Vendakkai Podi Curry, Bhindi, Okra Curry

          Today's dish is another Vendakkai/Bhindi/Okra curry, slightly different from the regular stir fry. Whenever I made vendakka curry, I used to feel that a little tanginess would make the curry more tastier, so sometimes I add some chopped tomatoes at the end. But this time, I wanted to use some tamarind and also to make the curry more interesting, I made a spice powder along with some coconut and tamarind. This curry goes very well with rice and sambar or dal..

Need To Have

• Diced Vendakkai/Bhindi/Okra - 3 cups
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Jaggery - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt to taste

Masala Powder

• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chillies - 2
• Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 2 teaspoons
• Curry Leaves - 20
• Grated Coconut - 3 tablespoons
• Tamarind - 2 blueberry size

Method

          Heat a little oil, add the mustard and fenugreek seeds, when the mustard seeds crackle, add the urad dal and red chillies, roast till golden. Finally add the curry leaves and roast for a few minutes, then add the coconut, switch off and mix it for a minute.

          Dice the okra into 1/2" pieces and keep, once the above roasted mixture is cooled, make a powder with it along with the tamarind and keep.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering add the curry leaves and asafoetida followed by the okra pieces.

          Mix, cover and cook the okra till done, then add the turmeric powder, jaggery, salt and masala powder and mix it on medium heat for a 5 to 7 minutes and remove.

Note
Add the salt, only after the okra is cooked, if you add it before, the sliminess from the okra will never go.