Vendakai (Ladies Finger/Okra) Pullipu Thalir

 

 

We love Vendakai/okra so much. It is a favorite veggie in our house hold. Okra we love it in all forms as a dry veggie or as bindi masala. I remember having this long long time ago ... one of my paati's signature dishes. I had completely forgotten about this until recently ....and I asked Amma for the recipe. It is my Patti's porandhathu recipe (the one handed from her mom's family). These days I post the recipe in Facebook immediately since am not finding time to write in detail here. I made this sometime back but haven't found time to post the recipe for the same.

 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 lbs. Okra

3 - 4 Green Chilies

2 Red Chilies

Small Lemon Sized Tamarind (soak it in water and take the pulp)

Sesame oil for Tadka

Curry Leaves

Salt

 

Tadka - Mustard, Urad Dhal, Channa Dhal, Fenugreek (vendayam)

 

Method:

 

1. Wash okra and dry it well. Cut Okra to bite size pieces.

2. Slit the green chilies

3. Heat oil in a pan. Add the tadka, chilies and curry leaves.

4. Add the cut okra and fry it well. See to it that it does not get sticky.

5. Once it is 3/4th cooked add the tamarind pulp and bring it to a boil.

 

This recipe does not require any other spice powder or sambhar powder. Try it and let me know.

 

Serve it with rice... yummy .......

 

Capsicum masala

As promised I am posting another recipe with capsicum. The veggie I love experimenting with!!
This is originally made with brinjal and a famous dish from Andhra (not sure about the name of it)...but both my husband and myself do not like the "much loved brinjal"!! Hence tried the same with capsicum.

Ingredients -
Capsicum - 4 big ones
Onion - 1 big
Roasted Peanuts - 2 tsp (unsalted)
Cashew - 6 to 8 (full)
Red Chillies - 4 to 5
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Curry leaves

Take a spoon of oil and roast the red chillies and keep them aside. Now fry the onions till they turn brown. Grind the onions, red chillies, peanuts and cashews to a smooth paste.
(Note: If you do not have roasted unsalted peanuts. Roast the peanuts in microwave for 3 - 5 minutes based on the power of the microwave and grind it with the onions)
Take oil and butter in a pan after it gets heated. Add mustard seeds, Jeera, curry leaves, pinch of turmeric powder and capsicum. Fry the capsicum for a while and close the pan and cook it. When the capsicum is 3/4th cooked add the grounded paste, coriander powder and salt and bring it to a boil.

The yummy capsicum gravy is ready to be served.It goes well with roti but I love to have this with plain rice or ghee rice. I will be posting the recipe for ghee rice soon....