Bendekayi (Okra) Gojju with Yogurt
A Little Harvest, A Simple Meal
One of the joys of growing my own food is learning to cook with what is available, rather than waiting for a large harvest. A small handful of okra may not be enough for a regular vegetable dish, but it can still find its way to the table in something delicious. This has become part of the garden-to-table journey for more than 8yrs now- growing what the climate allows, harvesting what is ready, and finding simple ways to bring it into everyday cooking.
Okra is one of the easiest vegetables to grow during the summer months in Qatar. It tolerates the heat well .I usually sow my okra in February, during the second growing season. When the okra plants begin producing again after their summer slowdown, the harvest is often small. There may not be enough for a proper serving of palya, the simple vegetable side dish commonly prepared in Karnataka. This is when I turn to one of my favourite ways of using a handful of freshly harvested okra bendekayi gojju with yogurt.
It is a simple dish made with ingredients commonly found in an Indian kitchen. Thinly sliced okra is sautéed with a tempering of mustard seeds, lentils, red chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida until crisp. Once cooled, it is mixed with whisked yogurt to make a refreshing accompaniment to rice. You could also think of it as a kind of raita.
Last season, I had made gundruk using leafy greens from my garden. Gundruk is a traditional Nepalese preparation made by fermenting leafy greens, commonly mustard and radish leaves, and then sun-drying them. The fermentation gives the greens their characteristic tangy, sour taste and earthy aroma. Recently, I came across a recipe for dried gundruk chutney on Instagram and decided to give it a try. I sprinkled little of this dried chutney over the okra gojju just before serving, and it added another layer of flavour.
Okra gojju recipe:
Ingredients
- Fresh okra (use whatever your garden has to offer)
- Yogurt, whisked
- Mustard seeds
- Urad dal (split black gram)
- Chana dal (split Bengal gram)
- Red chilli
- Green chilli
- Curry leaves
- A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
- Oil
- Salt to taste
Method
- Prepare the okra: Wash the okra and wipe each one completely dry before chopping. This is important because moisture can make okra sticky while cooking. Slice it thinly.
- Prepare the tempering: Heat a little oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the red chilli, urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves and asafoetida. Add green chillies and sauté for few seconds.
- Cook the okra: Sauté the tempering for a few seconds, until the lentils begin to turn lightly golden. Add the sliced okra and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the okra is cooked through and the pieces become crisp.
- Prepare the yogurt: Turn off the heat and allow the cooked okra to cool completely. Meanwhile, whisk the yogurt until smooth.
- Bring it together: Add the cooled okra to the whisked yogurt and mix gently.
- Adjust the salt and spiciness according to your taste.
Serve as an accompaniment to rice.