Nutty Okra Masala

After trying out Jayashree's Tomato Thokku last week on this series, I didn't get any requests until two days back. If I hadn't got this email, I had plans of trying one more of Jayashree's recipe. But this week it is a trial of one of Sum's recipes. She has a very nice collection of recipes on her blog. One of the recipe links she sent was this Nutty Okra masala which caught my attention since I was planning to make something with okra which was sitting in the refrigerator. I followed her recipe almost to the 'T' except for the method of cooking okra and for combining the tempering with cooking onions. You'll understand what I mean if you read this post. If you have been reading my posts, you might be able to guess. I used oven to do that for me instead of standing in front of the stove. (Yes, I love oven) Anyway, I am copying the recipe here.

Ingredients:
Okra/Ladies finger - ½ - ¾ kg
Onions - 2 big
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

For spice powder:
Peanuts - 1 tbsp
Bengal gram dal - ½ tbsp
Black gram dal - ½ tbsp
Sesame seeds - ½ tbsp
Dry red chilies - 10-15 depending on taste (I used 12 and they were quite spicy)
Curry leaves - 10-12 leaves

For tempering:Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Black gram dal - 1 tsp
Peanuts - ½ tbsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 10 - 12 leaves
Turmeric - a big pinch (This is my addition. I like to use turmeric wherever I can for its health benefits)

Method: (With my variations)
Spice powder

• Heat a skillet and roast all the ingredients except sesame seeds
• When they are almost roasted, add sesame seeds and turn off the flame, continue stirring for a few more seconds
• Cool slightly and grind it to a coarse powder
• This can be prepared in larger quantity and stored for multiple uses

Okra masala

• Wash the okra, wipe it with a kitchen towel and dry it completelyChop it on a dry cutting board with a dry knife, into ¾” pieces
• Line a baking sheet with edges (jelly roll pan) with aluminum foil and lightly coat with peanut oil. (I used a pastry brush) Preheat the oven to 400 F (You can do it at 500 F too and it gets done fast, but you'll have to turn the okra couple of times) Place the chopped okra pieces in a single layer. Drizzle about 2 TBSP of peanut oil on them. Keep the tray in the oven. After 10 minutes, stir once and keep it for an additional 10 minutes. Mine were done at 22 minutes. They were crispy and cooked. Every oven is different, so keep an eye on it.

Assembly
Heat oil in a small skillet, add mustard and allow to splutter. Add peanuts and after a few seconds add black gram dal and curry leaves. When the nuts and dal are done, add sesame seeds and immediately add the chopped onions. Add turmeric and some salt. When you add salt, onions leave water which will prevent the mixture getting stuck to the pan and getting burnt. When the onions are cooked, add prepared okra, mix and then add the spice powder. Check for the salt and adjust if necessary. Turn off the heat and serve with roti, chapathi or rice.

Pictures:
Okra pieces on the baking sheet -

Okra after baked in the oven -

Assembly before spice powder addition -

 

Final product still in the pan -

 

Variations:
I am sure this combination of spices work well with tindora or tonde kayi too. When I get tindora next time, I am going to make the same spicy palya/subzi using tindora.

A very different and tasty recipe. Thanks to Sum for sharing this with the world. It was so tasty that every one in the house finished off the entire palya.

Happy Cooking!!

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