Bharli bhendi is a delectable Maharashtrian dish. ‘Bharli’ means stuffed,‘bhendi’ means okra in Marathi, ‘bhindi’ in Hindi and ‘bendakaya’ in Telugu. Okra is also known as ladies fingers in India. Needless to say, okra is my favorite veggie, I love it in any form. There are so many different types of bhindi recipes, some of my favorites are bhindi fry, plain bhindi masala or bhindi masala gravy, aloo bhindi, tava bhindi, dahi bhindi, bhindi kurkure,bhindi kadhi, it is delicious all the way 🙂 There are so many ways of cooking okra in India, that you can hardly ever get bored of this humble veggie. In this Maharashtrian style lady finger recipe, coconut, and peanuts constitute the essence of the stuffing mixture. I have had the opportunity to study and work with a lot of Maharashtrian friends/colleagues, so inadvertently had a chance to taste this lovely cuisine. I love this cuisine, it is aromatic, full of flavors, spicy and scrumptious. Now, this stuffed bhindi recipe is a little time consuming, as there are quite some steps involved, but the end results are totally worth it 🙂 The North Indian version of stuffed bhindi is known as bharwa bhindi, the stuffing uses besan, sesame seeds, and spices. And that is equally delicious as well. But for today, let’s learn how to make this yummy Bharli Bhendi recipe.
HOW TO MAKE STUFFED BHINDI | BHARLI BHENDI?
Start off by washing the okra well, pat dry completely with a clean kitchen napkin. Trim the crown and tip of the okra, make a slit lengthwise on one side, and set aside. Then prepare the stuffing, which is a mix of roasted coconout, peanuts, and onions. Pulse it the processor, and add your spices, cilantro, tomato. That’s about it for the stuffing. Stuff each okra with the filling, and shallow fry until the okra is tender and cooked through. For a crispy bhindi, increase the heat towards the end of the cooking time. I have to thank my colleague, Tejas for sharing his Mom’s recipe. It’s such a favorite in my house, I use the same stuffing mixture to make bharli vangi (eggplants). You have to try this out guys, I bet you will be repeating it every other week!
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE BHARLI BHENDI
1.Wash and wipe the okra with a clean kitchen towel. Cut off the crown and the tip and set aside. Make a slit lengthwise on one side of the okra. 2.Roast peanuts on low heat, set aside
3.Grate dry coconut, roast it on low heat until golden brown, set aside.
4.Chop the onions, and saute in little oil until translucent. Set it aside, let it come to room temperature.
5.In your food processor/mixer, grind the grated roasted coconut, onions, garlic and roasted peanuts to make a coarse mixture.
6.To the above mixture, add chopped tomato, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander leaves, garam masala, and salt as required, mix everything well.
7.Stuff each okra with this prepared mixture.
8.Heat oil in a pan, when the oil is hot enough, add the stuffed okra, sprinkle a little salt (go easy on the salt, as we have already added in the stuffing mixture). Shallow fry it on low heat with the lid covered, turning in between a couple of times. To make it crispy, crank up the heat towards the end and toss a couple of times. Enjoy it with chapati, or as a side along with some dal and rice.
Note: 1.Since I did not have dry coconut, I used freshly grated coconut. You may use unsweetened desiccated coconut too. But dry coconut definitely gives a better taste. 2.I forgot to add the tomatoes, nonetheless, it still turned out delicious. You may / may not add tomatoes. 3.As I always say, please feel free to increase/decrease the quantity of spice powders as per your preference.
HOW TO MAKE BHARLI BHENDI?
I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at [email protected] You can also follow me on : Facebook @ Aromaticessence Pinterest @ Aromatic Essence Instagram @ aromatic_essence77 Twitter @ freda_dias I hope you enjoyed this bharli bhendi recipe! Will see you soon with a new post 🙂 Regards, Freda
