Okra Subji

My husband like many others has a serious " I hate Vegetables" Syndrome and I always end up trying different ways to camouflage the vegetables to a more appealing form for him to even consider tasting. So, when he said "You should definitely add this recipe to your blog", I knew I had hit the mark.

Okra/Lady’s Finger/Vendaikkai was fed to us in kilos as children by my father saying " 100 in Maths Guaranteed!". Now, I cannot assure you if you will really top your mathematics exam by eating a bowl of okra. But it is definitely a common household vegetable loved by many in India. As a variation to our usual vendaikkai poriyal or pachadi, this yummy, creamy subji tastes excellent with Rotis or hot rice.

Ingredients

Okra - 12-15 nos.

Onions - 2

Tomato - 1

Chilli Powder - 2 tsp.

Garam masala - 1 tsp.

Oil - ½ cup

Green Chillies - 1 or 2.

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp.

Cinnamon - 1 little piece.

Fennel - 1 tsp.

Fresh cream - 2 tbsp.

Coriander leaves - to garnish

salt - to taste.

Method

1. Cut the Okra to medium size pieces. ( approx. 3 pieces an okra)
2. Sauté 1 chopped onion and tomato until golden brown and grind to make a coarse paste.
3. Add 1 tsp. of oil to a bowl, 1 tsp. of chilli powder and 1 tsp. of salt add mix well .
4. *Add the okras to the mixture, mix well and microwave covered for 3 minutes.
5. Heat a non stick pan or kadai with the remaining oil. Add the spices(cinnamon, fennel), the remaining finely chopped onions, slit green chillies and ginger garlic paste and sauté.
6. Once the onions turn golden brown, add the onion-tomato paste and sauté. Add the chilli powder, garam masala and the okras and mix well.
7. Add some water and required salt and cook covered for 5 minutes. Since the okra is almost cooked in the microwave, it wont take a long time to cook. Once the gravy thickens, add the fresh cream and stir for a few minutes and the dish is done.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves on top.

*Tip : I usually microwave the vegetables(covered) for a few minutes while making poriyal or kootu or any subjis. This saves both gas and time and keeps the nutrients of the vegetables intact. The belief that the taste of the vegetables is lost if you microwave them separately is absolutely false .