Bendakaya Perugu Pachadi / Andhra Style Okra Raita

Today's recipe is a perugu pachadi made with bendakaya / okra. A perugu pachadi is a spicy raita, Andhra style. It is not made with fresh yogurt as the north Indian, chilled and creamy raitas. It is made with sour yogurt and usually contains a cooked vegetable added to it. The other common vegetables used in the preparation are eggplants / snake gourd. A perugu pachadi is usually eaten as a dip to go with rice and mudda pappu, cooked lentils just seasoned with salt. Or as  a side dish to go with rice.

Ingredients for tempering:
1 tsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds (optional)
1 pinch of asafoetida powder
Few curry leaves
A pinch of turmeric powder
Ingredients for pachadi / raita:
1 tbsp. oil
10 to 15 okra / lady fingers
1- 2 spicy chilis + 1/2 tsp ginger roughly crushed
2 cups sour yogurt
Salt to taste
Minced cilantro to garnish

Directions:
* Heat a tsp. oil and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric. Stir them once and turn off the stove. Keep it aside.

* Rinse and wipe dry the okras. Trim the edges and chop them thin, crosswise.

* Heat a tbsp. oil in a wide pan and add the okra pieces. Toast them on low medium flame until the pieces are cooked. (I toasted them in an air fryer instead.)
* Grind the chili and ginger finely adding a little yogurt if needed.
* Whisk yogurt, green chili - ginger paste and salt together in a bowl and add the cooked / toasted okra pieces. Add the tempering and minced cilantro. Mix well and serve.

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Bhindi Ka Salan

Salan is a thick gravied, tangy curry from the Hyderabadi cuisine that is slowly cooked in a peanut, sesame and coconut base. Aromatic, flavor loaded salan traditionally was prepared as an accompaniment to rice / rotis though it has become synonymous with biryanis over the time. If you are interested, go through this interesting excerpt on the origins of the mirchi ka salan in the royal kitchens. Today's recipe of course is not the popular mirchi ka salan version which uses the green chillies but an okra / bhindi based one. 

I prepared this bhendi ka khatta salan to go with my 'Hyderabadi Dum Biryani' during the April Mega marathon. This is a dish to have in one's repertoire, if one is an okra fan. Choose small sized, tender okra while preparing this salan. The okra is fried before adding to the gravy so that the final salan doesn't end up being slimy though one can add okra without frying and cook. I used my air fryer instead of deep frying. I used very little oil to cook this dish and so my final salan doesn't look greasy with oil on the top, which seems to be the signature look of a salan. The dish doesn't demand any fancy ingredients though linked to imperial kitchens and even a novice cook can nail it with satisfactory results. It is a simple and easy enough dish and needs little supervision though it is cooked a little extra time than most of the dishes. 

To toast and grind:
2 tbsp. peanuts
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
2 tbsp. coconut
4 byadagi chillies / less spicy variety dried red chillies
1/2 inch piece of ginger
1 or 2 garlic cloves (I didn't use any.)
Other ingredients:
12 okra / bhindi
Oil to fry bhindi (if frying)
1 tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/8 tsp. fenugreek seeds
Few curry leaves
1/2 cup minced onion
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
2 - 3 tbsp. tamarind juice
Salt to taste
Jaggery to taste (I used 2 Stevia packets)
1 tsp chili powder that is not very hot (I used 1.5 tsp )
Water as needed (I used 2 1/2 cups of water in total for grinding the paste and to cook the salan.)

Directions:
* Dry roast peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut and chillies on low flame, until slightly browned. Keep aside and let them cool.
* Grind the toasted ingredients along with ginger and garlic if using, to a smooth paste. Add water as needed to grind. (Ginger - garlic paste can be skipped here and added while sauteing onions instead.)
* Wash the okra, remove the ends and wipe them dry.
* Heat oil if deep frying okra. Fry okra on medium heat until slightly browned. (I used an air-fryer instead.)
* Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, cumin and fenugreek seeds. When mustard starts to sputter, add curry leaves and onion. Saute until golden brown.
* Next add the ground paste, turmeric, chili powder and salt to the pan. Add enough water to make it into a thin consistency mixture (about 1.5 or 2 cups of water). Stir well and cook the mixture covered for about 20 minutes on low flame, stirring intermittently. The mixture would have thickened by the time and the oil would have separated. Add tamarind and sweetener next, taste and adjust the seasonings if needed and cook for about 5 minutes. (I usually add tamarind and sweetener along with the paste at the beginning.) Add the fried okra and cook for a couple of minutes more. Turn off the stove and let it sit for few minutes before serving.
* Garnish with cilantro and serve with biryani / pulao / rice or rotis.




This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon #101 under 'Gravy Curries' theme.

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Dum ki Bharwan Bhindi

Stuffing vegetables with spicy fillings is quite a popular concept in regional Indian cooking. The commonly used vegetables to stuff are eggplants, okras, bitter gourds, capsicums, ivy gourds and others. I tried this recipe from The Indian Vegetarian Cookbook, which is perfect for bhindi / okra lovers and also for those who enjoy spicy stuffed vegetables. The okra are slit and stuffed with a mixture of ground spices and cooked in dum style, where they are covered and cooked in steam on low heat. The stuffing is enough for the mentioned quantity of okra and if you have any left over spice powder, don't be tempted to sprinkle on the cooked okra. I used less okra and spice powder than the quantity mentioned in the recipe and ended up sprinkling the left over spice powder over okra which was too spicy for our taste.

A green colored looking okra dish is not welcome in my world. Give me some okra and I am sure to give you back a platter of browned and crisply done okra. This dish was like a challenge where I had to resist that temptation to fry but still ended up browning some of them anyway. You can cook the stuffed okras just until done, still green looking since browning them is not a required step here. 

Ingredients:
2 tsp. coriander powder
2 tsp. mild red chili powder
2 tsp. fennel powder
1 tsp. dry mango / amchur powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper powder
Salt to taste
3 tbsp. oil
9 oz / 250 gm. okra
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
A pinch of asafoetida

Method:
* Combine all the ingredients mentioned under stuffing, in a small bowl.
* Wash and pat dry okra. Remove the ends. Slit the okras lengthwise using a sharp knife to create hollow pockets, without cutting them into two.

* Stuff the okras with the mixture equally.

* Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they start to brown add asafoetida and stir. Next add the stuffed okra and sprinkle little salt over them. Cover and cook on lowest heat setting.

* Stir them gently from time to time and cook until the okra re cooked through. It is fine if some of the stuffing spills into the pan while cooking. (I like my okras crisp and browned, therefore browned them and there is no need to do so.)

* Serve them warm with rice.


This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon #100 under 'Stuffed Dishes' theme.

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Tawa Bhindi

Tawa subzi was what on my mind when I picked 'tawa recipes' as my theme for this week's BM. I went and bought even the needed vegetables only to back out at the last minute when I realized that too much work and time were involved in the preparation. At least in my case since I was planning to cook for one and that too for myself. And so instead I picked this spicy and delicious tawa subzi prepared with okra after I happened to come across it here. Tawa bhindi is stuffed okra curry that is prepared on a tawa / griddle. This curry uses a flavorful homemade tawa masala though a store bought version can be substituted for it. I did not play around the original recipe while preparing this tawa bhindi though I have reduced the quantity of red chili powder in the masala recipe given below. Tawa masala with a tbsp. of chili powder turned out to be a super spicy one, the kind which leaves you in tears especially if you use up all the masala prepared. And so, I recommend to go easy with the tawa masala, taste and adjust the quantity as needed in the tawa bhindi recipe. However I would like to add that this spicy masala is a flavorful one and would be a great addition to vegetable preparations and okra here can be replaced with other vegetables. 

Ingredients for tawa masala
1 tsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 or 3 cloves
1 inch piece of cinnamon
2 tbsp. coriander seeds
2 tsp. kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
1 to 1.5 tsp. red chilli powder
1 tsp. amchoor / dried mango powder
1 tsp. chaat masala
1 tsp. salt

Preparing tawa masala:
* Heat the oil in  a pan and add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to crackle and pop, turn off the stove and add the remaining ingredients to the pan. Toast for a minute and let the mixture cool.
* Grind the ingredients finely and store it in an airtight container. Keep refrigerated and use as needed.

Ingredients for tawa bhindi:
1 lb. okra / bhindi (25 medium sized okra)
1/4 cup tawa masala or as needed 
 3 to 4 tbsp. oil

Method:
* Wash the okra and wipe them dry thoroughly. Otherwise the slime builds while chopping. 
* Chop off the edges of okra and make a slit along the entire length of it without chopping it into two pieces. Stuff the okra with a pinch or two of tawa masala and don't go overboard with the stuffing. Gently wipe away if any stuffing sticks on the okra as we don't want the mixture to burn while cooking the okra. Prepare all the okra this way and keep them aside.
 
* Heat oil on a tawa / skillet and add the stuffed okra. Toss them well to coat with the oil. Cook them on medium flame turning intermittently, until they are done to the desired crispness. Add oil if needed in between. (Cook in a saute pan if you are uncomfortable with cooking on a tawa.)
* Sprinkle a little salt and some tawa masala over the okra and toss well before turning off the stove. (Go easy with the salt since the tawa masala has already salt in it. The original recipe did not have this extra sprinkling of masala over the okra.)
* Serve with rotis / rice.

 
This goes to Blogging marathon #70, under the theme 'Cooking on a Tawa'. Check here to find out what the other marathoners are cooking as part of the BM.

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Bendekayi Gojju / Sweet & Spicy Okra Gravy

Though this gojju may not come across as a visually appealing one, I assure you that this is one tongue tickling dish, literally. Gojju, a spicy stew from Karnataka is a melange of balanced flavors, appearing anywhere from a simple home cooked meal to in menus prepared for large gatherings. The spicy, sweet and sour flavors are perfectly balanced in a well prepared gojju. The gojju can be prepared in no time if you have gojju pudi handy, the one that can be prepared well in advance. And below are links for some of the popular variations of gojjus from the state.

Pineapple gojju
Hagalakayi gojju
Drakshi gojju 
Hagalakayi gojju (Version 2)

Ingredients for gojju pudi:
2 tbsp. peanuts
1 tbsp. chanadal / split chickpeas
1 tbsp. uraddal / split black gram
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. white sesame seeds
A pinch of methi seeds/ fenugreek seeds
10 red chillies *
2 - 4 tbsp. dry coconut (copra), shredded  
* A combination of spicy and Byadagi chillies can be used. The latter adds a vibrant color to the dish without being overtly spicy.

 Preparing gojju Pudi:
* Add peanuts, chanadal and uraddal to a sauté pan and fry until they start to turn reddish. 
* Add coriander seeds, sesame seeds, red chillies and methi seeds to the pan and saute on low flame until coriander seeds turn a few shades darker. 
* Cool all the ingredients and grind along with coconut into a fine powder.
* Store it in an airtight container and use when needed. 

Ingredients for gojju:
1 - 2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp chana dal / split chickpeas
1 tsp mustard seeds
Few curry leaves
10 to 12 okra, ends removed and cut into thin slices
A pinch of asafoetida powder
A pinch of turmeric powder 
6 tbsp. gojju pudi
6 tbsp. tamarind juice (A big lemon sized tamarind soaked in water and pulp squeezed.)
Salt to taste
2 tbsp. jaggery powder or according to taste
2 cups water

Preparing Gojju: 
* Heat oil in a kadai or a pan and add chana dal and mustard seeds. When the dal start to turn reddish, add curry leaves and okra slices.  Fry on medium flame until okra turns crisp and then add asafoetida and turmeric powder. 
* Add gojju powder, tamarind juice, jaggery, salt and water to the pan. Cook until the gojju thickens and comes to a rolling boil. Check the flavors once midway and adjust the seasonings, if any needed.
* Serve with rice / rotis.

This goes to Blogging marathon #60 under the theme 'Regional Cuisine - Karnataka'. Check the link to see what other marathoners are cooking.



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Veggie Wednesday ~ Okra Fry

If you are wondering whether I have burnt or charred the fry, I did not and trust me, that fry tastes delicious. I usually toast okra in the oven to the point where they turn crisp and loose all their 'green' color. I do it on purpose each time I roast okra as everyone in my family loves it that way. Trust me, if not for this post, you would not have noticed those green pieces of okra in the above picture. :) However if cooking my way, one has to pay attention at the final stages of the cooking since our aim is not to burn the okra but turn it into crispy pieces.

Okra fry is loved by everyone in our family and especially it is my daughter's favorite dish. My husband remembers to bring home okra whenever he spots the fresh ones, for her sake. Some go into making this fry and some to the Andhra style dal. The oven toasting cuts down the oil usage considerably compared to the stove-top roasting and I prefer the oven method when I want my vegetables to be crispy and guilt-free. I mostly cook okra, tindora and potatoes this way.

Okra is one of those vegetables which turn slimy if they are wet / have any trace of water on them while chopping. Here is a tip to avoid the sticky situation and save time in sitting and dry wiping each okra. Wash and drain the okra completely and leave them overnight or a few hours (depending on when okra are needed) on a thick towel to dry out or lay them on one half of the towel and cover them with the other half. By morning they will all be clean and completely dry. Then proceed with the chopping as the recipe requires.

Ingredients:

About 2 cups finely chopped okra / 45 okra

3 to 4 tbsp. oil

Salt and chili powder to taste

Method:

* Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.

* Chop off the tips and finely chop the okra pods. Try to keep them in same size for uniform cooking. Add the chopped okra and oil to a bowl and mix well so that each okra piece is coated generously with oil.

* Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup later.)

* Spread the okra pieces on the prepared baking sheet. Slight overcrowding will do since the quantity of okra is going to be reduced after some minutes of baking.

* Bake until the desired consistency is reached, flipping once or twice intermittently. Pay attention at the final stages of baking to avoid burning.

* Remove them from oven and transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle salt and chili powder as needed and toss to combine.

* Serve with hot steamed rice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51.

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An InLinkz Link-up

Authentic Andhra ~ Dappalam

Today marks the final day of this blogging marathon and I am here with another delicious stew from Andhra. Besides the sambhars and rasams (that are popular through out the southern parts of India), various spicy stews with toor dal and/or vegetables are prepared in Andhra to go along with hot, steamed rice. Among those, dappalam happens to be a spicy, tangy stew prepared with an assortment of vegetables. This dish could be prepared in a matter of minutes and particularly an apt one when you have to finish off the odd medley of leftover veggies from your refrigerator. It is delicious when served with rice as it is or along with some mudda pappu (cooked, plain toordal).

Recipe source: M's aunt
Ingredients for 6 - 8 servings:
For tadka: 1 - 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, asafoetida to taste, few curry leaves
6 green chilies - Slit lengthwise (I used Serrano peppers)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 cups - mixed vegetables (Veggies like drumstick, winter melon, brinjal, potato, bottlegourd/lauki, okra, beans and carrot are usually used.)
Tamarind (a lime sized tamarind soaked in water, squeezed and puree extracted)
Jaggery - 2 Tbsp or as per taste
Salt to taste
2 - 3 tsp rice flour
Cilantro for garnish

Method:
* Cook vegetables until tender, not mushy. Some veggies need to be cooked individually since cooking time of each vegetable varies.
* Mix the rice flour with little water to form a watery paste and keep it aside.
* Heat oil in a kadai (small wok) or a pan and add the tadka ingredients. When mustard seeds start to splutter add green chillies and turmeric powder. Sauté the chillies for a few seconds.
* Then add the cooked vegetables, tamarind juice, jaggery, salt and rice flour paste. Also add some water to reach the desired consistency (like a thick sambhar). Check the taste and adjust the ingredients if needed. The final dish should be spicy, tangy and sweet. J
* Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and lower the heat. Then simmer it for a few minutes. Turn off the stove and garnish with cilantro.
* Serve with rice and mudda pappu (plain dal).

Note:
* 1 - 2 tsp of sambhar powder can be added to this dish to enhance the flavor.
* The color of dappalam depends upon the jaggery and tamarind used.

Check out what the other marathoners in BM#5 are cooking today. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree , Kaveri, Pavani,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Harini, Me , PJ and Vaishali
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani
Summer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

Even if an Andhrite haven't eaten dappalam, they have surely heard about it. Thanks to this evergreen and iconic song from Mayabazar.
Ghathothkacha (Bheemasena's Rakshasa son) has come to help his cousins Abhimanyu and Sashirekha get married. In the process, he impersonates Sashirekha to stop her wedding that her parents had arranged with Lakshmana Kumara (son of Duryodhana). He lands up in kitchen where a scrumptious feast has been arranged for the wedding guests and ends up enjoying it single handedly.

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Bhindi Masala ~ Spicy Okra in Cashew - Almond Sauce

The bhindi masala or the spicy version of okra in cashew - almond sauce is here, as a continuation of my previous post. Okra happens to be one of the unanimously favored veggies at my home and the favorite version is the fried one - done until crispy and crunchy. However this time, I wanted to try another version that would go well with rotis / tortillas. When planning for the 'Design a Menu' event, I thought of adding new flavors subtly to all the dishes I am going to present and hence the addition of cashew - almonds here. The nut - milk mixture lends a rich, creamy flavor and base to the veggies. If the spices are used mildly, then kids enjoy it too.

Ingredients for 4 servings:
2 cups okra (I used 12 oz frozen, chopped okra)
2 onions, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp kasuri methi (optional)
1 Tbsp cashews + 2 Tbsp almonds (or substitute cashews)
1/4 cup milk (at room temperature)
Salt & Chili powder to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 - 4 Tbsp oil
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/8 tsp turmeric powder

Method:
* Fry okra adding 2 Tbsp oil in a pan till done.
* Grind the cashews and almonds into a paste adding milk.
* Heat 1 - 2 Tbsp oil and add cumin seeds. When they turn brownish, add onions and turmeric powder. Fry till the onion turns translucent. Next add the tomatoes and cook until mushy. Then add the fried okra.
*  Now, add the cashew - almond paste, coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder, salt, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Also add water if necessary. Simmer for a few minutes and turn off the stove.
Serve with warm rotis.

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Okra Dal ~ Bendakaya Pappu

'O' for Okra dal - My entry for Nupur's A - Z event.
Pappu, the traditional Andhra dal is a regular dish prepared at our homes. The usual, standard vegetables that go into our pappus are green mango / mamidikaya, cucumber/dosakaya, tomato, green leafy vegetables to name a few. My husband’s family use okra to make pappu. To me, who love okra in it’s crispiest state, this was kind of an unusual dish.
Today, to my surprise, my husband volunteered to prepare our lunch and presented me with ‘O’ dish for Nupur’s event. The following recipe is my husband’s and he has taken the liberty of a chef when it comes to the ingredients list. The optional ingredients mentioned in the recipe are not used in a traditional pappu recipe at our homes. Their addition did enhance the taste and was delicious. So, here comes my husbad’s first recipe on my blog.
Ingredients:
Toor dal - 1 cup
Okra - 1 Lb
Green chillies - 6/8
Salt - Accordingly
Tamarind extract (obtained from soaked tamarind) - 4 Tbsp or accordingly
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 4 Tbsp
Ginger, chopped fine - 1 tsp (Optional)
Cumin powder - 1 tsp (Optional)
Garlic Powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)

For Tempering:
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1 /4 tsp
Curry leaves - A few

Preparation:
I used 1 Lb frozen okra packet. If using frozen okra, thaw and remove any excess water. If using fresh ones, wash them, wipe them dry and chop into circles after trimming the ends. Chop the green chillies fine.
Cook toor dal, green chillies and turmeric powder with sufficient water in a pressure cooker or in a big pot till it is cooked soft. Pappus are not watery like sambhars and therefore, the quantity of water required to make pappu is only a little more than needed to cook dal.
Heat 4 tbsp of oil to a pan and add chopped okra. Keep frying the okra till all the stickiness (if present) disappears and it is cooked. Gently rotate the okra with the spoon while frying, so that okra doesn't become mushy. Add tamarind extract, salt, cumin powder to the okra mixture and let it cook on low flame till the mixture comes to a boil. Add cooked toor dal to the pan and stir the whole mixture once with a ladle. Let it simmer for few more minutes.
Heat oil in a small pan and add ginger. when ginger starts to turn light brown, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start to pop and cumin seeds turn brownish, add asafoetida and garlic powder. Turn off the stove after a few seconds. Add to dal, stir the mixture with a ladle and close the lid. Let the dal sit for a few minutes so that all the flavors are infused.
Serve with hot rice and a spoon of ghee.

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