Besan Waali Bhindi

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to an exciting edition of cooking with Varun! Since I started this blog, we've looked at a few chicken dishes, a couple of paneer dishes and even a sweet dish. What we haven't seen, however, is some good old 'sookhi sabzis' (non curry based vegetarian dishes for the uninitiated) which I felt was strange since sookhi sabzis make up a sizeable percentage of traditional Indian meals. Fortunately, since I have the power to fix this gross injustice, I figured it was only fair that I do what's right and set the scales straight.

Now it could be the fact that winter is creeping in that I find myself craving more and more comfort food. A steaming bowl of dal and rice topped with a sookhi sabzi in my hands, my feet in fluffy socks while listening to classical music on the radio as the rain and wind beat down on my window after a hard day's work hits the spot! No, no.. don't panic, I haven't turned vegetarian (that will never happen); there will be more meat dishes.. many more in fact! Coming to today's dish. Today's dish is besan waali bhindi. This is a north Indian take on a south Indian dish so if you're wondering about where this dish is originally from, don't bother! All that matters is how good it is!

Before we begin, I feel obligated to tell you that if you're abroad and have store bought frozen bhindi (okra), please open your freezer, grab the bhindi bag, walk into your back yard (or to your largest, widest window), swing and hurl the bag as far as you can because unless you're looking to be coated in strong smelling slime that closely resembles the contents of a runny nose, you want fresh bhindi! Oh and this is one of the easiest dishes ever!

To make besan waali bhindi you will need the following:

Bhindi (okra)                              500 gms
Besan (gram flour)                      5 heaped tbsp
Cornflour                                    1 tbsp
Dhaniya (coriander) powder         1.5 heaped tbsp
Red chilli powder                         2-3 tsps
Jeera (cumin) powder                  1 tsp 
Haldi                                          pinch
Amchoor (dried mango)  powder   couple of pinches
Salt                                            to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Cut the heads and tails off the bhindi.
2. Slice each bhindi lengthwise so you have 2 halves.
3. If the bhindi is long, then cut each length into 2 halves.
4. Wipe slime.
5. Repeat until all the bhindi is cut.
6. Grab a big bowl.
7. Tip in the bhindi.
8. Add in the besan, cornflour, dhaniya powder, chilli powder, jeera powder, haldi, amchoor and salt.
9. Mix well. (it's ok to have surplus powder mixture in the bowl. This will become delicious crispy bits.)

Method:

1. Turn the gas on.
2. Bung a pan/kadhai on. (A non stick kadhai will work wonders. You will have beautiful unbroken bhindi pieces at the end that you will be able to brag about for years to come.)
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Splash in some more oil. (Remember the powder mixture and coating will suck the oil up. This does mean you have a mini oil well in your kadhai. Slightly more than usual is fine. You can add more if you think it needs more.)
5. Count to 20.
6. Tip in the contents of your bhindi bowl.
7. Do a little jig to celebrate that nothing sputters or spits.
8. Gently move the bhindi with a wooden spoon until all the bhindi has been introduced to it's oily host.
9. Bring the flame down to low.
10. Slap a lid on.
11. Walk away.
12. Return a few minutes later.
13. Take the lid off.
14. Inhale the glorious smell of the cooking besan .
15. Channel your inner noodle chef.
16. Grab the handle of the kadhai.
17. Mix the contents by shaking the kadhai until the bhindi at the top has swapped places with the bhindi at the bottom. (Or just use your wooden spoon but remember to be gentle!)
18. Put the lid back on.
19. Bump the gas up a notch. (Not quite medium but more than low.)
20. Walk away.
21. Repeat until the bhindi is cooked.
22. Turn the gas off.
23. Serve on top of a bowlful of dal chawal. (Or with rotis.)
24. Stuff face.
25. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

 

Tip: Make sure the bhindi is washed and dry before you start cooking. Use a hair dryer if you have to but do not cook with wet bhindi! Also, this is best eaten fresh out of the pan. Reheating it in a microwave will make it soggy.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!