Bhindi Recipe Pakistani| Okra Masala

This is an everyday simple bhindi recipe, Pakistan style and I bet, this will be the most delicious Okra masala that you would ever eat. It is quick and easy to make and tastes great every time. Check the tips to make it the best bhindi every time.

Okra

Bhindi is also known as Okra and ladyfinger, is a delicious vegetable. The dry Okra curry with lots of piyaz (chopped onion), tomato, and Indian spices is called Bhindi masala or Okra masala. The taste of this okra masala is tangy, spicy, and mildly sweet. So it is quite a chapatti in flavor. The bhindi recipe is not slimy and tastes yum.

The benefits of eating Okra or bhindi

Bhindi is a staple food in most South Asian homes, due to its amazing benefits. It's high in fiber and the slimy stuff in it is actually good for joints and knee lubrication. Some people even recommend, eating 4-5 raw okra every day to increase lubrication in the knee. Read more Okra benefits here.

Tips

Many people dislike this vegetable because of its slimy, sticky gravies. Making the best Pakistani bhindi masala is all about how to make a non-slimy lady finger (bhindi). Below I'm sharing the trick for overcoming stickiness in bhindi. Select okra carefully. Small organic okra makes the best bhindi masala.

How can I make my Bhindi less sticky?

There are various methods to make okra less sticky or slimy. Remember the less liquid you add in okra, the less sticky it is. So basically you dry out excess water in okra. If using fresh okra, wash it thoroughly and drain all water.

Okra should be absolutely dry before cutting, if not the slim liquid will make chopping messy. So first wash and dry Okra on a towel, and air-dry further for a few minutes.

Chop the bhindi as shown in photographs. If any bhindi is hard and fibrous to cut. Simply discard it. This is important because few pieces of fibrous bhindi when get mixed with good bhindi spoil the texture completely and fibrous bhindi are not even chewable.

Frying okra: This method is widely used in which you shallow fry okra in oil until half-done. Obviously, this method makes okra very oily and unhealthy.

Dry roasting Okra: The simple and healthy method is to cook bhindi in an empty skillet or pan without oil or anything until half-cooked. Then add it to the dry gravy in the end. This is the method that I used in this recipe.

How to make Bhindi Recipe Pakistani

1. Put chopped bhindi and ½ teaspoon salt in a pot and cook it without oil with constant stirring on medium heat.
2. The sticky thread visible in the pic will burn and we will have half done Okra/bhindi which not at all slimy or sticky. Set aside and use it as needed in any bhindi recipe.
3. Simultaneously, in another pan heat oil, fry garlic, cumin, and fenugreek for a few seconds. When garlic is lightly golden add all the remaining spices. (You can use the same pan bhindi too.)
4. Give it a stir and fry for another few seconds. Add onions and cook until soft as shown in picture 5.
5. Add tomatoes (I used homemade pureed tomatoes, you can be used chopped too), cover, and keep cooking the tomato-onion gravy until all water dried and oil separates on the side of the pan. This step is important as bhunna is key to Pakistani cooking.
6. Add the roasted and half-cooked bhindi/okra in the tomato gravy and cook until soft and fully done.
7. Add tamarind pulp and a ½ teaspoon of sugar. (You can substitute tamarind pulp and sugar with tamarind chutney or even barbecue sauce.)
8. Make a taste test, add more ½ tablespoon extra tamarind pulp if needed. Make it chapatti! Garnish with a green chili slice.
9. Pakistani Bhindi is ready to eat.

What to serve with?

Bhindi tastes great with most Indian flatbreads like Kulcha, naan, roti, or chapati. It tastes great with zeera rice, matar pulao, or plain rice. Serve it with your favorite chutney or pickle and fresh salad.

How to store bhindi?

Like most veggies, freshly cooked bhindi masala tastes best and has the highest nutritional value. You can store leftover bhindi in the fridge for 2-3 days. After that, it is still edible but not as nutritious and tasty. You can freeze bhindi too. Unlike other veggies, bhindi retains its shape and taste upon freezing.

Frequently Asked Question

Want more vegetable recipes? Check these.

• Aloo Palak (Spinach Potato Curry)
• Karela Masala (Bitter Melon Curry)
• Mix Sabzi ( Mix vegetable curry)
• Aloo Baingan (Eggplant curry)
• Saron ka saag (Mustard Greens curry)

Bhindi Masala Recipe, delicious!

A quick bhindi recipe for lunch or side dish that tastes homely and yummy.

Click stars to rate this recipe!

4.88 from 8 votes

Print Pin

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings : 4 servings

Calories: 256kcal

Author: Mariam Sodawater

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 500 gram okra, (bhindi)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

Spices

• ▢ ⅓ cup oil, (teel)
• ▢ ½ tablespoon chopped garlic, (lahsan)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin seeds or powder, (zeera)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, optional
• ▢ 1 tablespoon coriander powder, (sookha dhanya)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, (haldi)
• ▢ ½ tablespoon ginger  paste, (adrak)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon green chili paste, (hari mirch)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt, more to taste

Other

• ▢ 2 medium onions, chopped
• ▢ 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• ▢ 1-2 tablespoon tamarind pulp
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 3-4 medium green chilli, slitted and seeds removed

Instructions

• ▢
  Wash and dry okra on a towel. Chop off the end and cut the okra in small pieces.
• ▢
  Dry roast okra in a pan on medium heat with constant stirring so the sticky threads burns for 5-7 minutes. We needs the okra to be slightly soft and half cooked. Set aside.
• ▢
  Simultaneously, heat oil in a seperate pan and fry garlic, fenugreek and cumin until lightly golden. Add the remaining ingredients in spices list. Give it all a stir and fry for few second.
• ▢
  Now, add chooped onion and fry until onion are translucent and soft.
• ▢
  Then add the tomatoes, tamarind pulp and sugar. Cover and cook until gravy is thick and oil separates on the sides of the pan.
• ▢
  Next add the roasted okra in the onion tomato gravy and mix well. And cook for 5-7 minutes without covering the lid. Add the slitted green chillies.
• ▢
  Yummy Okra (bhindi ) is ready.

Tried this recipe?Mention @Recipe52 or tag #Loverecipe52!

bhindi recipe