Lady’s Finger Masala With Bimbul And Sichuan Pepper On Turmeric Leaves.

“Lady’s Finger Masala With Bimbul And Sichuan Pepper On Turmeric Leaves” … A delicious ~ fragrant dish from Karwari Cuisine … Must say the three flavours of bimbul, Sichaun pepper (Teppal) and turmeric leaves (haldi paan) blended in well with Lady’s Finger (Bhendi / Okra) and created an awesome dish that goes very well with Dalitoy~Rice or Chapati / Roti … The Recipe Credit goes to Vidya Shanbhag Thakur who posted this dish a few days back … The only difference here is I used Bimbul and did not stuff the masala in bhendi while rest of the recipe remains same … Thanks Vidya, We loved it … Yummy Yumz … 

Lady’s Finger also known as Bhendi or Okra is a favourite at home and I always like to experiment new dishes using this versatile vegetable. Vidya has a lovely blog of her own with awesome dishes by the name My Secret Plate.Com. So, when she posted Bhendi Dhoddak / Lady's finger in spicy coconut masala with a dash of teppal (sichuan pepper), In my group Konkani Delicacies, I was all eager to prepare the dish and my happiness added on when I found that all the ingredients needed were there in my kitchen. Heavy rains / flooding / water logging in Mumbai for 2 continuous days had crippled everybody’s life and there was nothing much to be done. So went ahead and prepared this dish with some minute changes. I added on Bimbul / Bimbli for tanginess / tart taste instead of tamarind and did not stuff the masala in bhendis. I also ground the ginger along with masala and cut the bhendi giving a good slant and cooked them a bit before adding in the masala. Most of the ingrdients remains the same. The Lady’s finger in this semi dry spicy coconut masala cooked on low flame on turmeric leaves did impart an awesome flavour to the dish. Here my slightly variated recipe to the dish.

Ingredients :

Lady’s Finger / Bhendi / Okra : 250 gms (Tender One’s)

Bimbul / Bimbli : 2 large sized.

Turmeric Leaves : 2 large sized.

Sichuan Pepper : 6-8

Oil : 1 Tblsp.

Salt to taste

For Masala to be Ground :

Coconut : 1 cup freshly grated.

Kashmiri Red Chillies : 8-10

OR

Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 2 tblsp (Approx)

Ginger : ¼ inch piece

** Wash, rinse and wipe the bhendi dry with a cloth. It should be absolutely moist free. Slice off the edges of the bhendi and cut into into 2-3 inch size pieces giving it a very slant cuts. 

OR

** You can cut off the edges and give a slit on with two vertical cuts too as in the original recipe

** Slice of the tip ends of the two sides of bimbul / bimbli and cut them horizontally into 3 pieces. Keep this ready aside. 

** Crush the sichuan pepper / teppal coarsely after discarding the inner seed and soak in half a cup of warm water for 20 minutes covered. Once the water is infused properly with the flavour strain and discard the teppal and retain the strained water to be used while grinding the masala.

** Addition of Sichuan Pepper / teppal to curries :

The addition of teppal / sichuan pepper depends upon how much aromatic it is. If too strong use less and vice versa. The older the shelf life of the teppal the less aromatic it becomes and you may have to add in more while newly dried once are more aromatic and you may need to add in less. Also it depends again upon individual liking as some prefer lightly perfumed dish while some prefer it with strong smell. So use your judgment while adding in the teppal to be precise. With experience you will learn to adjust the same. Also remember to snip off the stem and the center black seed from the teppal before grinding.

**Again Sichuan Pepper / Teppal can be used via 2 methods ... You may choose any method that suits you.

1) Is to add them to the ground masala towards the end and grind to a smooth paste along with the masalas and use it to the curry.

2) The other method is to grind the teppal / sichuan pepper separately in water and then sieve it. Use the sieved water while grinding the masala.

** Masala to be Ground : Add in the freshly grated coconut along with chillies or chilly powder along with ginger, salt to taste and grind to a fine paste. Use the strained Sichuan pepper water while grinding the same. Keep the gravy thick and do not add in excess water while grinding. This is a semi dry dish.

** Note : If not using bimbul add in a large marble sized amount of tamarind to the masala and grind the same. I used bimbul so did not add in tamarind. 

** In a thick bottomed flat pan add in a tablespoon of oil and then add in the cut bhendi / lady’s finger pieces and a pinch of salt. Mix well, cover with a tight lid and let cook on slow fire till a little bit done, say about 50% cooked. Now remove from fire and mix with the cut bimbul pieces and ground masala well. 

** Now in the same kadai place one turmeric leaf at the bottom. Top it with the bhendies in masala and spread evenly on the leaf. Now place the other one on the top of the arranged bhendies. Cover with a lid and cook till done on minimum flame (Slow cooking). 

** Note : In the original recipe the bhendi is added with masala and cooked topped over the turmeric leaves on slow fire in one go till done. I split the cooking method for faster cooking of the bhendi. You may choose any method.

** When the lady’s finger / bhendi is cooked and done remove and keep aside covered for an 15 mins for the flavours to seep in properly. 

** “Lady’s Finger Masala With Bimbul And Sichuan Pepper On Turmeric Leaves” is done and ready to be served. Serve this dish steaming hot with Dalitoy and Rice or Roti / Chapati … tastes simply awesome.