Bhindi Masala
North Indian okra dish: pods cooked dry with onion, tomato and spice until tender, with none of the slime that puts cooks off the vegetable. The technique is in the cut and the timing.
Overview
The okra is washed, dried thoroughly and trimmed, then cut into 2 cm pieces. A dry-fry over high heat for 10 minutes cooks away the surface moisture that causes slime. Onion is then browned with whole cumin in a separate go, ginger and garlic added, tomato cooked down with the ground spices, and the dry-fried okra folded in for a final dry simmer. Finished with garam masala, amchur and coriander.
Ingredients
- 500 g okra (small, fresh pods if possible)
- 3 tablespoons oil (mustard oil if available, otherwise vegetable or sunflower)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 onion (large, finely sliced)
- 4 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- 25 g fresh ginger (finely grated)
- 2 green chillies (slit lengthways)
- 2 ripe tomatoes (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder, or 2 teaspoons lemon juice at the end)
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
To serve
- A handful of coriander (chopped)
- Roti (or paratha)
Method
Stage 1 - Prep the okra
- Wash the okra and pat completely dry on a clean cloth or kitchen paper (wet okra is slimy okra; this is the most important step).
- Trim the stem ends.
- Cut into 2 cm pieces.
Stage 2 - Dry-fry the okra
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the okra in a single layer (work in two batches if needed).
- Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring every 1-2 minutes, until the okra is tender and any remaining stickiness has cooked off.
- Lift the okra out and set aside.
Stage 3 - Build the base
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan.
- Add the cumin seeds and let sizzle for 15 seconds.
- Add the sliced onion and a pinch of salt.
- Cook for 8 minutes, stirring, until golden brown.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger and green chilli; cook for 1 minute.
Stage 4 - Cook the masala
- Add the chopped tomato, Kashmiri chilli, ground coriander, turmeric and salt.
- Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring, until the tomato breaks down and the oil starts to separate from the masala.
Stage 5 - Combine
- Return the dry-fried okra to the pan.
- Stir gently to coat in the masala (rough handling breaks the pieces).
- Cook for 5 minutes over low heat to combine.
- Stir in the amchur and garam masala; cook for 1 more minute.
- Taste and adjust salt.
Stage 6 - Serve
- Scatter the chopped coriander over and serve with warm roti or paratha.
Notes
- Dry okra, no slime: Drying every pod is the single trick that defines a good bhindi masala. If the okra is wet when it hits the oil, the mucilage cooks into the pan and the dish goes ropy.
- High heat, no lid: Bhindi cooks uncovered; trapped steam reintroduces the moisture you just dried off.
- Mustard oil is traditional: Heat it to smoking and pull off the heat for 30 seconds before adding ingredients (this knocks the raw mustard pungency back).
Storage
- Refrigerate up to 2 days; reheats well but the okra softens.
- Doesn't freeze well.
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