Bhindi do Pyaza /Stir-fried Okra

As I had written in this post that,how the other I was having a good time cooking all vegetarian food when my hubby was not in town. And also was soo happy to cook food specially for myself, which I never bother to do otherwise. So...when I cooked Tawa Pulao I wanted a vegetarian side dish instead of the usual non-veg ones. And I decided on this Bhindi do Pyaza , which I had learned from one of my friend. And loved it to the core.

Bhindi known as 'Okra' in English or 'Ladies finger' as we had always known it in India has always been my fav fav vegetable of all. I just love any and every dish with Okra. And whenever I go to an Indian store for grocery, I never fail to pick some fresh Okras (ladies finger). My favourite sabzi (side-dish) with roti has always been Bhindi. And this easy Stir-fried dish goes well with roti or rice.

This dish is called 'Do Pyaza' because of the double quantity of onions used than that found in any other style of preparation. there are many variations to this famous dish.Some use tomatoes and others even use yogurt in its preparation. But I always love to cook this with just lots of onions and some simple spices. But let me assure you that it still tastes awesome and very tasty.

BHINDI DO PYAZA

Ingredients:

400-500 grams of fresh Okra /ladies finger,
3 onion- thinly sliced,
1-2 green chillies,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
1/2 tsp kalonji (nigella) seeds,
1/4 tsp turmeric powder,
1/2 tsp chilli power(optional),
juice of 1/2 lemon,
2 tbsp of cooking oil and
salt to taste.

Method:
Wash the okra and dry it thoroughly by wiping it with a kitchen towel. Cut them vertically into slices. Heat the oil in a wok/ kadai and add the the sliced okra to it and stir fry for few minuted until, they are half cooked. remove them from the oil and keep aside. In the same oil add the cumin seeds and nigella seeds. When they splutter, add the finely sliced onions and slit green chillies and cook, till the onion turns very light brown in colour. Now add turmeric powder, chilli powder(if using) and salt to taste, immediately add the stir fried okras, lemon juice to the wok and cook for further 5-8 minutes or until the okra is cooked. Serve hot with Roti or as a side dish with rice and curry.

Notes:
The first step of stir frying the Okras, is to avoid them from getting slimy and mushy, but one can skip that step completely but cook it for more time after adding the Okras. just make sure you don't cover the wok and cook for a long time, because it will end up as a slimy okra dish.

Also make sure that there is no moisture on the Bhindi/ Okra before you slice them. Even little moisture can make them slimy.