Okra(English), Bhende(Konkani) is one of the most loved vegetables for Konkanis. The okra we get here is pale green in color and quite big in size. When my father in law was alive, we used to grow lot of vegetables in our garden and okra was one of them. There is nothing like cooking with very fresh ones. Now we have more coconut/mango/banana plants in the garden taking up the space. So we usually buy relatively fresh ones from farmer’s market ( saante as we call it). We make sagle , ambat , phodi , bharth , song and many more. This sukke is also a very common dish in North Canara. I find this very frequently on the menu at my SIL’s place. Teppal gives a very nice aroma to this dish.
Pictorial: Cut okra into long pieces. Cook with masala made of coconut, red chillies, kokum and teppal.
Okra in Coconut Sauce (Bhende Sukke)
Ingredients
- 1/4 kg approx 0.5 lb okra/bhende
- 1/2 cup fresh/frozen coconut
- 5-6 teppal
- 4-5 kokum pieces or 1/2 tea spn tamarind extract
- 5-6 red chillies
- Salt
Instructions
- Make a very smooth paste of coconut, red chillies with minimum amount of water.
- In a mortar and pestle, take teppal with a table spoon of water and crush them slightly (do not make a paste, just bruise them so that the aroma comes out).
- Cut okra in long pieces.
- In a thick bottomed pan, take the coconut paste, okra, kokum (or tamarind), salt, teppal along with the water used to crush them.
- On a medium-low flame, let it cook till okra is completely done.
- Serve hot as a side dish.
Okra in Coconut Sauce (Bhende Sukke)
Ingredients
- 1/4 kg approx 0.5 lb okra/bhende
- 1/2 cup fresh/frozen coconut
- 5-6 teppal
- 4-5 kokum pieces or 1/2 tea spn tamarind extract
- 5-6 red chillies
- Salt
Instructions
- Make a very smooth paste of coconut, red chillies with minimum amount of water.
- In a mortar and pestle, take teppal with a table spoon of water and crush them slightly (do not make a paste, just bruise them so that the aroma comes out).
- Cut okra in long pieces.
- In a thick bottomed pan, take the coconut paste, okra, kokum (or tamarind), salt, teppal along with the water used to crush them.
- On a medium-low flame, let it cook till okra is completely done.
- Serve hot as a side dish.
Few days ago I posted chicken nuggets recipe here. I had bought some ground chicken and half of it remained after making nuggets. It was those days when the child was refusing to eat chicken. I thought of making a different curry/gravy with it to see if he gives it a try. I made small balls out of the ground chicken, shallow fried and added them to gravy. It came out great and he wanted to try the balls – he called them soccer balls :). Ingredients for chicken balls : 1 lb (approx 0.45kg) ground chicken breasts 1 tea spn thick yogurt 1 tea spn chilli powder 1/2 tea spn garam masala 1 tbl spn finely chopped ginger 1 tbl spn finely chopped garlic 1 tbl spn finely chopped coriander leaves Oil Salt
Method: Add yogurt, chilli powder, garam masala, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves and salt to chicken and leave it aside in refrigerator for 30mins-1hr. Heat a tava (I used cast iron) and spread some oil. Make small balls of the chicken mixture, shallow fry them for few minutes. They don’t have to cook completely, just make sure they get browned. Keep them aside.
Ingredients for gravy: 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes 1 tea spn chopped ginger 1 tea spn chopped garlic 2 cloves 1″ cinnamon 1 bay leaf 2 cardamoms 1/2 tea spn cumin seeds 1/2 tea spn cumin powder 1/2 tea spn coriander powder A pinch turmeric 1/2 tea spn chilli powder Oil Salt
Method: Heat oil and add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamoms, cumin seeds. Then add chopped onion, ginger, garlic and a little salt. Cook for few minutes till the onions soften. Then add cumin and coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric, fry till a nice aroma comes out. Add tomatoes, cover and cook till they soften. Take half the amount and grind to a smooth paste (grinding is optional, I do it to get some smooth gravy). Add the paste back to remaining tomatoes, onion mixture. Now slowly add the chicken balls and cook till they are completely done. Serve hot.
Serves : 2-3 Preparation time : 40mins
