Bhinda Ni Kadhi/Okra Yogurt Curry

EVENT: FOODIES_ REDOING OLD POSTS #29

Updated on 10/07/2020

I have so many old posts that need a new look. However, when I cook the regular dishes like Bhinda ni Kadhi I tend to forget to take new clicks. I’ve now got sticky labels on my kitchen wall depending on what veggies or fruits I get from my online shopping. Yes this world pandemic has changed lives drastically. I just can’t wait to experience the riot of colors at my local market place. By joining the  group  The Foodies_Redoing Old Posts, I get the opportunity to redo old recipes. This time I remembered to take fresh clicks of Bhinda Ni Kadhi.

What is Bhinda Ni Kadhi?

Bhinda is the Gujarati word for okra, ladies’ finger, bhindi. Kadhi is simply a yogurt based curry word in Gujarati. Bhinda ni kadhi is a family favorite and features on our dining table every 10 to 12 days. Sometimes I serve with wheat parathas or with bajri na rotla (pearl millet flatbread).

More about Bhinda

Bhinda, is a popular vegetable (or should say a fruit),  with most Indian families. Yes you heard me right it actually is a fruit. Simple stir fried, stuffed with a spicy filling, cooked in different curries right from tomato to tamarind ones, Bhinda or okra is a versatile vegetable. These green seed pods are mostly available throughout the year in Kenya and am sure in India too. Rainy season means that the okra is much more fresher and tender. That’s when I prefer to use them to make my favorite stuffed okra or bhinda na bharelu shaak.  It usually baffles me how toddlers and kids love the stir fried okra sabji or side dish. I would have thought that the sliminess or mucilage would put them off. However, the sliminess is removed by adding an acidic agent like lemon juice, vinegar, tomato, tamarind or sour yogurt. The mucilage contains soluble fibre.

My Memories

When my in laws were here in Mombasa, I would make the bhinda ni kadhi and Nunu my mother in law would make the rotla as we all loved the curry with the millet flatbread. Nunu and Dada emigrated to India and I still couldn’t make rotla! So the next best thing to serve with the delicious curry was paratha. However, whenever we went to India, Nunu would make rotla and bhinda ni kadhi for us. One time I had to learn how to make the rotla after many trials and tribulations as Nunu stopped cooking.

How can you use Okra/Bhindi/Bhinda/Ladies’ Finger at home?

From simple stir fries to soups, okra is used in many different world cuisines. Outside India, think or okra and you will remember gumbo. Its high is dietary fibre, rich in magnesium, folate, vitamins and anti oxidants. I tend to cook bhinda in some form or the other at least once a week if not more;

• Bhinda nu Shaak (Stir Fried Okra)–a simple way to prepare okra and enjoy it with some roti.
• Bhindi Masala– With tomato, onion, garlic and spices
• Stuffed Bhindi or Bharela Bhinda – my family’s favorite, okra is stuffed with roasted chickpea flour, peanut powder, coconut and spices
• Baked Kurkuri Bhindi/Crispy Okra– an excellent appetizer or starter, the best part that instead of deep frying them I bake them
• Bhindi Do Pyaza – Geetha likes to prepare okra with finely chopped onion along with finely chopped tomato, spices and adds more onion chopped into large chunks.
• Chinch Gula Chi Bhendi Bhaji – a Maharashtrian way of preparing okra, Archana adds tamarind to prepare the sabji
• If you’re looking for a vegan way to prepare okra then Uma’s Vegan Okra Curry is perfect
•  Want to include Okra in a Salad? Then you’ve got to try Mireille’s Fried Okra Salad.
• Jagruti likes to make Spicy Okra, Capsicum and Peanut Stir Fry without onion or garlic as a farali dish.
• Vendaikaai Mandi/Ladies Finger/Okra Mandi – Chettinad Special Tamarind gravy, a very long name but such a delightful curry with beans and using water in which rice has been washed is a traditional recipe by Priya.
• Usha’s Okra Tomato Stew is creamy and usually served with rice.

Ingredients required for Bhinda ni Kadhi/Okra Yogurt Curry

• Okra – bhinda, bhindi, ladies’ finger. To choose tender okra take an okra and try and break the tail end with your thumb, If it snaps easily then the okra is good for cooking. As the okra gets old, it becomes fibrous and doesn’t cook well.
• Chickpea Flour – besan, chana atta, required to thicken the curry slightly
• Sour Yogurt – plain yogurt either home made or ready made
• Oil – any cooking oil of your choice
• Ghee – optional but adding a bit gives a pleasant aroma.
• Mustard Seeds – rai
• Cumin Seeds – jeera, jiru
• Carom Seeds – ajmo, ajwain, goes well with okra
• Cloves –
• Cinnamon –
• Pepper corns – black ones
• Curry Leaves – kari patta, limbdi, an essential ingredient for kadhis. Whenever I visit my son in Montreal, I take dried curry leaves powder as getting fresh curry leaves is difficult. However, many Indian Grocery Stores have the fresh one.
• Turmeric Powder – haldi
• Asafetida – hing (optional) don’t use if you need to prepare a gluten free curry
• Fresh Ginger – some like to add thin julienne of ginger but I prefer to mince it into a paste
• Fresh Green Chillis – again some add chopped chillis but I prefer to mince it into a paste
• Garlic – either finely chopped or minced. If you get fresh garlic, the ones with the leafy green stalks, use that as the kadhi tastes awesome.
• Jaggery – gur, gud or brown sugar. A little bit is required according to your taste and how sour the yogurt is. I usually add just about 1 tsp. Some prefer to add more.

Dietary Tips:

• For Gluten free curry, don’t add asafetida as it usually contains wheat flour.
• For Satvik version omit adding garlic.
• Healthy and nutritious.

BHINDA NI KADHI/OKRA YOGURT CURRY

A creamy, thick yogurt and chickpea flour based okra curry which is famous in the Gujarati Cuisine. Best enjoyed with some pearl millet flatbread or wheat flour flatbread.

5 from 22 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Gujarati

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

FOR THE OKRA STIR FRY

• 3 cups sliced okra, bhinda, bhindi aprrox 250g1
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp ghee
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp carom seeds
• 4-6 whole cloves
• 8-10 whole peppercorns
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 sprig fresh curry leaves
• ¼ tsp asafetida optional¼
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp green chilli paste
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, cut into slices

FOR THE KADHI/YOGURT CURRY

• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 4 cups water
• 3 tbsp chickpea flour
• 1 tsp jaggery or brown sugar optional
• 1¼ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander chopped

Instructions

 

PREPARATION OF KADHI/YOGURT CURRY

• Whisk the yogurt, water, chickpea flour and salt together. Make sure no flour or yogurt lumps are left. 
• Keep the mixture on the side till required.

PREPARATION OF OKRA STIR FRY/BHINDA

• Wash the okra. Wipe with a clean dry cloth. Cut into slices approx. of ½ inch thickness.
• Heat oil and ghee in a deep pan over medium heat.
• When the oil becomes hot, add cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, mustard, cumin, carom seeds. Let the spices sizzle a bit in the oil.
• Add sliced garlic. Stir fry till the garlic becomes light pinkish in colour.
• Add asafoetida and curry leaves. Add the ginger and chilli paste.
• Stir and then add the sliced okra. Mix well. Cover the pan and let the okra cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Stir frequently so that the okra does not burn.
• Cook the okra till nearly done.
• Stir the kadhi mixture. Add it to the okra. Increase the heat to medium.
• Add the grated jaggery. At this stage you need to constantly stir the kadhi so that it does not curdle. Stir the kadhi till it becomes thick. This will take about 5-7 minutes.
• Let it simmer over low heat for a further 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with hot parathas or rotlas.

Notes

• Have any leftover kadhi? Then just prepare the bhinda and add to it.
• If the kadhi becomes too thick before serving, add a little bit of water to it.
• Its best to wash the okra at night and leave them on a towel to dry overnight.
• Not adding the salt with the okra prevents it from becoming slimy.
• Must add the salt to the kadhi mixture otherwise the kadhi will curdle.
• Can add fresh green garlic, chopped whenever available.

Keyword bhindi, comfort food, curry dish, easy recipe, gluten free, okra recipe, vegetarian, yogurt curry