Doi Dharosh (Bengali Okra in Yogurt gravy)

BM# 63: Journey through the Cuisines 
Week 1: Bengali Cuisine 
Day 4: D for Doi Dharosh (Bengali Okra in Yogurt gravy)
D for Dharosh or Dhyarosh in Bengali has 2 meanings, one is our beloved okra/ bhindi/ ladies finger and the other not-so-nice meaning is someone who's lazy and clumsy. But I am only talking about D for Okra/ bhindi today.

Doi in bengali means yogurt and in this dish okra is cooked in a spicy yogurt sauce. I was planning to make it when my husband was traveling, so I don't have to make him eat a yogurt based dish. But alas I had to make it when he was around and I made sure that he had something else to eat. I didn't tell him that this dish had yogurt in it and was surprised that he served himself a second serving. I kept quiet and didn't tell him about the secret ingredient :-)

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Bhindi Masala Curry (Spicy Stuffed Okra Curry)

Blogging Marathon# 59: Week 3/ Day 1

Theme: Stuffed Dishes

Dish: Stuffed Bhindi Masala Curry

We are starting a new week of blogging marathon today and my theme for the week is 'Stuffed Dishes'. First up is a delicious stuffed bhindi/ okra in a tomato gravy recipe.

Recipe is from a Telugu cooking show. It looked like a show stopper and I noted it down in my book. As I was looking for dishes to make for this week, this one looked very tempting and luckily I was able to buy some nice looking okra too.

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Gujarat -- Mini Thali

Blogging Marathon# 39 - Indian States: Day 8
State: Gujarat
Dish: Mini Gujarati Thali

Gujarat is a state in the North-Western coast of India. It is known locally as Jewel of the West. Gujarat is the home of many many freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, successful entreprenuers like Dhirubhai Ambani (Reliance Industries), Azim Premji (Wipro Limited) and Jamsetji Tata. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India.

Cuisine: Gujarat is primarily a vegetarian cuisine due to the influence of Jain vegetarianism and traditional Hinduism. When i think of Gujarat, I think of the wide variety of dishes they have. There are so many snack items, so many breads, so many of everything. Gujaratis travel with bags full of snacks wherever they go and most of them are probably homemade. Adding a little sugar or jaggery to some of the dishes is common in Gujarat, the sweet flavor is believed to neutralize the slightly bland taste of the vegetables. Sweets (desserts) are extremely popular too in Gujarat.

Staple Food: Wheat, Rice, Lentils

Specialties: There are hundreds of Gujarati specialties, here are a few: Handvo, Muthia, Patra, Undhiyu, Khandvi, Dhokla, Kachori so on and so on.

Today's Dish(es): I wanted to try more than one dish from this amazing cuisine and with the time I had, I made a mini thali with simple and everyday Gujarati dishes. I have some good Gujarati friends and was lucky enough to enjoy their delicious home cooked dishes. Most of the dishes look so simple to make, but they are tricky and need some practice to make them perfect like Khandvi, Dhokla, Handvo etc.

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Dahi Bhindi (Okra in Yogurt Sauce)

Blogging Marathon# 30: Week 1/ Day 2
Theme: Cooking with Curd
Dish: Dahi Bhindi

For some reason the first dish that came to mind when I was thinking of dishes for 'Cooking with Curd' is this Dahi Bhindi. I don't remember tasting this dish, so I went with my instinct and made it based on what I think dahi bhindi should taste like. I liked the final dish, it was simple and quite tasty.

I didn't have fresh okra (ladies finger), so I used frozen baby okra. I sauteed them in little oil along with some vinegar to remove the sliminess and then added them to the yogurt sauce. Frozen okra is very convenient to use but can be a little tricky to cook with. If not handled properly entire dish can turn slimy and inedible. I do not thaw frozen okra and add them directly into the hot pan, this way the water starts to evaporate as soon as it hits the pan. Also I don't stir it too often.

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Okra Curry

Last night we had okra curry and dal for dinner. Recipe is quite simple, sauté coarsely chopped onions till browned around the edges and toss in chopped okra (I used frozen.. very convenient), cover and cook till okra changes from bright green to somewhat brownish green, about 15 minutes. Remove the lid, season with salt and chili powder, cook for 3-5 minutes more. Serve with rice or roti.

My sister loved okra and roti combo and used to pester my mom to pack it for lunch (this was way back when she was in elementary school), cos her friend used to get it and now she wants it in her lunch box too.. kids. Talking of kids, I didn’t get a chance to take pictures cos I got too busy with my son that I totally forgot about them. I realized little too late when all the dishes were already in the sink.

See you tomorrow with a some vegan goodies..

Bhindi Masaleydar - Masala Okra

Whenever we go out to eat, I try to order something new or something that I never had before(or never even heard of sometimes). My husband is more of a careful guy and not a risk taker. He ends up ordering the same item in most of the restaurants. I try to deconstruct the recipes that I have, so I can come home and try them.

I had this Bhindi masaleydhar in Shanghai (Epicure on 45, a revolving restaurant on the 45th floor of our hotel) and I liked it very much, so I tried it out as soon as I got back.

This is my version of Masala Bhindi and it came pretty close to what I had.

Ingredients:
Fresh Okra - 12-15 no.
Onion - 1 large chopped
Tomatoes - 1 large juicy chopped
Cumin powder - 1tsp
Coriander powder - 1tsp
Chili powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - pinch
Curry paste - 1 tsp [I used Patak's mild curry paste]
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Wash and thoroughly dry okra. Cut into 1" pieces.
• Heat 1tbsp of oil in a pan, fry okra till browned on all sides. Remove and keep aside.
• Heat 1tsp of of oil and add 1/4 of the chopped onion. Fry till lightly browned. Remove and keep aside. After cooling grind the fried onions with the coriander, cumin and chili powder into a smooth paste using little water.
• Heat 2tsp of oil in the same pan, add asafoetida and onions. Fry till onions are transulent, then add tomatoes, onion paste and turmeric. Mix well and cook covered till tomatoes are done.
• Add fried okra, curry paste, garam masala and salt to the tomato gravy. Add water if it is too dry.
• Cook for 10-15 minutes. Serve with rice or chapathi.