Bhindi Masala (Okra With Red Onion and Tomato)
Updated April 17, 2022
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
3 tablespoons ghee or neutral oil
1 pound okra, fresh or frozen (no need to thaw), stemmed and chopped into ½-inch pieces (see Tip)
½ teaspoon grated ginger or ginger paste
½ teaspoon grated garlic or garlic paste
1 large red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
¾ teaspoon kashmiri or other red chile powder
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 medium plum tomato, finely chopped
1¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice
¼ teaspoon garam masala
Roti or pita (optional), for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 to 4 servings)
22 grams carbs; 205 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 12 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 477 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium (9-inch) frying pan or wok, heat 2 tablespoons ghee over medium-high for 30 to 45 seconds or until it has melted. Add okra and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or until okra starts to brown around the edges. (Cooking okra undisturbed helps eliminate the gooeyness.) Stir once so the sides with less color can brown next, then cook for another 5 minutes or until all the okra is brown around the edges. (This may take slightly longer if using frozen okra.) Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Step 2
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon ghee to the same frying pan and heat over medium-high until it melts. Add ginger and garlic and stir for about 30 seconds, until the raw smell dissipates. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onions begin to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes. (The onions should still have a little bite.)
- Step 3
Lower the heat to medium and add red chile, coriander and turmeric, and stir until the masalas are uniformly mixed with the onion, about 30 seconds. Add tomato and salt. Continue cooking on medium until tomatoes break down, about 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Add okra back to the pan and mix until incorporated. Sprinkle with lime juice and garam masala. Serve with roti, store-bought pita or by itself.
If using fresh okra, make sure to pat it dry before chopping. This reduces the sticky texture common to okra.
Private Notes
Comments
Okra only gets a bad rap in the West, where it is cooked in ways that make it slimy. In South Asia & the Middle East, it's cooked in multiple ways, wet/dry, sauteed, fried, roasted, stewed, and it's always delicious never slimy. Fresh okra is better than frozen. A souring agent helps: e.g. amchoor, lemon juice, tamarind, tomato, Ghee is not a must to keep okra non-slimy. Vegetable oil works as well. I am Indian, I cook okra as often as I can in the summers, and have never cooked it in ghee.
This is one of my favorite ways to eat okra. Key to keeping the sliminess away is drying the okra well after washing with water. I usually lay the okra out on a kitchen towel and pat them dry. Instead of circles, I slice mine into long strips and add cherry tomatoes at the end. I am not sure frozen will give you quite the same crunchiness. Use fresh okra on the smaller side.
Another way to cook this is to put the cut okra in a sheet pan, drizzle oil on it, and in the oven at 400 F for about 30-40 mins. Shake the pan once after about 20 mins. Then finish on the stove, following the latter part of the recipe.
I grow okra and had a very valuable tip from an Indian cooking blog. The tip was after you wash the okra to put it on a towel and put it out in the sun to dry. I do this all the time when I'm able and if there is no sun, put it on your countertop on a nice thick towel and let it dry completely before you chop it up. Blotting it dry will not reduce the goopiness nearly as well.
We highly recommend putting in x1.5 garlic, ginger and all of the spices. We also added cauliflower and suspect that it could have used a second tomato, too.
This was really excellent. I had some trouble browning all the okra initially because I doubled the recipe and my pot was not big enough. I used small okra and did not cut them into pieces. Keeping them whole like that and not stirring too much makes for less sliminess.