Bhindi/Okra/lady's finger stir fry

Bhindi Stir fry: Bhindi is a healthy vegetable and easy to cook. This bhindi stir fry which I have made is simple and lightly spiced. It can be had as a side dish for sambhar rice, rasam or else it can also be served with roti.

        It can be flavoured with different ingredients like coconut and different spice powders. It can also be stir fried without any spice powders and simply adding salt and turmeric powder.

        Here I have added only salt, turmeric and chilli powder and just used cumin seeds and curry leaves for seasoning. Though it looks simple and easy, Bhindi fry may not come out well for beginners due to the sticky juice in it. But this sticky nature comprises numerous health benefits.

Also view:

Cabbage stir fry

Cauliflower stir fry

Potato stir fry.

Ingredients: ( serves 2 nos)

·        20 bhindi/okra/lady’s finger

·        1 finely chopped onion.

·        1 chopped green chilli.

·        salt to taste

For seasoning:

·        1 teaspoon cumin seeds

·        1 sprig curry leaves

·        2 tablespoon cooking oil

Spice powders:

·        1 teaspoon chilli powder

·        1 teaspoon turmeric powder

 Pre-preparation for making Bhindi/Okra/lagy’s finger fry:

·        Wash the bhindi well in water to remove the harmful chemicals sticking to the skin of the bhindi.

·        Chop off the head and the tail portion of the bhindis and chop the bhindis into thin slices.

·        Chop the onion and green chilies into small pieces.

·        Be ready with seasoning ingredients like cumin seeds and curry leaves and 2 tablespoon cooking oil.

Procedure for making bhindi stir fry:

1.    Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and curry leaves.Use a wide pan for  sauting

2.   After the cumin seeds splutter, add chopped onions and green chilli and sauté for 1 min

3.   Add the chopped bhindis and sauté it.

4.   Spread the bhindi on the pan widely so that the stickiness disappear.. Do not close the lid.

5.   Saute well for 3 minutes. Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder and stir it and sauté it.

6.   In 5 minutes bhindi stir fry is ready.

Step by step picture:

Step 1: Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and curry leaves

Step 2:Add onion and green chillies

Step 3:Add the chopped bhindi/okra/lady's finger

Step 4:Add spice powders

Step 5:Bhindi fry is ready

I had this with rasam rice on the day when I made this.

Tips for making Bhindi stir fry:

·        Bhindi should not be washed after chopping.

·        The pan used for making bhindi must be flat and wide open so that the bhindi could be spread throughout the pan. This prevents the chopped bhindi from sticking with each other and also it gets cooked faster.

·        Don’t sprinkle water or close the lid of the pan while frying the bhindi. It increases the stickiness.

How can you enhance the taste of the bhindi fry?

Ø I have added chilli powder and turmeric powder. Along with this coriander powder and garam masala powder can be added to improve the flavor and enhance the taste.

Ø Also instead of chilli powder and garam masala, pepper, turmeric and salt can be added to make bhindi/Okra fry. It is very healthy compared to other methods of making bhindi fry as pepper has many medicinal values.

Nutrition in Bhindi/Okra/Lady’s finger:

·        Okra/Bhindi/Lady’s finger is rich in fibre, magnesium, folate, Vitamin A,B6,C and K.

·        Particularly it is rich in Vitamin C and K.

·        Bhindi is rich in antioxidants which protects us from oxidative stress.

Health benefits of Bhindi:

·        Research indicates that bhindi/ Okra/ lady’s finger decreases the blood sugar level.

·        Folate is an important nutrient for pregnanat women and women of childbearing age. Folate helps in proper brain and spine development of fetus.

Hope you like it:😍😍😍

Be Healthy, Happy and Long-lived.😊😊😊