30 October, 2008

Stuffed Bhindi Masala: My Okra Love Affair


Stuffed Bhindi Masala
Remember me?
It’s great to see you after all these years.
Can we be friends?
Your profile is so cute. I would love to add you as friends.
Are you so-and-so?
Aren’t you so-and-so’s cousin or friend?
Wondering what’s this all about? Well, these are the friendship requests I get on social networking sites. Some are from old friends whom I have almost forgotten and some from total strangers and some simply wanting to increase the number of friends in their profiles and some from lonely guys and girls seeking ‘real fun’ (Duh?!). Having it said, these social networking sites are really cool as I got to meet my long lost (not at your usual Kumbh ka Mela ;) friends all around the world. I always believed I had just few friends until I saw my friends list crossing 3 digits and then hitting close to three centuries. Now who would have thunk I made so many friends over all these years.

Well, meeting all these friends also means travelling back in time and remembering and sometime painfully reminding all those funny and embarrassing moments. Most of my recent friends think me to be a no-nonsense, serious kind of person to walk on this planet. Imagine their shock when they read my primary school friend’s message with bold letter flashing on my scrapbook asking me if I still play pranks on my boss or colleagues as I used to do with my teachers by placing the duster or the most common trick of spilling ink on their chair and snatch my colleagues lunch box as I did to my juniors and classmates. And an enthusiastic scrap left by my close friend about hitting that pimple faced boy with my metal compass box for teasing me for wearing gaudy pink lipstick and matching nail polish in my high school was enough to shake the foundation of my sophisticated image that I had built (but not completely succeeded is another matter all together). And one friend decides to write a long testimonial on how smart I was to mix hair remover solution and face bleach cream with shampoo to teach a unforgettable lesson to our hostel warden for stealing my favourite shampoo and that piece of information was enough to make me turn from serious working girl into a total prankster! My close friends are hell bent on spoiling all my reputation. ~sighs~ I say friends can also be your worst enemies (I can prove it, may be in another post) but they are the kind whom you cherish.

When people compare marriage to chewing gum, I couldn’t help but compare friendship to Okra. I know it sounds weird but I can be weird sometime! ;) You see my theory comes from the fact that Okra can be annoyingly slimy yet it tastes delicious when cooked right. Similarly friends can be annoyingly irritating yet they are the best part of your life. ~clap, clap or slap, slap~ Whoosh… Ok, I made that all up as today we have this lovely Okra or Bhindi recipe. So no need to break your head on the weird comparison of Okra and friendship. Without much delay (!!??) let us go to the recipe bit.

By now the regular reader of my blog would have realised how much I love Bhindi. This time I am posting a recipe of Stuffed Bhindi Masala which I cooked last night without following any recipe in particular. I used the ingredients which I thought would enhance the flavour of Bhindi and pleasantly they did. By the time I finished stuffing and sautéing, one quarter of the stuffed okras were stuffed in our mouths. Since I had already sliced the onions and chopped the tomatoes I had to use them in cooking. May be next time I will just stuff the okras and simply stir fry them or bake them. The stuffing used is roasted peanuts and few spices which gave pleasantly nutty flavour with touch of spiciness to sweet okras. While onions add more crunch and sweet note, tomatoes lends lovely tangy flavour to the dish. Try this recipe when you have time and see how okra can beat any vegetables hands down when cooked right.

Stuffed Bhindi

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Stuffed Bhindi Masala (Okra stuffed with roasted Peanut and Spice powder and cooked with sweet Onions and tangy Tomatoes)
Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooking Time: 20-25 mins
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:
24-30 tender baby Okra/Bhindi (1 and half to 2 inches long) or 18-24 tender Okra, tips removed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 large Onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
3-4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Green Chillies, slit (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Few Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Lime Juice (Optional)
2 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp Oil

For Stuffing/Filling:
¼ cup Roasted Peanuts
1 tbsp Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tbsp Coriander Seeds
4-5 Dry Red Chillies (adjust acc to taste)
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1 tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste
Stuffed Bhindi Masala

Method:
Wash okras and spread them on dry kitchen towels to remove excess water or simply pat them dry with kitchen towel.
While the okras are drying, heat a pan and dry roast channa dal, dry red chillies, hing, jeera and coriander seeds till they turn golden red and fragrant. Let them cool completely before you powder them. Add these roasted spices with roasted peanut, turmeric, amchur and salt to taste and grind them to coarse powder.
Now trim the okra ends and carefully make a slit on one side and stuff it with ¼-½ tsp of spice powder. Don’t worry if you are left with excess spice powder as it will be used later.
Heat about tbsp of oil in a pan and sauté stuffed okras on high flame, if required in batches, for about 4-5 minutes till brown spots start to appear and it is half cooked. Place them on paper towel till needed.
Now heat another tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to it. When jeera starts to sizzle and turn light shade of brown, add curry leaves, finely chopped garlic and slit green chillies. Sauté till garlic turns light shade of brown, about one minute.
Add thinly sliced onion and sauté on medium flame till it turns golden brown, about 3 mins. Mix in finely chopped tomatoes and remaining spice powder and cook till tomatoes release it juice and turns pulpy, about 3 minutes.
Now add stuffed okras and sauté for 5-7 mins on medium flame till the okra is cooked through and the flavours blend well.

44 comments:

  1. Wow Sia, great recipe with pixs.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  2. looks very pretty and delicious... love the picture as usual.

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  3. Awesome looking Bhindi Sia, what a great stuffing u have prepared.Ur dish is really presentable.

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  4. I love Okra too. Awesome recipe, I have never made Okra this way:-) Your pictures make me want to try them right now.

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  5. Great Stuffing!! I do mine with Dhania powser, saunf & amchur & Etc. Need to try this next time.
    Soma (www.ecurry.com)

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  6. Does this make the okra non-slimy? if so, i will try it :D

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  7. Yummy .............drooling sia... loved d second pic...

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  8. Oh Sups!! I couldn't stop laughing at your pranks.. Those days with freinds were absolutely amazing eh!!!
    Wow its so wonderful to see your other side....
    To top it all with stuffed Bhindi.. You are amazingly mean... I want okra NOW>>>>>>

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  9. Oh Sups!! I couldn't stop laughing at your pranks.. Those days with freinds were absolutely amazing eh!!!
    Wow its so wonderful to see your other side....
    To top it all with stuffed Bhindi.. You are amazingly mean... I want okra NOW>>>>>>

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  10. Umm......so did u cut down few from your list Sia? Bhindi Masala looks good, loved the pic of lined u stuffed bhindi. We enjoyed our soundless Deepavali here, Akash got some whistling sursurbathi this time so he was mightily happy :)

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  11. I've baked stuffed okras and they were really good.. I must try your stuffing.. sounds delish.

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  12. I make it dry. Yours looks yummier and i was rofl reading about your childhood friends' comments. It happened to me just last week. I got in touch with my school buddy after 10 years and even my husband who knows me in and out, was shocked to hear the pranks i played when i was in school ;-) Bad thing about it is i don't get to say the boys have taken after him when they are naughty :-(

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  13. thx for the lovely comment and hope you had a wonderful diwali too

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  14. I get those funny requests too! Strange isn't it? How people want to be friends just by looking at your profile pic! For me, that in itself is kind of a deal breaker. But as you said, it does help get in touch with old friends, and I think it is worth it.

    Sia, have you noticed the comment "profile" when posting a comment does not appear all the time? For instance, now I am trying to re-load your page, and posting it again... just fyi.

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  15. lovely pics indeed as always ! :) Happy diwali to you too dear :) wishing you the best during this festive season.

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  16. first of all thanks for letting me know abt the loading prob in my blog! I am on it. That being said, Sia you were a prankster? couldn't believe yaar....poor hostel warden...did she find out you did that? and yes social n/w sites are awesome.I found my friend with whom I dint have touch for 13 yrs..how cool na? coming to oakra stuffing ...peanuts is a great choice and I am surely gonna try this sometime soon!

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  17. awesome .. i love okra .. this one looks just perfect

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  18. Ha ha Sia, I cannot believe that you were so rough on ur school days.... Friends are always a great relationship in this world :)
    Wondering how the slim beauty retains the green color? Pretty....

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  19. pretty and awesome bhindies sia. looks so perfect and my fingers want to pick some.

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  20. Lovely ... same here i love okra too. nice pics

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  21. I have long wish to try stuffed bhindi,u are tempting me now...

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  22. Delicious Okras, Sia! Picture is as usual very appetizing.. :)

    I loved your comparison between Okras and friends :) Gal, that was funny :)

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  23. Bhindi looks mouthwatering and stuffed bhindi is one of my favourites too. Btw, I wanted to ask you, do u own a restaurant, I can never take my eyes off those pics when I see any in ur blog. Great photography !!!

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  24. this looks fabulous Sia! Stuffing looks great! Thanks for a delicious recipe.

    BTW, got a treat for you! Check it out here:

    http://teluguruchi.blogspot.com/2008/10/pumpkin-gel-pie.html

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  25. Oh Yum! I would love this! Okra of any sort makes me happy :)

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  26. me too me too.. love bhindi in any form :D.
    pics are killing me :((

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  27. Stuffing looks delicious, Sia! As always, I love, love , love the pics. Missed you, dear girl! :)

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  28. The only okra I ever liked was my Nanas southern fried okra. It is done in cornmeal with bacon grease and is wonderful and not slimy at all. But this looks so exotic...beautiful food presentation and very interesting. Thank you. And, I adore your name!

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  29. Okra is my favorite too and I try out differnt combinations. I loved this recipe.

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  30. annoyingly slimy but still tastes great..... :D tooo good... i havent read the recipe but just read the whole kahani and was tempted to come comment first.... u can be sure that the next time i make stuffed okra i will come checking for ur recipe... :) i know u r sure about that :) u know something its like homecoming.... everyday i see a post by you in the reader i click ... but no madam is so so famous... its one of those highly visited blogs which is blocked in my org... and i sigh... do u really have to be so famous :P aah i feel so good that i am able to check it now...fro home though.... was waiting to..... the minute i read those comments i knew u r talknig of orkut ... others i dont know :) u r too good yaa....

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  31. Lovely picture Sia.. Loved the recipe.

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  32. Sia,
    these looks great and I liked the pic where stuffed okhras are lined up ...
    hugs and smiles

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  33. The okhras look delicious! Super yummy :)

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  34. lol, we are just so similar sups... I too have a very "shady" past... and now I am this career woman ;) I hope none of my friends will recollect those old memories on my wall or scrapbook!

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  35. I like bharwan bhindi and your version looks delicious.
    I would have never thought of comparing friendship to okra! That's a long stretch. :)

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  36. Hey Sia, Nice twist on stuffed bendi. Will try this one tomorrow for dinner. I am a fan of your blog and started my own inspired by many bloggers like you. Do check it out when you have time.

    Shree

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  37. Like this new stuffing Sia! As it is, I am quite a fan of peanut powder since the time I came to Mumbai!

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  38. Hi Sia,

    I just bumped into your food blog while searching for Bhindi Masala....

    I also post recipes on the web and am in IT, so I thought I must leave you a comment letting you know that your website is quite well designed and organized...keep writing :)

    cheers to good health,

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  39. Who are you?
    I mean, cmon' how come you being a stranger made my day..
    Not flirting sia, am happily married(yeah really), but can't stop praising your lovely recipe..

    most times I make new dishes looking into internet recipies if my wife can't find any(which is as always)...

    Being at work since noon and waiting for dinner..was excited if I can find any good recipies today for bhindi masala..

    Found urs..
    The article line "My Okra love affair" was something in google that my wife pointed out...hmmm
    Nice title..

    looking into the detailed recipie with pictures I felt WOW...
    It was something interesting out of Okra recipie we had cooked before..

    It was 12 am here...
    though we get started,followed steps,cooked..and now its ready to serve hot..yummy yummy.. jst like the pic...

    As we pray and thank to GOD before dining.. just wanted to acknowledge and thank you very much... without which we couldn't have done as best as we did.. :)

    Thanks Sia..
    From Krish & Shilpa(My wife's calling me to eat..lol)
    am going............

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  40. looks yummy...going to try now..on my hubby...

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  41. Hi,

    Thanks for sharing your stuffed bhendi recipe. I made that today and it was a super hit. My kids loved it and (my hubby loved me more :)).

    Very delicious recipe...I would definitely share this with my friends!!

    Vidya

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  42. @Puffer fish, that's wonderful Vidya! i am happy to know that ur family loved it :)

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