Bhindi Fry Recipe | Okra Stir Fry

Bhindi Fry recipe – Simple, delicious and healthy stir fried okra/bhindi. Okra also known as ladies finger is a vegetable widely used in Indian cuisine to make various dishes like sambar, curry, chutney, stir fry and stew. Make perfectly delicious, flavorsome & non-sticky okra stir fry with my easy recipe. Serve it as a side with plain rice, quinoa, roti or chapati.

About Bhindi Fry

Bhindi fry is a simple Indian side dish made by stir frying okra with Indian spices and herbs. It is made in numerous ways across India and each home and region has their own recipe to make it. The spices and other ingredients used to make bhindi fry are pretty basic.

But it is seasoned or flavored with different ingredients like garam masala, fresh coconut, sambar powder or other spice powders.

This bhindi fry is flavored with roasted & crushed peanuts, coconut & sesame seeds which perk up the nutrition of dish. It turns out very delicious and aromatic.

I make bhindi often at home since my kids’ love it in any form. Most of the times I end up making stir fry to serve with roti, rice, Sambar or Rasam. I often make Andhra style bendakaya vepudu with coconut and roasted peanuts which is a favorite at home.

Sometimes we also serve it with curd rice. I make bhindi fry each time with different seasonings as my kids’ don’t like repeating the same. The recipe I have shared here is one of the delicious ways to prepare bhindi fry.

If you are a weight watcher skip peanuts and use coconut or sesame. You can also skip all of the 3 and just sprinkle some garam masala.

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Pro Tips

• Rinse and dry bhindi well with a kitchen tissue or cloth before chopping. This prevents them turning slimy while chopping and stir frying.
• If using frozen okra for stir frying, then spread them on kitchen tissues for a while so the excess moisture is reduced or absorbed by the tissues. To some extent this helps in reducing the slime while cooking.
• You can easily skip my spice powder mentioned in the recipe below and use any other spice powders like peanut podi, flax seed podi, idli podi or chutney podi.

Can I Air fry or Bake?

Yes. You can also bake or air fry chopped bhindi for the first few minutes so they cook faster in the pan. Most of the slime will just dry up in the oven/air fryer.

These methods are good when you are making this bhindi fry in large quantity. Ensure you chop them at least ½ inch otherwise they turn too dry. After air frying or baking, follow the recipe as is and add them to the tempering.

In the air fryer I keep them for 4 mins at 160 C (320 F). Keeping them for too long will make them dry & lifeless. I am sharing what works for me. You may need to adjust the timing as it depends on your air fryer. I drizzle little oil before air frying.

To bake them in oven, toss them in little oil and spread them on a greased foil. Bake at 180 C (350 F) for 5 to 6 mins. Avoid baking them for too long they become too dry.

Photo Guide

How To Make Bhindi Fry (Stepwise Photos)

Prepare okra

1. Rinse bhindi under running water. Drain them to a colander and wipe dry with a kitchen cloth or tissue. Remember any moisture will make our Bhindi slimy. For this recipe I have used 500 grams of okra.

2. Chop them to half inch pieces and set aside. For comfort while chopping use kitchen tissue to wipe off the slime from the knife.

Make Okra Stir Fry

3. Heat oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, reduce the flame and add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds. I have used about 2.5 tbsps here since I have not used a non stick pan. You can reduce it to 1.5 tbsp if using a non stick pan.

4. When the jeera begins to splutter add chopped bhindi and stir fry on a medium heat.

5. Keep stirring at regular intervals. Over doing it will make the bhindi more slimy so do it as needed only. Bhindi will begin to turn slimy after a minute. To reduce the slime I usually sprinkle some lemon juice but I have not done it this time. As we fry them, the slim will reduce. Mean while let us make the nut and spice powder.

Make Spiced Nut Powder

6. You can skip the peanuts from the recipe and use only coconut or sesame seeds. You can also just use garam masala and skip all of these three. Sometimes I also sprinkle only almond meal, garlic powder, cumin powder and desiccated coconut. The choice is yours.

7. While the bhindi is getting fried, add 1½ tablespoons peanuts and 1 to 2 cloves of garlic to a small pan. Roast them on a medium flame until peanuts turn golden and aromatic. Meanwhile keep an eye on the bhindi and keep stirring.

8. Turn off the heat and add 1½ tablespoons dried coconut and 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds. I have also used ½ teaspoon cumin seeds here. Fry lightly for a minute or so until the sesame seeds begin to splutter or until they smell good.

9. Cool them completely and make a coarse powder.

10. When the bhindi is done, you will find that they are no more slimy. At this stage add 1/3 teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon turmeric. Mix well.

11. Pour 1 teaspoon oil to the center of the pan. Add ¾ to 1 teaspoon red chili powder to it. If you have kids at home reduce to ¼ to ½ teaspoon. Let the chilli powder fry in oil for about 10 seconds.

12. Then mix it well with the bhindi. Fry for another 3 to 4 mins if desired. I do not prefer to over cook bhindi so I did not fry further.

13. Add the peanut powder.

14. Mix it well with the bhindi. It doesn’t need to be cooked further. Taste test bhindi fry and adjust salt accordingly.

Enjoy bhindi fry with rice or roti.

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