Ladies finger fry also known as bendakaya fry in Telugu is a delicious, healthy and easy to make stir fry with ladies finger aka okra, spices, curry leaves and peanuts.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

  • 250 grams ladies finger ((okra or bendakayalu))
  • 1 green chili (slit or red chili broken)
  • 1 medium onion (sliced thinly or chopped (optional))
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 2 cloves garlic ((crushed or chopped) (optional))
  • 1 tsp urad dal ((skinned black gram))
  • 1 tsp chana dal ((bengal gram))
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • ¼ to ½ tsp red chili powder
  • ½ to ¾ tsp coriander powder (or garam masala (optional))
  • ¼ cup coconut ((fresh grated))
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice ((optional, helps to remove slime))
  • 1 pinch turmeric
  • ⅓ tsp Salt (as needed)
  • 2 tbsp Oil
  • ¼ cup peanuts (roasted and skinned (optional))

Method

Preparation

  1. Wash ladies finger and dry them thoroughly. Wipe off with a clean cloth or absorbent papers.
  2. They should not have any traces of moisture over them otherwise they will become slimy while chopping and frying too. Chop the ladies finger to thin half inch circles.

How to make Ladies Finger Fry

  1. Heat a pan with oil.
  2. Add mustard, cumin, urad dal and chana dal. Fry them until the dal turns golden.
  3. Add chopped or crushed garlic, curry leaves and slit green chilies or broken red chilies. Fry till the curry leaves turn crisp.
  4. Optional - Fry onions till translucent. You can also skip them but they impart a nice aroma to the dish.
  5. Add ladies finger and sprinkle lemon juice.
  6. Fry till all of the slime goes away. Lemon juice helps to get rid of the sticky substance from the veggie. This takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
  7. Cover and cook till the ladies finger is slightly tender. Ensure ladies finger is no more slimy only then cover it otherwise they will become more sticky.
  8. Add coconut, red chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder or garam masala.
  9. Add the peanuts as well. You can also coarsely crush them and add. If you want the peanuts to remain very crunchy them add them while serving.
  10. Fry bendakaya vepudu till it begins to smell good for about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve ladies finger fry with rice or phulka.

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.