Evergreen Bhindi - Bhindi masala

If there's one vegetable that I can eat salted and roasted with minimal oil, no other spice added, it's bhindi. My fondness for bhindi (or okra or vendakka) does NOT stem from the childhood gyan of mooLai valarum (sharper brains). I love the color, the vibrancy and it's texture (which is most often that not, grossly mis-cooked)

Here's what I made for lunch today. Quick, simple and tastes divine.

Ingredients:

Bhindi - washed and cut into 1" pieces - 200 gm
Cashewnuts - 4 -5 - ground coarse
Shallots (Madras sambar onion) - 5 - 6 - peeled
Onion - 1 small - chopped
Tomato - 1 - pureed
Green chili - 2
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

1/4 tsp each of the below
Turmeric powder
Cumin powder
coriander powder
garam masala
Red chilli powder (adjust per taste)

Curd - 1 tbsp

Recipe:

In 1 tsp oil, shallow fry the bhindi (and sprinkle some salt), until they transform into a rich green color. Do not cover the pan at this point. - This would take about 10 minutes - when you alternate between high heat and low. Set this aside.

In 1 tsp oil, add the onions and shallots, and cook until soft. The shallots take a little longer (and mine was crunchy at the end, so you might want to let this cook a little longer). To this add ginger garlic paste, saute for a minute, add pureed tomato and salt and let cook until the oil separates.

At that stage, add the powdered spices and let cook for a few minutes. Add curd and ground cashew and mix well. Add the bhindi. Cook covered for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot with phulkas / roti / naan.