Bhindi masala gravy recipe with step by step pictures.
Indulge in this Restaurant-style Okra curry with roti, naan, paratha or any flatbread of your choice.
Bhindi masala gravy or okra curry is a delicious spicy & tangy curry made with shallow fried okra, simmered in an onion-tomato-curd paste with fresh Indian spices.
It becomes the most flavourful meal when accompanied with freshly made roti, paratha or even steamed rice. My favourite accompaniment is paratha or naan with spiced onion slices and lemon wedges.
If you are an okra or bhindi lover, you are going to relish on this Indian okra cuisine. Make sure you enjoy this with freshly cooked Indian flatbread with a dollop of butter on it. Even if you are not an okra fan, I recommend you to go for this dish.
This recipe of bhindi masala gravy is moderately spicy and tangy. Okra is first to dry marinate with besan or gram flour along with salt and red chilli powder. This prevents sliminess and also the okra skin becomes crunchy, helping in retaining its shape. Then they are shallow fried until they are slightly undercooked.
Later it is simmered in onion tomato and curd gravy. Curd here adds a slightly tangy taste and creamy texture. The important thing to keep in mind while making dahi bhindi recipe, always whisk the yoghurt in a bowl and till smooth. Then add into the gravy to get a smooth texture. NEVER add yoghurt directly from the container.
So anyone having Indian spices and ingredients at home Can easily make this delicious masala bhindi curry.
Other bhindi recipes
Bhindi or okra is an all-time favourite vegetable at my home except for my son. He doesn’t like the feel of chewing okra. Otherwise, any recipe of okra be it dry sabzi or like this gravy recipe, it is our favourite. I even cook this on occasions of family get together or anniversary dinner.
In India, okra or ladies finger or famously known as bhindi is cooked in myriad ways. So you can never get bored of the same vegetable. I will share my other bhindi recipes on the blog in the coming months including dry bhindi or sukhi bhindi sabji, kurkuri bhindi, aloo bhindi, bharwa bhindi etc.
How can I forget to add my favourite bhindi recipe that my mom use to cook and pack in my lunch box during college days, it was dry, spicy and tangy aloo bhindi with roasted and crushed peanuts. I am already drooling while writing this blog.
More curry recipes from Indian Cuisine:
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If you enjoy this hearty recipe, be sure to check out my Blog for more!
Bhindi masala gravy Recipe Card
Bhindi masala gravy
Materials
For marinating and frying bhindi/okra:
- 250 gms Bhindi/okra
- 2 tbsp Besan or gram flour
- 1 tsp Red chilli powder
- Salt as per taste
- ¼ cup Oil for shallow frying marinated okra
For making Bhindi masala gravy recipe:
- ¼ cup Oil
- 1 tsp Jeera/ cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Rai/mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp Hing/ Asafoetida
- 7 - 8 Curry leaves use fresh leaves if available.
- 1 medium Onion finely chopped or grated
- 2 Green chillies deseeded & finely chopped
- 1-inch Ginger finely chopped or grated
- 4 Garlic cloves finely chopped or grated
- 1 tbsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Red Chilli powder/ lal mirch powder
- ½ tsp Haldi/ Turmeric powder
- 2 Tomatoes finely chopped or grated or pureed
- ⅓ cup Whisked curd or dahi
- Salt as per taste
- ¼ cup Water to adjust consistency
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tbsp Crushed kasuri methi or dry fenugreek leaves
- Handful of freshly chopped coriander leaves
For serving:
- 1 small Onion Sliced in rings
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of cumin powder
- Pinch of red chilli powder
- 4 - 5 Lemon wedges
- Accompaniment of your choice - naan. paratha or rice etc
Instructions
For marinating and frying bhindi/okra:
- Rinse the okra (bhindi) in water for a couple of times. Dry the bhindi with a kitchen towel or spread them on a plate and let them dry on their own. Trim off the head and tail of the bhindi. Chop the bhindi in 1-inch pieces.
- Transfer the chopped bhindi in a large mixing bowl. Add dry spices for marination - besan, red chilli powder and salt.
- Mix everything in the bowl together either using a spatula or by tossing it. I prefer tossing bhindi, this way it doesn't get mushy and stays crisp. Let it rest for 10 mins.
- Heat some oil in a pan or kadhai and transfer the marinated bhindi in the oil. Give it a nice mix and shallow fry it on medium flame.
- Occasionally stit them and cook until it is almost cooked, shrunk and browned from the sides.
- When it is cooked, remove the shallow fried bhindi from pan and place them in a bowl or plate or tray.
For making Bhindi masala gravy recipe:
- Heat a ¼ cup of oil in the same pan and add jeera, rai, curry leaves and hing. Saute till rai & jeera starts spluttering.
- Then, add finely sliced onions into the pan and saute till it turns translucent and golden brown in colour.
- Add chopped garlic, ginger and green chillies into the pan and saute till it is cooked and raw smell of garlic goes away.
- Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and mix it nicely with the onions.
- Add pureed tomatoes into the kadhai and give it a nice mix.
- Once, the onion-tomato mixture is cooked, add ⅓ cup of whisked curd or dahi into the kadhai. Turn the flame on low and mix dahi with the onion-tomato mixture.
- Simmer the onion-tomato-dahi mixture for a couple of minutes on medium flame. Oil starts to release from the mixture.
- Now, add the shallow fried okra/ bhindi and salt as per taste.
- Gently mix the fried bhindi with the masala mixture. Make sure not to mash the bhindi with a spatula.
- Add water to adjust as per desired consistency. And stir again.
- Bring the okra curry to a simmer on a medium flame. Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes till the curry gets infused with the aroma and flavor of the okra.
- Lastly, add crushed kasuri methi, coriander leaves and garam masala. Stir again and turn off the flame.
- Serve bhindi masala curry garnished with a few coriander leaves and spiced onion slices or straightaway with chapatis or parathas or steamed rice.
Notes
- When buying okra make sure that they are long, fresh looking and dark green in colour. Don’t buy those who have blemishes, cut or leaked internal juice.
- How to avoid the sliminess –
- Okra should be dry before you chop them.
- Keep cleaning the knife as soon as it gets sticky.
- While cooking okra stir only 2 or 3 times only. If you stir continuously, chances are it would become more slimy.
- While cooking the okra, make sure that okra is soft yet it has a crunch. It should hold its shape & not get mushy
Step by step instructions:
For marinating and frying bhindi/okra:
Rinse the okra (bhindi) in water for a couple of times. Dry the bhindi with a kitchen towel or spread them on a plate and let them dry on their own. Trim off the head and tail of the bhindi. Chop the bhindi in 1-inch pieces.
Transfer the chopped bhindi in a large mixing bowl. Add dry spices for marination – besan, red chilli powder and salt.
Mix everything in the bowl together either using a spatula or by tossing it. I prefer tossing bhindi, this way it doesn’t get mushy and stays crisp. Let it rest for 10 mins.
Heat some oil in a pan or kadhai and transfer the marinated bhindi in the oil. Give it a nice mix and shallow fry it on medium flame.
Occasionally stir them and cook until it is almost cooked, shrunk and browned from the sides.
When it is cooked, remove the shallow fried bhindi from pan and place them in a bowl or plate or tray.
For making Bhindi masala gravy recipe:
Heat a ¼ cup of oil in the same pan and add jeera, rai, curry leaves and hing. Saute till rai & jeera starts spluttering.
Then, add finely sliced onions into the pan and saute till it turns translucent and golden brown in colour.
Add chopped garlic, ginger and green chillies into the pan and saute till it is cooked and raw smell of garlic goes away.
Now, add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and mix it nicely with the onions.
Add pureed tomatoes into the kadhai and give it a nice mix.
Once, the onion-tomato mixture is cooked, add ⅓ cup of whisked curd or dahi into the kadhai. Turn the flame on low and mix dahi with the onion-tomato mixture.
Simmer the onion-tomato-dahi mixture for a couple of minutes on medium flame. Oil starts to release from the mixture.
Now, add the shallow fried okra/ bhindi and salt as per taste.
Gently mix the fried bhindi with the masala mixture. Make sure not to mash the bhindi with a spatula.
Add water to adjust as per desired consistency. And stir again.
Bring the okra curry to a simmer on a medium flame. Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes till the curry gets infused with the aroma and flavor of the okra.
Lastly, add crushed kasuri methi, coriander leaves and garam masala. Stir again and turn off the flame.
- Serve bhindi masala curry garnished with a few coriander leaves and spiced onion slices or straightaway with chapatis or parathas or steamed rice.
Here are some tips for the novice cooks on okra.
- Buy tender and young bhindi without any blemishes, as they get cooked faster and taste good.
- Wipe dry bhindi before chopping. While chopping, wipe off the sticky residue on the knife to a disposable tissue.
- Do not chop them very small as they turn more sticky while cooking.
- Do not skimp on the oil used in any bhindi recipe. Oil helps to get rid of the sticky substance from the veggie.
- One to two tbsp of lemon juice can be sprinkled on the bhindi after sauteing in the oil for a minute. This reduces the sliminess.
- Optional – you can add some boiled potatoes to make this bhindi masala. Just cube the boiled potatoes and add them to the onion-tomato curd masala along with fried bhindi. Cover and let it simmer so the veggies could absorb the flavours and aroma.
Finally, I would like to share my other veg Curry recipes from my blog. This includes Lobia recipe, Dal dhokli recipe, kala chana masala, Dum aloo recipe, Paneer kadhai recipe, Mushroom kadhai gravy recipe, Matar Jhol recipe, spicy misal pav recipe, matar ke chole recipe, etc. Also, go through our Indian bread section for a variety of rotis like Butter naan recipe, palak paratha recipe, kachori recipes and thalipeeth recipe. In addition to this, do visit my other recipes collection from my blog like Main course collection, Breakfast collection, Desserts collection, etc.
Did you try this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #fop.flavoursonplate.
