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Home » Recipes » Main Dish Recipes

Posted by Mariam Sodawater on Jun 13, 2021 (Updated Oct 30, 2024)

Bhindi Recipe (Pakistani)

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4.95 from 17 votes

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Bhindi recipe Pin it image
Bhindi Recipe Pin it image
Bhindi masala served in a plate with overlay text.

This is an everyday simple bhindi recipe, Pakistan style and I bet, this will be the most delicious bhindi masala that you would ever eat. Make non-slimy, yummy bhindi masala in less than 30 minutes from scratch!

Bhindi masala served in a white plate with fresh sala and zarda in the background.

Many people dislike bhindi because of its slimy, sticky gravies. Making the best Pakistani bhindi recipe is all about how to make a non-slimy lady finger (bhindi).

Bhindi also known as Okra and ladyfinger, is a delicious vegetable. The dry Pakistani bhindi recipe with lots of piyaz (chopped onion), tomato, and Indian spices is called Bhindi masala or Okra masala.

The taste of this bhindi masala is tangy, spicy, and mildly sweet. So it is quite a chapatti in flavor. Just like my aloo palak and aloo gobi matar.

Jump to:
  • The Benefits
  • What is the secret to this recipe?
  • Ingredients
  • Preps for Cooking
  • How to make it?
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

The Benefits

Bhindi masala is a staple food in most Pakistani 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 about Okra benefits at Healthline.

What is the secret to this recipe?

The secret to the bhindi recipe is making sure it doesn't turn slimy. Remember the less liquid you add to okra, the less sticky it is. There are various methods to make okra less sticky or slimy. Here are two popular ones.

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 until half-cooked. Then add it to the dry gravy in the end. This is the method that I used in this bhindi recipe.

Ingredients

We all love visuals, below is the visual of the ingredients of Pakistani Bhindi masala recipe.

Ingredients of bhindi masala on the white background.
  • Okra: Select okra carefully. Fresh, small organic okra makes the best bhindi masala. Smaller size okra pods are early produce of the season that are more soft and delicious.
  • Indian spices: Most spices like turmeric, coriander, and cumin are commonly available. Fenugreek seeds help digestion which is optional.
  • Onion: Most people prefer loads of onion in bhindi masala but you can use less if you like.
  • Tomato: You can substitute tomato with tomato paste or puree. I do that all the time.
  • Ginger, garlic, and green chili: Use chopped garlic that easily turns golden in the tempering. If you use freshly minced ginger and chilies, the taste would be enhanced.
  • Tamarind: This ingredient add some tartness to the bhindi masala. You can substitute this with dry mango powder (amchur) or lemon juice. I sometimes substitute it with imli chutney or other tamarind-based sauce like BBQ sauce. Just skip the sugar if using any sauce or chutney. I use tamarind for the same purpose in my bitter melon recipe.
  • Sugar: Very little sugar addition helps enhance the taste of veggies.
  • Oil or fats: Use any neutral cooking oil. In Pakistan, mustard oil is used to cook vegetables.

Preps for Cooking

Basically, you dry out excess water in okra. If using fresh okra, wash it thoroughly and drain all water.

Dry okra on the towel.

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 30 minutes at least.

how to cut okra  in simple steps.

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

How to make it?

This bhindi masala recipe is quick and easy to make.

A collage steps to roast okra, and prepare tempering.
  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 is not at all slimy or sticky. Set aside and use it as needed in any bhindi recipe.
  3. Simultaneously, in another pan heat oil, and fry garlic, cumin, and fenugreek for a few seconds. When the 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.
Steps to assemble.
  1. Add tomatoes (I used homemade pureed tomatoes, you can be used chopped ones 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.
  2. Add the roasted and half-cooked bhindi/okra to the tomato gravy and cook until soft and fully done.
  3. Add tamarind pulp and ½ teaspoon of sugar. (You can substitute tamarind pulp and sugar with tamarind chutney or even barbecue sauce.)
  4. Do a taste test, and add more than ½ tablespoon of extra tamarind pulp if needed. Make it chapatti! Garnish with a green chili slice.
  5. Pakistani bhindi is ready to eat.
a close up shot of okra curry.

What to serve with?

Bhindi masala 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

Why is my Bhindi sticky?

Bhindi gets slimy in presence of water. So dry your bhindi completely before chopping. For nonsticky bhindi dry roast or stir fry bhindi until partially cooked before using it in any recipe.

Can we wash Bhindi after cutting?

No! you cannot wash bhindi after cutting as this can make bhindi very slimy and difficult to handle.

Can we cover bhindi while cooking?

Covering bhindi can cause condensation that can make bhindi slimy. No need to worry, the sliminess settles when bhindi is fully cooked after 5-10 minutes.

Bhindi served in plate with chapati and chutney served on the side.

Want more vegetable recipes? Check these.

  • Sarson Ka Saag Pakistani
  • Aloo Baingan Pakistani
  • Mix Vegetable Curry Recipe Pakistani Mixed Sabzi
  • Bitter Melon Recipe

If you try this bhindi recipe, I'd LOVE to hear your feedback in the comments. Your 5-ratings motivate me to do my best. Stay connected for more recipes and videos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube.

📖 Recipe

a close up shot of bhindi masala recipe served in a plate.

Bhindi Recipe (Pakistani)

A quick bhindi recipe for lunch or side dish that tastes homely and yummy.
4.95 from 17 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep: 10 minutes minutes
Cook: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings : 4 servings
Calories: 276kcal

Ingredients

  • 500 gram okra, (bhindi)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup oil, (teel)

Spices

  • 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

Prepare Okra

  • 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 burn for 5-7 minutes. We need the okra to be slightly soft and half cooked. Set aside. Watch video.

Make Gravy

  • 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 chopped onion and fry until the onions 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 to the onion-tomato gravy and mix well. And cook for 5-7 minutes covering the lid until Okra is throughly cooked. Add the slitted green chilies.
  • Yummy Okra (bhindi ) is ready.

Notes

  • Okra: Select okra carefully. Fresh, small organic okra makes the best bhindi masala. Make sure the okra is absolutely dry before cutting.
  • Onion: Most people prefer loads of onion in bhindi masala but you can use less if you like.
  • Tomato: You can substitute tomato with tomato puree. I do that all the time.
  • Ginger, garlic, and green chili: Use chopped garlic that easily turns golden in the tempering. If you use freshly minced ginger and chilies, the taste would be enhanced.
  • Tamarind: This ingredient adds some tartness to the bhindi masala. I sometimes substitute it with imli chutney or other tamarind-based sauce like BBQ sauce. Just skip the sugar if using any sauce or chutney.
  • Sugar: Very little sugar addition helps enhance the taste of veggies.
  • Oil or fats: Use any neutral cooking oil. In Pakistan, freshly pressed mustard oil is used to cook vegetables that's what I used in the video.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 276kcal ,Carbohydrates: 25g ,Protein: 4g ,Fat: 20g ,Saturated Fat: 1g ,Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g ,Monounsaturated Fat: 12g ,Trans Fat: 0.1g ,Sodium: 725mg ,Potassium: 732mg ,Fiber: 8g ,Sugar: 10g ,Vitamin A: 1669IU ,Vitamin C: 51mg ,Calcium: 142mg ,Iron: 2mg
Author : Mariam Sodawater

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Comments

    4.95 from 17 votes (17 ratings without comment)

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    If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating along with your comment. Not only your reviews motivate me to do my best, but they also help others find me online. Thank you! Mariam




  1. MehnazMinhaj says

    June 15, 2021 at 11:22 am

    Assalamo alykum
    Marium Yaar intezaar rhta hy tmhari har new recipe ka bujt hi tasty lg rhi hy zaror banaoo gi .Allah pak buht Barkat dyy orr buht lazzat dy tmharay hatoo mai
    Jazakillah.

    Reply
    • Mariam Sodawater says

      June 15, 2021 at 2:05 pm

      Thank you so much Mehnaz for your kind words and duas. I really appreciate your kindness and motivation.

      Reply
  2. witclcik says

    September 28, 2020 at 12:07 pm

    I can’t wait to try this dish!

    Reply
  3. Dumpor says

    April 13, 2020 at 1:47 am

    We eat this dish once a week. ?? My husband s favorite! Easily the yummiest Pakistani okra recipe without the sogginess and extra oil.

    Reply
    • Recipe 52 says

      May 04, 2020 at 6:14 am

      OMG! I'm so glad you liked it and enjoy it every week.

      Reply
  4. Zari says

    August 14, 2019 at 3:14 am

    So hard to find authentic recipes from India and Pakistan. I love cooking and think myself know it all ? you get right to the point and reading the list of ingredient indicates truth. I'm making the kerala always looking for new ways to make it.

    Reply
    • Recipe 52 says

      August 14, 2019 at 2:57 pm

      Thanks a lot for trying my recipe. So nice of you to leave a comment. Learning is a life long process, and i'm happily still a juvenile chef.

      Reply
  5. Jamela Raza says

    February 05, 2019 at 6:10 am

    I can’t wait to try this dish!

    Reply
  6. Ayat Saqib says

    January 20, 2019 at 4:40 am

    This is wonderful! I've been searching for the secret to cooking Lady Fingers/Okra without it getting slimy. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe. I added fresh coriander leaves on top and it was a nice touch.

    Great recipe, highly recommend.

    Reply
    • Recipe 52 says

      January 20, 2019 at 11:01 am

      Thank you so much for lovely feedback. Keep coming!?

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Mariam Sodawater, a passionate home chef dedicated to sharing authentic South Asian taste with simple recipes and easy-to-find ingredients. My motto is EASY, HEALTHY, and FRUGAL food. Home cooking can be fun and therapeutic!

About Mariam

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