Okra-Fry has become one of my favourites.
My afternoon meal yesterday was none other than rice & curry. My rice and curry usually contain parippu and of course poultry with gravy. Besides those two sides, I always end up making two or more side dishes to add to the list. Depending on the day of course. My usual weekend meal always turns out big only because I always end up having people over on the weekends. Yesterday turned out to be just us four on a gloomy Sunday and ended my making these simple sides for our afternoon meal. A fresh cucumber salad and one of the super-vegetable…that is Okra. Also known as Ladies finger, Bandakka (in Sinhalese), Vendakkai (in Tamil).
This superfood has the power to lower cholesterol, help lessen the risk of certain diseases and depressions. With much nutrition power, it contains, our body and mind can heal and improve in so many ways.
Okra can be eaten raw, steamed, cooked or even fried. I went with fried. Only because this is how I started liking Okra in the first place. I stayed far away from this vegetable back in the days.
How could I?
It’s green! and SLIMY.
and the taste is. … . ..indescribable.
I disliked it and refused to eat any more of okra.
Then my mom fried it and magically the slimy green vegetable I despised, tasted somewhat differently. The taste of okra is voided by the other strong flavours she added. I really didn’t mind that zesty, spicy flavour and I actually started enjoying it.
I would look forward to it when I see my mom bringing okra from the street food market. She started making this more and more often back home and I fell in love with the flavour so much that I started missing it when we moved to Canada. She barely makes them here and when she does I would lick the bowl clean.
When I moved out I made sure that I learned this recipe from her. Now I make this for myself whenever I craved it. My husband isn’t much of a veggie lover. Actually, when I cook healthy he walks the other way. However, this one dish has earned a place in his tummy and I’m happy that I finally got a partner to eat this beautiful dish with.
There are other ways to cook Okra beside frying…maybe that’s a post for another day. Today’s recipe is Okra-fry. Pretty easy to make and a simple side dish to add to your rice & curry meal.
HOW IT’S MADE
All you need for this recipe is fresh okra, pearl onions, tomatoes, and green chilli. For seasoning, we would need turmeric powder, chilli flakes, chilli powder, lime and salt. Then of course salt, lime, and milk to finish off the dish.
First, wash and cut the okra into slices. It will be slightly slimy but all will be worth it at the end trust me on this one. Remember that this will get fried so cut them all evenly slices as possible. not too thick or too thin.
Once finished cutting, add turmeric powder and salt to it, mix all slightly and start to fry them. Fry it to a crisp (I like mine a shade dark) but don’t let it burn too much it will lose the taste. When you see the okra slightly starts to darken, you can drain them from excess oil and set it aside until you have everything fried and ready for the next step.
The next step contains adding the rest of the ingredients. Add thinly sliced or chopped pearl, red or purple onions, diced tomatoes, and thinly sliced green chilli to the fried okra. Throw in the seasonings as well and that is salt, chilli flakes and chilli powder. Chilli powder is only an option you can add or skip this spice, it is up to your spice preference.
At this time, you can leave it aside as it is without mixing for later use. However, if you’re immediately consuming then go ahead and continue.
Add salt, squeeze of lime, and a little of the cold milk to the okra dish and mix. For best result use your fingers to mix them, by using a spoon to mix you won’t be able to achieve the taste and texture of this dish. Crush the tomato dices and mix well with the rest of the ingredients. When done, use this tasty side on your rice and curry and enjoy a lovely meal.
Okra-Fry (bandakka/vendakkai)
This zesty, spicy, okra-fry is a perfect side for a rice curry meal.
Ingredients
- 13 Okra cut into slice
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- Salt
- 1/4 a medium size Tomato diced small
- 4 Pearl onions or 1/4 small red/purple onion thinly sliced
- 2-3 Green chilli thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp Chilli flakes
- Pinch Chilli powder optional
- 1 tbs Milk
- Lime
Instructions
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Wash and cut okra into slices. Mix it with turmeric powder and salt.
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Start frying them in small batches. When it starts to slightly darken drain them from excess oil and let it aside until you finish frying the rest of the okra.
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Once the frying is done transfer the okra to a bowl along with the sliced or chopped onions, diced tomatoes, sliced green chilli to the bowl. Along with that, you may also add chilli flakes, chilli powder, salt, lime, and milk.
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Mix them all well, make sure the tomatoes get crushed well with the rest of the ingredients and have it ready for your rice and curry.
As you can see other than frying the okra there isn’t any other cooking or baking involved. Mostly have a lot of cutting but other than that once you mix all the ingredients and seasonings well you can taste it your self the result will please your palette.
I love the zesty and spicy flavour this okra brings to the rice and curry. If you consume it right away you will be able to taste the crunchiness of the okra-fry. As the time goes by the milk and lime will get absorbed into okra and soon it will lose the crunchiness of it. It still will taste amazing but will look somewhat soggy.
To avoid the sogginess, I always keep it aside after adding the seasonings, without mixing it cover and leave it aside as it is until it’s time to serve. When the time comes, add the salt, lime, and the milk and mix it all, then serve.
If any trouble with this recipe, don’t be afraid to leave a comment below and I will gladly help sort out a solution. Only because It is difficult to really come up with a measurement for each recipe I make, as I mostly measure with my hands and of course by tasting and adding more seasonings as I go. It is difficult but still, I take the time and patiently measure each and every step I take during my cooking. I go over the recipe a few times to see if I got it right and then I post it confidently.
At times I do make mistakes so please do tell me if any of my recipes don’t come as well as I have described it here. This way I will be able to help sort it out and also an opportunity for me to correct my mistakes as well.
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