Rich and delicious…
If I’ve veggie dishes like this, I wouldn’t be needing any non-veg dishes. I don’t think I can ever become a hard core non-veg. If I’ve chicken for two days in a row, I’ll start craving for vegetarian dishes and vice versa. So, I always maintain a balance between veggies, sea food and meat. I haven’t yet had a dislike for any veggies, I just adore them all. If I develop a slight dislike for any veggie, I try making something different out of it and have found falling for it. Okra has been one of my favorite veggies despite of it’s mushy and sticky texture. In fact, okra is a very common veggie in Kerala, my mom used to grow this in her veggie garden. We make many dishes with okra, okra in roasted coconut gravy, fried okra in yogurt (my husband’s favorite), okra stir fry, okra fritters etc.
As usual I didn’t want to repeat any of the dishes that I had made before, was looking for something different and new. Though I’ve combined okra with roasted coconut paste, haven’t thought of combining with coconut milk before. So, this time my pick was okra and coconut milk. If I can add veggies or meat as it is without chopping or slicing them, I would prefer that. That could be the reason why I like making whole chicken curry, whole chicken biryani, adding whole eggplant, peppers etc. Sometime in the future I would like to make whole lamb or goat as well :P; well, that’s a speciality dish in Malabar cuisine, made during weddings and other special occasions.
This is a dish that I would definitely make over and over again.
Okra in Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- Oil- 2 tbsp
- Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
- Whole Red dry chilies- 2
- Onion- 1, chopped
- Salt- to taste
- Curry leaves- 1 sprig
- Okra, whole or chopped- 15
- Tomatoes- 3, chopped
- Gram masala- 1/2 tsp
- Kashmiri red chili powder- 2 tsp
- Coriander powder – 1 1/2 tsp
- Ground pepper- 1/4 tsp
- Coconut milk- 1/2 cup thick coconut milk combined with 1/2 cup water
Instruction
- Place a large pan over medium heat, add oil and let it turn hot.
- Add mustard seeds, let it splutter.
- Add cumin seeds and dry red chilies halved, saute for a second.
- Add onions, season with salt and curry leaves, saute till onions turn translucent and light golden in color.
- Add whole okra (just snap off the top part and the end part) and stir fry by adding water little by little so that it won’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Stir fry till okra has almost done and no longer slimy, don’t over cook it nor mash it.
- Add tomatoes and cook covered till tomatoes are mashed up.
- Add garam masala, kashmiri red chili powder, coriander powder, ground pepper and salt to it, combine well without breaking the okra, cook for a few minutes.
- If using thick coconut milk combine it with water and add to the pan or just add thin coconut milk.
- Combine okra with the coconut milk and let come to a slight boil.
- Taste and adjust salt and chili powder accordingly.
- Remove from the heat and keep the pan covered for sometime.
- Serve with chapati, roti, rice etc.
Tips:
- If you don’t have kashmiri red chili powder, add regular red chili powder (1 tsp) according to your spice level.
- Oil- 2 tbsp
- Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
- Whole Red dry chilies- 2
- Onion- 1, chopped
- Salt- to taste
- Curry leaves- 1 sprig
- Okra, whole or chopped- 15
- Tomatoes- 3, chopped
- Gram masala- ½ tsp
- Kashmiri red chili powder- 2 tsp
- Coriander powder- 1½ tsp
- Ground pepper- ¼ tsp
- Coconut milk- ½ cup thick coconut milk combined with ½ cup water
- Place a large pan over medium heat, add oil and let it turn hot.
- Add mustard seeds, let it splutter.
- Add cumin seeds and dry red chili halved, saute for a second.
- Add onions, little salt and curry leaves, saute till onions turn translucent and light golden in color.
- Add whole okra (just snap off the top part and the end part) and stir fry by adding water little by little so that it won't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Stir fry till okra has almost done and no longer slimy, don't over cook it nor mash it.
- Add tomatoes and cook covered till tomatoes are mashed up.
- Add garam masala, kashmiri red chili powder, coriander powder, ground pepper and salt to it, combine well without breaking the okra, cook for a few minutes.
- If using thick coconut milk combine it with water and add to the pan or just add thin coconut milk.
- Combine okra with the coconut milk and let come to a slight boil.
- Taste and adjust salt and chili powder accordingly.
- Remove from the heat and keep the pan covered for sometime.
- Serve with chapati, roti, rice etc.
