Stuffed okra in less than 30 minutes

[mongo_jones]

stuffing okra and finishing the dish in less than 20 minutes? is such a thing possible?

merchant is allegedly a fabulous cook--can you describe his approach a little more bhelpuri? what's the other quarter?

[bhelpuri]

stuffing okra and finishing the dish in less than 20 minutes? is such a thing possible?

merchant is allegedly a fabulous cook--can you describe his approach a little more bhelpuri? what's the other quarter?

I looked at Merchant's little (first) cookbook, the time estimated for making 'Masala Bhindi' is 20 minutes.

In general, everything in his cookbooks is timed at 10-20 minutes, tops, and the estimates are - if anything - generous.

Anyway, Merchant is indeed famous for his cooking and for grand entertainment (both at home and at his and Ivory's estate upstate) and particularly for feeding the entire casts and crews of his movies.

I happen to like his cookbooks very much, though I use them less nowadays. They're all about improvisation and short cuts. As I mentioned in another thread, the first Indian cookbook I kept on my shelves was the Sameen Rushdie volume. But I never cooked anything from it because it seemed intimidating, plus I was just learning my way around the kitchen in the first place, plus it is quite meticulous about ingredients and I didn't have access to many.

So I just read the wonderful Rushdie book, and wept quietly for the unattainable ( by the way, I was living in France - the world's worst Indian-food country).

Then, by fortuitous circumstance, I got my hands on Merchant's first little cookbook. It was shocking, everything seemed very easy and straightforward, and there was no fuss about ingredients other than the basic spices. Scarcely believing his ridiculously simple instructions, I set about cooking my way all the way through his book. And, wonders, everything came out just as blazing-fast as he estimated, and was a very serviceable approximation of really tasty home-cooked Indian food.

So, for the first couple of years I cooked Indian food, I'd first read up on the item in Rushdie's book to get a sense of what the ideal painstakingly-crafted dish was meant to be. And then I'd set about Merchant's down-and-dirty, all-short-cut, version. And then slowly moved to my own techniques which were a combination. But am always grateful to Merchant, he made Indian cooking possible and easy for me.

Anyway, here is the okra recipe, which I've made scores of times to total satisfaction.

Prep and cooking time: 20 minutes

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon turmeric'

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon mustard

30 (small) pods okra

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix the cumin, turmeric, chili powder, salt and lemon juice in a small bowl

Add mustard and mix to make a wet paste

Cut off the stems of the okra. Then split them 3/4 of the way down to the tip. Split them again, dividing the pods into 4 equal parts held together by the tip

Por a bit of the paste into the openings and spread more paste all over the pods except for the narrow tip. Sprinkle with salt.

Heat the oil in a small frying-pan over low heat and fry the pods, covered, until they are tender (about 10 minutes), turning at least once.

--

That's it. Enjoy.

[Monica Bhide]

how do others make their okra.. the best vegetable on earth

[Guest nimki]

(chopped) crisp okra stir fried on high heat, made with panch phoran and green chillis.

(chopped) crisp okra stir fried on high heat, made with crisp fried onions and green chillis.

(whole) okra rolled in a mixture of cornflour, salt and red chilli powder, left to dry a bit and then deep fried. it comes out superbly crisp and very light tasting....not deep fried at all. it's deeply addictive though.

the same recipe with besan instead of cornflour, comes out tasting like pakoras (which in fact it is).

:)

[Milagai]

South Indian style, in sambar and in mor-kozhambu.

never comes out slimy (saute thoroughly before adding to

liquid ingredients)!

Esp. mor kozhambu, just fabulous!

also thin slices crisp fried or toaster ovened to crispy,

put into spiced yogurt: vendekkaai (=okra) pachadi (=raita).

milagai

[Pan]

We had an Okra thread on the Cooking board a few months ago that might interest some of you.

[rajsuman]

Thanks for the Bhindi recipe Bhelpuri (I salivate every time I read your screen name). I'd borrowed Merchant's 'Passionate Meals' from the library a long time ago and liked it a lot. I still make his 'Chana Dal with Squash', 'Lemon Masoor Dal' and courgette (zuchini) with garlic butter. I wish I could be one of those people (like Merchant) who invite about a couple of dozens of people home and begin cooking just as the guests arrive. Unless it's something I make very often, I can't talk and cook at the same time. I need to concentrate on the cooking or else .....it's takeaway time!

Suman