Memories of India and yet another recipe
Posted by baahar | Filed under food, health
Yesterday I went to an Indian store and felt like stepping into my memories of a trip to India a few years back ( see some photos here ). The atmosphere, the smell, the bits of Hindi I picked up whilst strolling the aisles, and the head-wiggling of the staff must have done it.
I remembered the words written down on the business card the owner of the hotel I stayed in Mumbai gave me: a Home away from Home. Even though I prefer food that hasn’t travelled half the globe, I can perfectly understand why people want to have a piece from Home where ever they go, may it be in form of a grocery store. When you are an immigrant you learn to value the new things you find at your new home, but you also realise that the old things never taste like they used to “back home”. In my case this means that every winter I try to hunt down tangerines and every summer I try to hunt down watermelons that come all the way from Turkey.
One thing from my India trip I remember vividly, is the Delhi-Mumbai flight I took with Air India. Oh, I enjoyed every bit of it .. the chaos at the airport, my conversation with the lady at the check-in counter who initially sent my baggage to the wrong airplane, the interested stares and smiles from the passengers, and the huge meal … a huge portion of delicious okra and the hottest green chilli pepper I have ever tasted.
The okra dish made me realise that we in Turkey have a way of turning everything into a torture :) The more time it takes to prepare a dish, the more it is valued and we seem to be masters in making up rules to increase that time.
I am aware that this blog slowly turns into a food blog, but there is not much I can do about it now :) Here comes my okra / bhindi recipe .. Indian style.
Ingredients:
- 300 gr fresh okras ( to serve 4 people )
- 2-3 table spoons of coconut oil
- 3 tomatoes ( peeled and finely chopped )
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons of pea flour
- 1 teaspoon of hot paprika paste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper powder
- salt and pepper
Procedure:
Wash your okras a few hours before you want to cook them so that they have time to dry completely. Chop them into small pieces of ca. 2 cm. I can almost hear my my aunts asking in shock: oh my God, you are actually cutting the okras?
Yes, I do !! And it takes only minutes :)
Heat a pan, put 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil in it and let it get hot. Put in the okras and let them cook for about 10 minutes, stirring them occasionally (ca. every 2 minutes)
Once the okras are tender put them out of the pan and set aside.
Put another 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil in the pan and add the pea flour. Stir it for about a minute and add the tomatoes. Now add all the spices and the yogurt. Bring the mix to a boil. If it gets too thick you can add some milk ( I used about 1/4 cup of milk ).
Now you can add the okras into your sauce, close the lid of the pan and let it cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
May 22nd, 2010 at 1:00 am
Looks yummy!
May 22nd, 2010 at 11:40 am
I am not a fan of Okra but of Indish food. If there is a possibility I will choose Indish food or at least Asian. Thanks for sharing!
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Hmmm… omg, have to try this. Indian food is one of my favs! thanks for sharing :)
May 22nd, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Lovely.
May 25th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Ohhh! I’m not a big fan of okras, but this sounds good!
June 1st, 2010 at 11:36 pm
This looks delicious! I’m not a huge fan of okra but you may have converted me with these pictures :)
November 11th, 2010 at 5:30 am
The curried okra looks so good. I’m going to ask my mum to make that for lunch today! Even through I’ve lived in India all my life, I’ve never visited the Taj Mahal. A pity, I know!
June 29th, 2012 at 8:46 pm
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