Okra (ladies fingers) Stuffed with Spices and Herbs (Bherala Bhinda nu Shak)

 

Ingredients for  2 servings:

For the stuffing:

• 2 tablespoons Chickpea flour
• 2 tablespoons cumin powder
• 2 tablespoons coriander powder (or you can use a mixture of coriander and cumin powder often called Dhana Jeeru)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt to taste
• Chilly powder to taste
• 4 gloves of crushed garlic
• teaspoon of crushed ginger (optional)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
• 4-5 tablespoons Sunflower oil

For the seasoning:

• a teaspoon of dried mustard seeds

For the actual curry:

• 15-20 fresh green okra or ladies fingers.

Method:

1.   Mix the Chickpea flour, cumin and coriander powder, salt , turmeric, chilly powder, crushed ginger and  garlic  in a saucepan. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil and stir the mixture. This mixture needs to be warmed gently until you get an aroma of the spices. For those of you who are unsure, I would suggest that you cover the mixture and microwave it for a minute, stir it and microwave it again for another minute. Stir and allow to cool.

2.  Top and tail the okra and half slice all the okras:

3.  Fill the okras with the prepared spice mixture as shown below:

 

4.  Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add in the dry mustard seeds.  Once they stop popping, add the stuffed okras to the oil.   Add any remaining filling on top of the okras.  Put the lid on and cook the okras on a very low heat.  Do not add any water to this curry or it will get very sticky.  Using a fork, gently turn the okras after 5 minutes and let them cook gently for a further 5 minutes.  Fresh okra don’t take too long to cook. Prick them with a knife to ensure the okras have softened.

 

5.  Add the lemon juice to the cooked Okra (Bherala Bhinda nu Shak)  and serve with hot Chapattis.