes great with plain curds, I think it will taste even better with raita..

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  10. @ Preeti
    Thank u so much Preeti, for letting me know..... I'm glad :)

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  11. The peanut powder masala is a new one for me. Thanks for recommending this dish!

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  12. I tasted this one....really delicious and salubrious for a person who usually dnt relish South Indian food..

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  13. Sum, I tried this and it is posted on the blog.
    http://versatilekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/recipe-test-series-nutty-okra-masala.html
    Thanks for a wonderful recipe.

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Thank you for stopping by! And Thank you more for choosing to drop a line for me! Your comments are a source of inspiration to me :)