Good Old Bhindi

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! We get back to veggie ways today with good old bhindi (okra)! We've done some less than simple dishes over the past few weeks and I figured it was time to reign it in and go back to basics because let's face it, simple, clean cooking always hits the spot.

One of my fondest (and this might kill your appetite) memories of bhindi is from back in school. Before I tell you though, I must tell you that while in school, I was a pretty titchy kid. At the age of 14, I was no more than 5 feet tall, so while playing football, I got pushed around a bit. Another thing I must tell you (and I'm sure you already know) is that bhindi is slimy on the inside. It doesn't matter how well you cook it, you can always feel it in the inside of your mouth for a bit after you're done eating. One post-bhindi lunch break sometime in the 1990's, we were playing football and one of the taller (and ganglier) of my friends got in a tussle with me over an alleged shoulder push. Needless to say, I was pretty upset, but being about half his size (and not being particularly fond of fighting), physical retaliation wasn't an option. So I sucked in a deep breath, gathered up the oily bhindi slime and hocked a loogie at the guys throat. His eyes widened as the projectile made contact with his throat and sort of hung there before its oily consistency caused it to commence a southward journey towards the collar of his shirt. As he gasped with disgust, I did the one thing I was an ace at. I sprinted. All the way across the field where he couldn't catch me.

But slimy as it may be, I love bhindi. I love that it can be cooked different ways and still feel like a completely different vegetable. From stuffing it with masalas to crisping it with besan, adding it to sambar or just a simple toss in the pan with onions and tomatoes, bhindi is always good!

Today's recipe is the simple, back to basics, no fuss, old fashioned bhindi.

For Good Old Bhindi, you will need the following:

Bhindi (okra) 300gms

Onion 1 medium

Potato 1 medium

Tomato 1 large

Green Chillies 2

Haldi (turmeric) 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil

Prep:

1. Cut the head and tail off the bhindi.
2. Cut the bhindi into circles.
3. Wipe the slime off the knife.
4. Repeat until all the bhindi is cut.
5. Cut the potato into cubes.
6. Slice the onion.
7. Chop the chillies.
8. Chop the tomato.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 20.
5. Roll in the chillies.
6. Drop in the onions.
7. Hastily take a step back as the oil sputters.
8. Cook for a minute.
9. Pop in the potatoes.
10. Cover the pan for a couple of minutes.
11. Take the lid off the pan.
12. Toss in the bhindi.
13. Sprinkle in the haldi.
14. Shake in the chilli powder.
15. Slap the lid back on for about 8-10 minutes until the bhindi cooks. (You can check it a couple of times to make sure it isn't sticking. I recommend just tossing it around Chinese chef style instead of using a wooden spoon to avoid breaking the bhindi.)
16. Take the lid off.
17. Add in the tomato.
18. Add salt to taste.
19. Cook for another 5 minutes or so until it is all cooked. (Spear a potato and a piece of the bhindi to check. If it isn't done, give it another few minutes.)
20. Turn the gas off.
21. Serve with garam rotis and a dollop of curd (yoghurt).
22. Stuff face.
23. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Bhindi shrinks when it's cooked so one way to make sure that it's done (aside from regular taste tests) is to check that it has shrunk to roughly 2/3 of it's original size.

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