See Recipe In हिन्दी (Hindi)
Even though Karl Marx hadn’t yet sent any clarion call to ladies in the form of “Ladies of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your fingers” mirroring his iconic call “Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains”, ladies fingers, aka Bhindis, even when stuffed with tangy and spicy masala filling are full of health benefits. Meanwhile, it may not be out of place to mention here that being soft and pliant, Bhindi is a well chosen vegetable for stuffing or filling, giving rise to a sumptuous dish called Besanwali (having Besan as a primary ingredient), Bharwa (meaning filled or stuffed) while Bhindi itself stands for okra or the ladies finger.
Vegetable recipes you may like:
- Dum Aloo Recipe,
- Mixed Vegetable,
- Paneer Butter Masala,
- Turai Chana Dal,
- Papad Mangodi Kadhi(Curry), etc
Surprisingly enough, the tasty and flavoursome Besanwali Bharwa Bhendi is also easy to cook, according to famed chef RESHU, the proud owner of the cutting edge culinary website MINTRECIPES that contains hundreds of Indian and continental recipes in graphic detail.
Short and summarized description of how to prepare Besanwali Bharwa Bhendi
Wash Bhindi in running water. Remove the upper top and lower tip of the Bhindi. Use a knife to make a vertical slit across the vegetable across the entire length and keep these aside.
Organize masala for the purpose of filling the bhindi by adding Garam Masala, Salt, Haldi (Turmeric Powder), Dhaniya (Coriander) Powder, Saunf (Fennel Seeds), Jeera (Cumin seeds). Optionally dry mango Powder can be added to make it more tangy. Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in the Masala mixture to lubricate it and mix it well. You can also add dry roasted Besan (Gram Flour) in the Masala mixture.
Fill masala in Bhindis through the slit. Put 1-2 table spoons of oil in a frying pan or kadhai and add the stuffed bhindi to it. After gentle stirring cover the pan with a lid and after 2 minutes open the pan to stir/turn the Bhindi. This should be done delicately so that Bhindis remain intact and at the same time are not over burnt.
Transfer Bharwa Bhindi to a serving bowl. You may now garnish it with coconut powder. Serve as a side dish with Roti, Paratha, Naan, Missi Roti etc. or with rice.
Bharwa Bhindi Recipe
Ingredients
- 12-15 lady fingers / okra/ Bhindi
- 11/2 tsp oil
For stuffing:
- 11/2 Tablespoon gram flour
- 1 medium size onion finely chopped /grated onion
- 11/2 tsp coriander powder
- ¾ tsp red chilly powder
- ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp Mustard oil
- 1 tsp oil
Instructions
- Wash bhindi thoroughly in water and keep it for half an hour or if you do not have much time then wipe them with towel or paper napkin to make it dry.
- For Stuffing-
- Heat oil in a pan, once the oil becomes little hot add finely chopped onion and sauté it on medium flame till it becomes translucent and light brown.
- Add all the spices red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt to taste and sauté it for a minute.
- Lastly add gram flour and roast it for 2 minutes till nice aroma starts to come.
- Stuffing is litte dry so add mustard oil and mix it well for a minute.
- Turn off the flame. Stuffing is ready.
- Cut the stem of each bhindi, slit the bhindi and be careful that you don’t cut the whole bhindi it should be joined from the second end.
- Take each bhindi and stuff it with the prepared masala and keep aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy bottom pan and temper cumin seeds into it.
- When the seed starts tempering put each stuffed bhindi/ lady finger, left over masala and mixes well.
- Stir and cover the lid and cooks it on low flame for 2-3 minutes. Do not cover for a longer time as bhindi will become mushy.
- After 2 minutes open the lid and turn around the bhindi very gently to avoid sticking and burning.
- Sprinkle little water over the bhindi to make it soft and again cover the lid for 2-3 minutes.
- Repeat the process of cover and cook till the bhindi becomes tender. Turn them between 2-3 times to prevent from burning. It takes around 6-7 minutes to become soft.
- Serve hot with roti, paratha or rice.
See Recipe Video
Notes
Do not add too much of water just sprinkle water if needed to make bhindi soft.
Nutrition
How to make Bharwa Bhindi:
- Wash bhindi thoroughly in water and keep it for half an hour or if you do not have much time then wipe them with towel or paper napkin to make it dry.
For Stuffing-
- Heat oil in a pan, once the oil becomes little hot add finely chopped onion and sauté it on medium flame till it becomes translucent and light brown.
- Add all the spices red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt to taste and sauté it for a minute.
- Lastly add gram flour and roast it for 2 minutes till nice aroma starts to come.
- Stuffing is litte dry so add mustard oil and mix it well for a minute.
- Turn off the flame. Stuffing is ready.
- Cut the stem of each bhindi, slit the bhindi and be careful that you don’t cut the whole bhindi it should be joined from the second end.
- Take each bhindi and stuff it with the prepared masala and keep aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy bottom pan and temper cumin seeds into it.
- When the seed starts tempering put each stuffed bhindi/ lady finger, left over masala and mixes well.
- Stir and cover the lid and cooks it on low flame for 2-3 minutes. Do not cover for a longer time as bhindi will become mushy.
- After 2 minutes open the lid and turn around the bhindi very gently to avoid sticking and burning.
- Sprinkle little water over the bhindi to make it soft and again cover the lid for 2-3 minutes.
- Repeat the process of cover and cook till the bhindi becomes tender. Turn them between 2-3 times to prevent from burning. It takes around 6-7 minutes to become soft.
- Serve hot with roti, paratha or rice.
Note:
- To make bharwa bhindi I generally use small and tender bhindi for faster cooking and better taste.
- Do not add too much of water just sprinkle water if needed to make bhindi soft.
See Recipe In हिन्दी (Hindi)
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