As you must know by now, Bhindi(Okra or ladies finger) is one of my favorite vegetable. Felt like cooking okra with dahi. Searched online and found this easy recipe on Tarla Dalal's site. This dish was really easy to cook and the total time is just around 45 mins along with chopping time. Whats best is that the dish is spicy yet not very hot.


Method

1.Wash, wipe dry and cut around 30 pieces of okra into 1 cm pieces. Cut them diagonally
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and sauté the ladies finger in it for 5 mins till almost cooked. Add a pinch of salt to the okra. Keep this aside.
3. In the same pan,heat 2 tsp oil and add 2 tsp fennel seeds(saunf) and saute for a minute. Add 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds (methi seeds) and saute. Now add 1 tsp mustard seeds and a pinch of asafoetida(hing) to it and saute til the mustard seeds crackle. Take care to see that the masala doesn't get scorched.
4. Add 1 inch of  ginger finely chopped to the pan and saute. Now add 1 big tomato finely chopped. Saute till the tomatoes are well cooked. Add 1 tsp of sugar to balance the taste.
5. As the tomato is cooking, whisk together 3 tbsp curds, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1tsp chilli powder, 2 tsp coriander powder and salt and mix well. Add this mixture to the pan when the tomato is cooked and cook for 2-3 mins. Add the okra that was kept aside and mix well and cook for 5 mins.
Serve hot with chapatis.

My pachi(mausi) is visiting us in Hyderabad and we are having a gala time having tasted all the specialties Hyderabad has to offer!! 
On one of the evenings when we were tired of going out, pachi cooked this awesome dish. I had never eaten this before and instantly liked it.




Method
1. Wash and clean around 300 gms of okra /bhindi and let them dry or pat dry them with a towel. 
2. Cut off the bottom hard part of the okra and then Slit them lengthwise such that it has 2 vertical slits but don’t cut all the way till the end. Cut it such that it can hold the stuffing.
3. For stuffing, add 1 cup freshly grated coconut, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, pinch of asafoetida, 1/2 a lemon, 3-4 green chillies and a handful of coriander leaves and salt to a coarse paste with little water (chutney consistency)

4. Fill the stuffing in the bhindi
5. In a pan, take 2-3 tsp oil. When hot, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp turmeric, pinch of asafoetida and saute. Add the stuffed bhindi and mix well. Cook on low heat with water on the lid. This helps in condensing the steam and cooks the bhindi quickly without scorching.
6. Remove from heat when the bhindi is cooked. The bhindi cooks in 15-20 mins on low heat. 

I am big fan of okra of bhindi and keep looking for new dishes to make with this vegetable. This dish is one of my favourite Bhindi preparations.

 Method

1. Dry roast 1 tbsp cumin seeds, coriander seeds, 3-4 red chillies, 1 tsp ajwain, 1 tsp seasame seeds (till) and 4 tbsp coconut (you can use  either dried coconut or freshly grated ones)


2.     Grind this to the dry paste. To the paste add 1 tsp garam masala, a pinch of turmeric and salt. I also add a small marble sized ball of tamarind to give it a slightly  tangy flavour.


3.     Wash and clean around 250 gms of okra and let them dry or pat dry them with a towel. Cut off the bottom hard part of the okra and then Slit them lengthwise such that it has 2 vertical slits but don’t cut all the way till the end. Cut it such that it can hold the stuffing.


4.     Add 1 tbsp oil in a non stick pan. Add 1 medium onion finely chopped and 1 tbsp each of freshly chopped ginger and garlic. Fry them till the onion is brown.
5.     Now add the stuffed okras. If you have some masala paste remaining you can that above the okra. Cover and cook on a low flame. This should ideally cook in 10-15 mins.
6.     Sprinkle finely chopped coriander and serve.