Bhindi Masala Recipe | Bhindi Dry Sabzi | Bhindi Capsicum Masala

We mostly prefer rotis/Phulka for dinner and making a variety side dish everyday is a big task for me. We love sabzi or dry curry kind of side dish for Phulka along with mild dal or plain yogurt. Last week, made this simple and easy to make sabzi using Bhindi/Okra with Capsicum. Bhindi/Okra paired well with capsicum and the sabzi turned out so good, adding capsicum is optional but sure it gives lot of flavor and taste to the masala.

Okra Rice Recipe | Spicy Okra Rice | Vendakkai Sadham | Indian Lunch Box Recipe

It is hard to feed my kids with some vegetables and one such vegetable is Okra aka Bhendi, Vendakkai. I usually make Poriyal with Okra(Okra Poriyal) and rarely Vendakkai Sambar or Puli Kuzhambu. V suggest me to serve poriyal mixed with rice rather than as a side dish for kids. It is easy to feed them the veggies, so I often make Cabbage Rice, Carrot Rice, Spinach Rice and this time tried Okra Rice with Okra and some Indian spices. To my surprise, this simple okra rice turned out super tasty and kids loved it. I served this mildly spiced Okra Rice With Boondi Raita. Boondi Raita paired well with the Okra rice. I used Pav Bhaji masala for this rice, it tasted almost like a Tawa Pulao with Okra. Now off to the recipe..

Vendakkai Poriyal Recipe | Okra Stir Fry | Bhindi Stir Fry

South Indian Lunch menu doesn't complete without this main side dish - Poriyal. At home everyone like Poriyal so daily or the other day i make Poriyal or stir fry for lunch. Simple rasam and a poriyal makes our meal more comfort and filling. Vendakkai Poriyal is one healthy & simple Poriyal/Stir fry that can be done in a jiffy if you have chopped okra in hand. Vendakkai Poriyal is my kid's favorite poriyal. He love plain rice mixed with vendakkai poriyal and generous ghee. Even i love okra poriyal that way than as a side dish. Unlike other vegetable, okra has slimy nature and needs little care and patience to cook it perfectly. If you follow this recipe, then you can make super crispy and tasty okra fry without slimy texture and taste.

Bhindi Do Pyaaz / Okra Onion Masala

Cooking With Onion is my theme For the 3rd week of BM n for day 1 am going to share Bhendi Do Pyaaz . When Valli announced this theme, very first recipe came to my mind was "do Pyaaz " which means cooking with double the addition of onions or more onions. Generally I love adding more onions to my cooking that too for dry curry, poriyals n stir fry too. This time tried Do Pyaaz with Bhendi/Okra. And it turned out so flavorful n delicious. Remember the tip given by my sister, adding yogurt/curd to any okra dry sauté gives nice taste n sliminess free okra fry/curry. So tried that too, over all Bhendi Do Pyaaz came out so well n tasted delicious. Sure a great combo with Rotis or even with Rice n Dal Tadka. Now to the recipe...

Vendakkai Puli Curry / Okra Tamarind Curry

    This is tamarind based vendakkai curry cooked with freshly grounded spices.this not 100% curry and 100% kuzhambu intermediate.but suits well with white rice and dosa.Amma Samayalla romba pidichathulla ethuvum onnu :) 
Nutritional Benefits of Okra: Okra is good for summer heat treatment.Okra's vitamin C is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, which curtail the development of asthma symptoms.Some information shows that eating okra lowers the risk of cataracts.Okra protects you from pimples and maintains smooth and beautiful skin. Okra fiber is excellent for feeding the good bacteria (probiotics). This contributes to the health of the intestinal tract.

Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu / Okra Tamarind Curry (with Coconut)

       This is a simple puli kuzhambu with coconut paste.One of my friend was asking me the recipe for puli kuzhambu with coconut and muttai kuzhambu...so i prepared puli kuzhambu with okra for Her and to share it on my space. With the same recipe instead of okra you can also use brinjal, drumstick, broad beans, Paruppu urandai or any vegetable of your choice and make this easy & yummy kuzhambu. This time i didn't stir fry the okra on stove top instead i bake it in oven..Oven Baked Vendakkai/Okra.This is very easy n simple job and i got this idea from one of my neighbor cum Friend. Once in a phone conversation she told me this and i thought yeah this is a very simple job if you have oven...The recipe as follows..

Stuffed Okra Fry

       This is very tasty crispy okra fry with stuffed masala....I like adding more onions to this fry...
the recipe follows:

Ingredients
Okra    1/4 kg
Mustard seeds     1/4 tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds    1/2 tsp
Curry leaves    few
Onion    1no.
Stuffing masala:
turmeric powder    a pinch
chilli powder    1/2 tsp
Coriander powder   1/4 tsp
Cumin powder    1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder     1/2 tsp
Amachur powder/Dried  mango powder    1/2 tsp
Salt   1/4 tsp

Method

• Take a small bowl and add all the stuffing ingredients and mix well.
• Cut the 2 ends of the okra and make slit vertically.(see picture).
• Take a small amount of prepared masala powder and stuff the okra with the masala.
• Do for all the okra and keep aside.
• Heat oil in pan,add mustard seeds,cumin seeds when it pop add curry leaves and onion.
• Fry the onion for 1 minutes and add the stuffed okra and stir well.
• Now add remaining masala powder and enough salt and mix well.
• Stir fry for a minute and close the pan with lid and cook for 2-3 mniutes.
• Then open the lid and stir well and keep frying open in low heat till the okra are cooked well.
• Once it done turn off the stove and leave the pan in the stove for few minutes..so that the okra get crispy.
• then serve hot ..it goes well with sambar rice,curd rice and other variety rice also.

Okra Curry / Vendakkai Curry - Simple Side dish for Rice !

I prefer this kind of simple side dishes  or curry recipes for rice & chapathi than the kuzhambu or kurma. This curry is loaded with veggies with simple preparation and no need of coconut paste, ginger garlic paste and also other fancy spices. Just a simple onion tomato saute with okra and mild spices. Low in calories, rich in fiber and other nutrition. And also it takes just 20 or less minutes to make this curry. Healthy & quick recipe to fix busy weekdays dinner or lunch. This okra curry pairs well with hot plain rice, dosa  and chapathi also. Here in this recipe i used Okra/Vendakkai, to the same recipe you can also use Brinjal, Ridge gourd, chayote, cabbage,radish, drumstick also but like okra it doesn't need to be stir fried you can directly add this to the curry and cook.

Vendakkai Sambar / Okra sambar / Okra Lentils Stew

Ingredients

1. Thoor dal / Tuvar Dal    3/4 cup
2. Sambar onions     8-10 no.s(chopped) or medium onion isliced
3. Tomato    1 no.(chopped)
4. Vendakkai/okra    1/2 lb(cut in to 1/2" pieces)
5. Sambar Powder    1 tsp(optional)
6. Chilli Powder    1 tsp
7. Coriander Powder   2 tsp
8. Shredded coconut   1tbsp
9. Tamarind paste    2 tsp(dissolved in 1/4 cup water)
10. Curry leaves     few
11. Coriander leaves    few 
12. Salt   as needed

To temper 

1. Oil     2 tsp
2. Mustard seeds     1/2 tsp
3. Jeera      1/4 tsp
4. Fennel seeds       1/4 tsp
5. Hing       1/4 tsp
6. Pepper corns   3no.s
7. Curry leaves    few

Method

• Pressure cook thoor dal for 2-3 whistles mash and keep aside.
• Heat a pan add few drops of oil and fry the okra pieces for 3-4 minutes and keep aside.
• Heat oil in an available vessel and add all the tempering ingredients one by one ,and allow to splutter .
• Then add onions and saute till onion get transparent.
• And add the chopped tomatoes and fry well.
• Now add the sambar,chilli and coriander powders,stir well and fry lightly.
• Then add the mashed dal with water stir well and allow to boil .
• When it starts boiling pour the tamarind juice mix well and again allow to boil for sometime.
• Then add the fried okra/vendakkai, shredded coconut and mix well.
• Cook for 2 minutes lastly add some coriander leaves and close the vessel with lid and leave it for sometime.
• Now the vendakkai sambar is ready to serve.
• Serve with hot plain rice with ghee on top.

Notes:
Adding sambar powder is optional. the updated pic Sambar is without sambar powder.
After adding okra do not cook sambar for long time.

okra poriyal/ vendakkai poriyal

Ingredients

1. Okra    1lb
2. onion    1(finely chopped)
3. curry leaves   few
4. mustard seeds  1 tsp
5. chanadal  1tsp
6. turmeric powder   1/2 tsp
7. chilli powder  1tsp
8. amachur powder(dry mango powder)  1/4 tsp
9. cumin powder  1/2 tsp
10. oil    2 tbsp

Method

• cut okra into 1.5cm thickness 
• heat oil in a wok,through mustard seeds when they pop add chana dal ,fry till golden brown
• then add curry leaves and chooped onions
• stir fry till  golden brown and add the chopped  okra
• now add all dry powders and necessary salt 
• Mix it well and  cook in low medium flame/heat till okra gets tender.
• At this stage u can also add few shredded coconut .(its optional)
• okra poriyal is ready n its nice side dish for sambar rice,rasam n variety rices..

Note: do not cover with lid while frying okra.,bcoz it vl get soggy n slimy like texture.