This Ladies Finger Curry also called Bhindi Curry in Hindi, is a delicious recipe of sautéed okra in a tangy onion, tomato curry base. The recipe is also gluten-free.
Recipe Snapshot
- Prep time: 25 minutes
- Cook time: 25 minutes
- Total time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: North Indian, Punjabi
Ingredients
- 3 tomatoes (- ripe, red, medium-sized or 150 grams tomatoes or ¾ cup roughly chopped tomatoes)
- 1 inch ginger (- peeled and chopped)
- 4 to 5 garlic cloves (small to medium-sized, peeled)
- 1 to 2 green chilies (or 1 teaspoon chopped)
- 2 tablespoons curd ((yogurt))
- 2 cloves
- 1 green cardamom
- ½ inch cinnamon
- 1 single thin strand of mace (- optional)
- 2 tablespoons oil (- for sautéing okra)
- 250 grams bhindi ((okra or lady finger))
- 2 tablespoons oil (for making curry)
- 1 tej patta ((Indian bay leaf),small to medium-sized)
- 1 onion (- large-sized or 2 medium onions or 100 grams or ½ cup finely chopped onions)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder (or cayenne pepper)
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder ((ground coriander))
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ¾ cup water (or add as required)
- salt (as required)
- ½ teaspoon dry fenugreek leaves ((kasuri methi), crushed)
- 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves ((cilantro))
Method
Preparation
- First rinse ladies finger (okra, bhindi) very well in running water a few times. Then drain them completely in a strainer or colander.
- Wipe each bhindi with a kitchen napkin. There should be no moisture on them. You can also allow them to dry naturally at room temperature, by spreading them onto a large plate or tray.
- Chop the okra into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces. Keep aside.
- In a grinder or blender jar, take the roughly chopped ripe red tomatoes, chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies.
- Add the fresh full fat curd/yogurt along with cloves, green cardamom, cinnamon and mace.
- Without adding water, grind or blend to a fine paste. Keep aside covered.
Sautéing okra
- Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a heavy kadai or pan. Add the chopped okra and sauté them on a low heat stirring often.
- Stir and sauté them till they are almost cooked, shrunken and lightly browned from the sides.
- When done remove the sautéed okra and place them in a plate or tray.
Making ladies finger curry
- In the same kadai or pan, add 2 tablespoon oil. Add tej patta, and fry for about 5 to 7 seconds.
- Add the finely chopped onions. Stir to mix.
- Sauté the onions on low to medium heat, stirring often till they start to turn light golden.
- Lower the heat. Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder.
- Mix the spice powders quickly. You can also switch off the stove top while adding and mixing the ground spice powders, so that they don't get burned.
- Add the ground tomato-curd-spices paste that we made before. Be careful while adding ground paste as it splutters.
- Stir to mix. On a low to medium-low heat sauté till the masala paste thickens and you see oil leaving the sides.The masala paste will become glossy, thick and you will see oil separating the sides.
- Next add about ¾ cup water and stir to mix. You can also add ½ to ⅔ cup water for a thick curry or ¾ cup water for medium consistency.
- Season with salt as required.
- Add the sautéed okra. Stir and mix again.
- Bring the okra curry to a simmer on a medium heat. Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes till the curry gets infused with the aroma and flavor of the okra.
- Don't cook okra in the curry for a longer time as then they become mushy.
- Add the crushed dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi). If you want, you can also add 1 or 2 tablespoons of low fat cream or light cream at this step.
- Stir and then add 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves to the curry.
- Stir again and turn off the stove top.
- Serve Ladies Finger Curry garnished with a few coriander leaves or as is with chapati or paratha or steamed rice.
Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note
Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.