Okra Stir Fry is a quick and easy side dish recipe. It’s a delicious vegan and gluten-free side dish which is best enjoyed with dal rice or any Indian flatbreads.
Ladies finger is one of my favourite vegetable. I am very fond of it and make them often at home as a side dish, especially when I dont want to cook much and make an elaborate lunch or dinner. Ladies fingers are not only tasty, delicious and healthy but they are super easy to make and gets ready in no time no matter which recipe you follow. Rice, dal and okra stir fry is a comfort food for me anytime!
I make okra stir fry in many different ways. The recipe I am sharing today is a unique one. Apart from few basic masalas, it has tempered urad dal and chana dal, roasted peanuts, coconut and its cooked in coconut oil. I hope you will love the recipe as much as we do.
ABOUT OKRA STIR FRY
Okra Stir Fry is a flavorful dish prepared in coconut oil with tempered lentils, onion, chillies, coconut and basic spice ingredients. A well blend of flavour, taste and spices. It’s a perfect side dish for dal rice or sambar rice and any Indian flatbreads.
Okra also known as ladies finger or lady’s finger is a popular and common vegetable in Indian cooking. Okra is known as Vendakkai in Tamil and Bhindi in Hindi. It is a very healthy vegetable. Infact it is very tasty when cooked right. At the same time this is one vegetable which many don’t favor because of its slimpy substance.
This okra stir fry is a south Indian style recipe with amazing taste and texture packed with beautiful flavor from the grated fresh coconut, coconut oil and curry leaves. You can feel the crunch of the urad dal, chana dal and roasted peanut in every bite of the dish.
HOW TO BUY OR SELECT OKRA IN STORE?
Lady’s finger is a very common and popular vegetable, especially in India. It is easily available in local vegetable shops, vegetable markets, food malls and supermarkets.
▪︎ While buying okra look for freshness; avoid the shrinked okra which indicates that the okra is not fresh and have loss moisture in the process of storing for longer time.
▪︎ Look for green and fresh okra which are smooth without blemishes and are not bruised.
▪︎ Buy young okras; they will be soft and not hard and even the seeds inside will be tender and lesser. Matured okra tend to become hard and dry even when cooked.
▪︎ Pick firm okras without any cuts and marks.
▪︎ Avoid buying wilted okra.
HOW TO MAKE OKRA LESS SLIMY? HOW TO MAKE PERFECT OKRA STIR FRY?
If you cook okra often, then you are well aware about this problem – the sliminess!
The vegetable exudes a substance called mucilage which makes it slimy. So how do you make it less slimy/sticky?
▪︎ Wash and pat dry the okra with clean kitchen towel before chopping them. This will help the okra to be less slimy. If you try to cut the okra without pat drying it will be very slimy.
▪︎ You can even follow this method. Wash it and then put all the okras on a flat platter or chopping board and let them dry for some time and then pat dry each okra with a clean kitchen or paper towel one by one.
▪︎ You can also plan in advance. Wash the okra and then let it air dry overnight. The okra will get dried on it’s own and you don’t need to pat dry each bhindi separately. Straight away you can chopped the okras in the morning.
▪︎ Do not fry the okra in low heat. Cook them in medium-high heat stirring it frequently. These helps the slimness to go away by the time the okra is cooked.
▪︎ Adding curd to okra fry also prevents the okra from becoming sticky.
HOW TO MAKE OKRA STIR FRY
This okra stir fry recipe calls for basic Indian masala with tempered urad dal, chana dal & roasted peanuts for the crunch, coconut, roasted peanut, onion, chillies, garlic and lemon juice for the slightly sour taste.
We start by tempering the cumin seeds, urad dal and chana dal. Then stir fry the shallots, chillies, garlic and curry leaves followed by stir frying the okra, salt and lemon juice for about 5 minutes until the sliminess almost goes away. Once that is done, then we add the masala, cook for sometime followed by adding grated coconut and roasted crushed peanuts, cook for few minutes. Finish off by adding chopped coriander leaves, give a quick stir and turn off the heat. Simple isn’t it?
And the best way to serve it? With dal rice or sambar rice. My husband love it with dosa, chapatis or rotis.
MORE STIR FRY RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE FROM MY BLOG
• Bitter Gourd Stir Fry
• Amaranth Leaves Stir Fry
• Mushroom Pepper Fry
• Karamani Sundal / Black Eyed Peas Stir Fry
• Panch Phoran Potato Brinjal Stir Fry
• Chicken Liver And Gizzard Stir Fry
• Chicken Stir Fry
• Mutton Stir Fry
• Pork Chow Mein
• Egg Fried Rice
All of the above recipes are super easy to prepare, ready in no time, and will never disappoint you.
Hope you will love to try this humble okra stir fry recipe and enjoy it as much as we do. I can’t wait to hear what you think of this recipe. Do share your thoughts about the recipe with me here.
Let’s get started and see the step by step instructions on how to make okra stir fry at the comfort of your home.
Preparation time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes
Serves : 4
Ingredients to make okra stir fry:
250 gms okra
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp coconut oil (You can use any vegetable oil)
¼ tsp Cumin seeds
1 tbsp Urad dal
1 tbsp Channa Dal
2 Green chilly chopped
2 Dry Red Chilly broken
15-20 shallots sliced
1 sprig Curry leaves
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 tsp Chilli powder
½ tsp Turmeric powder
½ tsp Coriander powder
3 tbsp Coconut grated
2-3 tbsp peanut roasted & crushed
Salt to taste
Few coriander leaves chopped
Step by step picture instructions on how to make okra stir fry:
Wash the whole ladies finger (do not cut the edges now). Rub and pat them dry in clean kitchen towel. Now cut off the edges and cut them into thin rings. Set aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds, urad dal, channa dal and saute till the dal turns golden.
Add the shallots, chillies, garlic and curry leaves. Saute till onions turns soft.
Add the ladies finger, salt, lemon juice and fry them in medium-high heat for about 5 minutes stirring it frequently. The stickiness of ladies finger will almost goes away by this time.
Add the chilly powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder, mix well and fry further till the ladies finger is nicely cooked and soft for about 5-6 minutes.
Once it is done, add the grated coconut and the roasted peanut. Fry for around 3-5 minutes stirring continuously.
Add chopped coriander leaves, give a quick stir and take off the heat. Your okra stir fry is ready to be served.
Well, if you make this okra stir fry, please do leave a feedback in the comments box below or snap a photo and tag Akum Raj Jamir on Facebook and akumrajjamir on Instagram with hashtag #atmykitchen. I would love to see your creations.
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I hope you liked the recipe. Your valuable feedbacks are always welcome, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you.
Happy cooking!
Love Akum
