Besan Bhindi (Okra in Spiced Gram flour)
A flavorful dish of summer okra coated in spiced gram flour. Pairs well with soft rotis or dal and rice.
Ingredients
- 1 lb (400gms) okra
- 5 tablespoon mustard oil or any cooking oil you use, divided
- 1.25 teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2-3 green chilies chopped or left whole with slit(as you like)
- ¾ cup finely chopped onions
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon Red chilli powder adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ⅓ cup besan gram flour
- ⅓ cup water or as needed
- ½ teaspoon amchoor dry mango powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- chopped cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Wash and air-dry the okra. Trim the ends and cut each okra into maximum of 3 pieces. Set aside.
- Take a kadai or any heavy pan with lid in which you want to cook. Set it on stove. Add 2 tablespoon of oil and add the cut okra. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt. Let okra brown for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Don't stir much. Let the skin char a bit. Okra will turn deep green in color. Take it out in a plate.
- Add the remaining mustard oil to the kadai and heat up till a bit smoky. Temper the oil with mustard, fennel and cumin seeds. As soon as they crackle, add the onions and green chilies.
- Let the onions cook in oil till they are a nice shade of golden brown. Add the garlic next and saute for a minute till you smell a nice aroma.
- Add the coriander, turmeric and red chili powder next and saute for a minute or so.
- Next add the gram flour, salt and mix very well. The gram flour will coat the onions but make sure its not lumpy. Roast it slightly for 3-4 minutes stirring continuously but dont let it change too much color.
- Sprinkle the water on the gram flour, it will steam. Immediately start mixing to make sure that the besan absorbs it and becomes slightly wet. We need to cook the besan now. Lower the heat to low and cover the kadai with lid. Let cook for 5-7 minutes. Check once it between, if th ebesan is getting dry, add a tiny splash of water. Dont let the besan dry out too much right now. It should be moist but not raw.
- Once the raw taste of besan goes away, open the lid and add the okra now. With gentle hands, mix with the spiced besan. Cover the kadai again with a lid. Let cook for not more than 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and you will see that okra is much softer, cook for another minute if you see that its not tender .Once okra is cooked properly, its slimy texture goes away.
- Finish the with amchoor and garam masala. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro. Mix well and serve warm. As the dish sits, it is but natural that the besan will dry up and turn into small granules.
Notes
- Wash the okra at least 1-2 hours before beginning to cook and let air dry if possible. When you chop okra, it should be completely dry.
- While you are chopping okra, remember to wipe off the knife from time to time so that the accumulated slime and juices on the knife are cleared.
- For this dish, cut the okra in longish pieces, don't cut very thin discs. If you have small okra, you can leave them whole as well.
- Avoid stirring the sabzi too much. The more we move around the okra in a heated pan,there are more chances of it breaking and smushing and getting slimy.
- Don't skimp on oil. Both besan and okra need extra oil for good taste and to have a smooth moist taste.Right quantity of oil also helps in reducing the slimy texture of okra since it doesnt steam but stir fries well while cooking.
- The besan mixture is really super delicious!! You can add ½ cup besan as well to this sabzi. Adjust the quantity of water needed.
Nutrition
Calories: 267kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 5gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gSodium: 824mgPotassium: 517mgFiber: 7gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 898IUVitamin C: 32mgCalcium: 126mgIron: 2mg
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