Bindi Masala (Lady's finger / Okra Masala)

Okra (Lady's finger) is a powerhouse of nutrients, nearly 50% of which is soluble fiber. Soluble fiber helps to lower cholesterol,which reduces the risk of heart disease. The superior fiber found in okra helps to stabilize blood sugar as it curbs the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal tract. To retain its nutrients, lady's finger should be cooked as little as possible in low heat or lightly steamed.

This recipe is quite simple in that, we sauté the okra with onions, tomatoes, ginger-garlic-green chillies paste and spice it up with the best Indian spices. This is one of those "Under 30-minute" recipes.

There are different variations of bindi masala and I've once tried to stuff slit bindi with masala (spices) and then cook them in onion + tomato gravy. That's kinda time-consuming and oilier but this one is easier and healthier :)


What You Need -

Okra - about 25 of them
Onions - 2 medium
Tomatoes - 3 medium
Ginger - 1 " piece
Garlic - 3 pods
Green chillies - 3
Salt - to taste

Spices :

Garam masala - 1 tsp
Aamchur (Dry Mango powder) - 1 tsp
Amma's Home-made curry powder - 1 tsp

Tempering:

Oil - 3 tsp
Cumin seeds /Jeera - 1 tsp

How To -

• Wash and dry okra. Letting them dry is important so that their slimy tendency will be under disguise or atleast controlled :)
• Cut each into 3 or 4 pieces such that the length is around 1 inch.
• Take a kadai, heat some oil and add jeera. Allow them to splutter, then add the okra. 
• Stir fry for 5 minutes. You can add a little salt at this point.
• Keep it aside in a plate.

• In the same kadai, heat 2 tsp of oil and temper some jeera.
• Add chopped onions and fry them for a minute.
• Then, add ginger-garlic-green chillies paste.
• Fry till the raw smell goes away.

• Blend 2 tomatoes and extract juice from them. Chop the other tomato lengthwise to match with the okra. Add both of these to onions in the pan.
• Add remaining salt as required.
• The spices follow - garam masala, dry mango powder and curry powder. Cook well.

• Add the sautéd lady's finger to the onions + tomatoes mixture and toss them gently together. Cook for 5 more minutes and we're done! :)

Serve with any Indian bread. It also goes well with rice.