In my recipe of Bharwa Bhindi/ Bharli Bhendi / Stuffed Okra a special spice is used which gives it extra flavor and taste .

Many English speaking countries call Okra as ladies’ fingers , including India.  Unlike my son, Bhindi or okra was one of the vegetables I  hated,  until I tried out dahi bhindi at one of my friends’ place . Since then, I am obsessed with it and tried out different dishes and they all turned yum. I have prepared stuffed bhindi in many different ways and   they all tasted delicious.  In today’s recipe, Bhendi stuffing is prepared using various  spices , but the main spice which gives it extra flavor and taste is my homemade tandoori masala spice mix. If you don’t want to add tandoori masala, you can add garam masala instead.

While preparing any okra recipes, you have to keep one thing in mind that they have a sticky texture and if you wash the vegetable and cut them without drying them out, the dish you prepare will turn out sticky . So, always pat them dry with paper towel or kitchen towel until they are nice and dry. My mom says, you can add kokum(mangosteen) while preparing okra, which makes the dish less sticky . so, whenever I make okra sabji(Vegetable) I add 2-3 kokum. But in some recipes, you just can’t add kokum. So, I make sure that they are nicely patted dry, before cooking.

Stuffed okra is one of the easiest and quickest way to fix your lunch or dinner whenever in hurry because okra  gets cooked very quickly.

Preparation time: 15 Minutes

Cooking  Time: 15  Minutes

Serves : 2

 Ingredients: 

• 250 Grams (1/2 Lb ) Bhindi / Okra 
• 1/4 Cup finely chopped onion( you can also use onion paste)
• 2 Teaspoons Ginger Garlic paste
• 2-3 Tablespoons Olive oil or any cooking oil

 For stuffing: 

• 1/4  Cup Besan / Gram Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Tandoori spice mix (I used homemade)
• 1 Tablespoon thick yogurt
• 1 Teaspoon Red Chili powder
• 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• Salt to taste

Method:

Wash Okra well and pat them dry . 
Cut off the stem and the tail of okra.  If they are small then just give a slit in the middle lengthwise or else cut them into two and then give each half , a slit in the middle lengthwise.

Heat a large bottom saucepan or you can use skillet.
Once the pan is nice and hot, add a tablespoon of oil and decrease the heat. Keep it on medium high and fry chopped onions and ginger garlic paste till the onions are lightly browned. Sprinkle some salt for making the process faster.

Remove it from heat and mix it  along with the ingredients mentioned for stuffing. Mix well till you get nice thick dough.

Take a little of this stuffing and stuff in the slits of  okra .  Repeat for rest of the okra.

Heat the same pan ,add the remaining oil and once the oil is nice and hot, arrange these stuffed bhindis over the oil .  Keep the flame on low. Shake the pan so that all okra gets coated well with oil.
Partially cover the pan. Leave some gap for vapors to escape , otherwise they will become soggy .  Let them cook for 5 minutes.

Open the lid, flip all the bhindis and cook for another 2 minutes .

Now to make them extra crisp, cook them uncovered for 2 more minutes on high heat. Shake the pan in between while they cook.
Remove and serve hot with chapati or roti.

[mpprecipe-recipe:347]