Vendakkai Poriyal (Fry)

Vendakkai Poriyal is Tamil Nadu style dish of okra/bhindi, stir fried with tempering spices, lentils and curry leaves. It is an everyday staple side and is eaten alongside rice, rasam, sambar, dal and curd. In this post I share how to stir fry vendakkai properly without turning slimy. I also have different ideas to flavor your dish.

Okra is known by several names in India like bhindi, vendakkai and bendakaya. Vendakkai is the Tamil name for it. This veggie is eaten across India and is cooked much similarly all over. But they taste different because they are flavoured and spiced differently.

The Tamil style dish is made much similar to this Andhra style Bendakaya Fry and this Bhindi Fry. But I use grated coconut and whole roasted peanuts to make the bendakaya vepudu. To make bhindi fry I use powdered roasted peanuts and spices.

But this Vendakaya Fry tastes very different due to the spice podi I shared here. Making this podi does not take any extra time since we are going to do it while the vendakkai is frying in the pan. Ingredients like chana dal, urad dal, sesame seeds, dried coconut, cumin seeds, garlic and red chili are roasted until aromatic. They are cooled and ground to a powder. This adds so much flavor to your dish.

However if you do not want to roast the ingredients and grind the podi, an easy substitute would be to use pre-made Idli podi, Flaxseed podi or peanut chutney podi. If you have none of these then the easiest option would be to just add raw grated coconut at the finishing stage.

Expert Tips

If you are new to cooking vendakkai, here are some tips to begin with:

• Use tender/young vendakkai, avoid mature and old veggies that have been harvested long ago. An easy way to know if they are young enough is to break the sharp/pointed end with your finger. If it snaps and breaks, it is young enough to make your dish taste good.
• Avoid chopping wet okra. Wipe dry completely with a cloth or kitchen papers. While you chop, wipe dry the slime from your knife for convenience.
• Vendakkai needs enough oil to stir fry else they won’t cook faster. If you are trying to make this with lesser oil, you may cover them and cook once the slime has reduced. Also a splash of water helps them, but make sure you do it only after the slime has cooked off. Also note, vendakkai cooked this way has a gooey texture inside but it is a lot healthier.

More Vendakkai recipes
Aloo Bhindi
Sauteed Okra
Bhindi Masala
Bendakaya Pulusu
Bhindi ki Sabji

Photo Guide

How to make Vendakkai Fry (Stepwise Photos)

1. This step is optional. You can also use idli podi to make the vendakkai poriyal flavorful. Dry roast dal and red chilies on a low heat until they turn aromatic. Add in the sesame and coconut. Roast until the seeds begin to splutter. Cool this and powder it.

2. Wash vendakkai under running water. Wipe dry with a cloth and chop to half inch thick pieces.

3. Heat a pan with oil and add the cumin and mustard. When they begin to splutter, add chana dal and urad dal. Fry them until golden, then add dried red chili and curry leaves. Add hing.

4. When the dal is fried well to golden, add chopped vendakkai. Saute for 2 to 3 mins on a medium heat.

5. Add Lemon juice. This helps the okra to turn less slimy while cooking. You can also omit lemon if you do not like it.

6. Keep stirring and fry the okra on a medium flame until it is cooked well completely. You can also cover and cook once the stickiness has gone. Add salt and turmeric when the stickiness has gone completely and okra is cooked.

7. Add red chili powder and the spice powder (or idli podi or raw coconut).

8. Mix and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes.

Serve vendakkai poriyal /fry with rice.

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