Recipe for School Tiffin Bende Bhaji(Ladyfinger/Okra bhaji)
Recipe for School Tiffin Bende Bhaji(Ladyfinger/Okra bhaji)
This is a dish which used to be a regular in my school tiffin box. During the busy mornings, my Mum would quickly whip up this simple yet delicious Bhindi bhaji. Since she used to be extremely busy with her catering business, this dish I guess would be one of the easiest she could make. Ofcourse we used to take whatever she would make for her catering orders ,but Mum had a rule that we had to eat veggies at least twice or thrice a week. As far as my memory goes, I can recollect that Ladyfinger and Cabbage were two veggies which were regulars in my dabba.So here’s the recipe 🙂
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 500 gms Ladyfinger(washed, napkin dried and cut into 1 inch pieces)
- 2 medium sized Onion - chopped fine
- 1 medium sized Tomato – chopped fine
- 2 green chillies – slit in two
- 4 garlic cloves – chopped fine or smashed with a knife
- 3-4 Bindna solam(kokum shells)
- 1 tspn Vinegar
- 1/2 tspn sugar
- 1 Tspn Salt
- ½ tspn Kashmiri chilly powder
- ½ tspn Turmeric powder
- ½ tspn dry Coriander powder
- ½ tspn Cumin seed powder
- 3-4 dry Kashmiri chillies – roughly hand broken
- 5-6 sprigs fresh coriander with stem – chopped fine
- 2 tbspn Oil
Instructions
- In a skillet, heat the Oil and add the Kokum
- Then add the chopped Onions, Chillies, Garlic and Red Chillies and sauté until the onions begin to turn brown
- Then add the Tomatoes and mixit well, lower the heat and cover the skillet
- Once the Tomatoes start turning mushy, add the dry spice powders and sugar and mix it well. Cover the skillet
- Once the Tomatoes begin to turn mushy, add the cut ladyfinger, vinegar add salt and mix it well and cover the skillet. We allow the ladyfinger to cook in it’s own moisture without water. Covering the skillet will work as a steamer and the vapour will ensure that the ingredients don’t get stuck at the bottom of the panNote: since I don’t add water in this recipe, I add salt and vinegar at this stage as veggies have a quality of releasing water as soon as salt is added to it. Also, Vinegar adds to the moisture.Note: My Mum used to add all the ingredients together in a vessel and cook it on medium heat by adding a little water so that it would cook evenly in the vessel without any ingredient getting stuck at the bottom of the vessel. This would make the ladyfinger a bit mushy and sticky and I enjoyed it back then. However, along the way I kind of wished the lady finger would be less sticky and I began cooking it a little differentlyLadyfinger, once it comes with even a drop of water tends to get sticky. Hence, always ensure you wash the lady finger first, pat it completely dry with a napkin or paper towel and only then cut it so that it doesn’t turn sticky
- Mix the ladyfinger well with the masala and ensure every piece of ladyfinger is evenly covered and coated well with the masala
- Then add the grated coconut and mix well. Note: If you see any water released in the skillet, then keep the skillet open and increase the heat. If there is no water, then keep the skillet closed
- After about 5-7minutes, add the chopped coriander and cook it for another 2-3 minutes and the Dabba style Bende bhaji is ready.
- Enjoy this simple delicious goodness with hot chapatis or you can enjoy this as a side dish too
