Okra. So Misunderstood! Kadhai Bhindi. Easy Weeknight Recipe.

Let's face it.  Okra can be a bit scary.  The long green hexagonal vegetable is renowned for being a omitting an oozy goo when chopped and its covered with a fine down (not painting a pretty picture am I?!)  But it is enjoyed all over Asia, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the jolly Caribbean. So, I figure we've been missing out.

After a bit of internet trawling I see there are ways of enjoying it at its best.  It needs to be very fresh, so when you bend it in half it snaps rather then merely creases.  Cooking it whole, quickly or without lots of water minimises its mucilaginous qualities.  If you chop it and cook slowly in a stew the goo disperses into the broth.  Some say, introducing it to some acidity, such as lemon, tamarind, tomato etc. holds back the gloop. Each country has it's own way of preparing.  All good, I guess.  
I wanted to flavour it with spices and curry it up.  There are a million Indian Cookbooks sitting on bookshop shelves, but at home, I have four 'go to's'.  I thumbed through each one, salivating at the dark and exotic photographs, and plumped for Monisha Bharadwaj - India's Vegetarian Cooking 

It was quick, less than 25 minutes from scratch.  Rich and flavoursome.  

I'm feeling lazy today.  I'm a little jaded after I raced to catch as much of the sunny day as I could yesterday..running, walking and finally cycling under it.  So here is a photo of the recipe.  Captured straight from the book.  I did make a few changes to the original recipe.  I used coconut oil instead of olive.  I used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar.  I didn't have white poppy seeds so I threw in black, and my mustard seeds (love the sound when these start to pop in the heat of the pan) were yellow.  I enjoyed the slow caramelising onions, fragrantly curling around my house, and creating the paste in the blender was fun.  So many cultures do this.  Mole in Mexico.  Agushi in Africa. And others, I am too lazy to recall for you right now.

It's a nice recipe. Layered with deep flavours, and it takes little time to make.  Yes, there are a few ingredients but 'effort in = taste out'. If you don't have some of the ingredients in your store cupboard, then, well it's about time you did! These make flavour and keep life interesting.

I would say it serves 2 and not 4.  Double it up, if you have any left over (you won't) then freeze the rest or have it in a wrap with crunchy iceberg lettuce and (vegan) cool Smokey Mozzarisella for lunch next day.

Gluten Free. Dairy Free.

Okra with Tomatoes.  Kadhai Bhindi

Delicious!

Do you have any tips for using Okra?  Which is your favourite recipe?  Do you have any vegetables you are scared of using?
We'd love to know.  Go to post a comment to tell all.