Bhenda-Kadlo ghalnu Chutney/ Lady's Finger- Peanut Chutney.

"Bhenda-Kadlo ghalnu Chutney/ Lady's Finger- Peanut Chutney" ... here is a delicious chutney prepared with Bhendi (Okra/Bhendekayi) along with groundnuts (Nelakadale/ Moongphali/ Shengdana) and spices ... tastes delicious with roti/ chapati/ poori ... Yummilicious .....

** Chutney with Lady’s Finger ?? Surprising, Isn’t it ?? yes I too wondered when I came across this chutney recipe a year back and was intrigued and eagerly waiting to try it out, but somehow I lost track and forgot about it completely. I have been spree of churning out healthier options of dishes recently and wanted a few recipes where in I could cut down amount of coconut and at the same time add on some bulk to increase the quantity so that I would not fall short while serving. As I browsed through my saved recipes, I came across bhendi/lady's finger chutney that did not have coconut addition to it and somehow I was not convinced with the method too of preparing with addition of only lady’s finger along with spices. I strongly felt that there should be some base to hold on to the bhendi/lady's finger for a delicious outcome of the same. Well, I did not have sufficient time as it was Ekadashi Upwas day and I wanted to prepare the chutney as accompaniment to the already prepared and kept ready roti/chapatti. Again, I did not want to add in garlic as we do not eat garlic or onions on this day, and decided to add on roasted and crushed groundnuts for crunch in the chutney to make it more appealing. Well to cut short my story, I must say, I finally decided to prepare it on my own little way and changed almost the whole recipe and that’s it, you have a delicious chutney ready to be served with roti, dosa or even fried bread slices. 

** Here is my simple recipe for "Bhenda-Kadlo ghalnu Chutney/ Lady's Finger- Peanut Chutney" … My Style … 

** Roast ½ cup of Peanuts/Groundnuts/Kadlo/Shengdana in a thick bottomed kadai till done. Let cool, remove the outer skin and then crush it coarsely and keep it ready aside to be added to chutney later on. 

** Wash and pat dry with a cloth about 20-25 large sized Bhendi/Lady’s Finger/Okra. Slice off the edges and cut them into rings of about 1 inch in size and keep them ready aside. 

** Heat about 1-2 tblsp of oil in a thick bottomed kadai and add in the cut Bhendi pieces and fry on medium heat till they turn crisp and done. Remove and keep aside to cool completely. 

** In the same kadai add in about 1 tblsp of oil, when hot lower the heat to medium and add in 1 tblsp of Urad Dal (Black Gram Dal), 1 tsp of Jeera (Cumin Seeds), 2 tblsp Dhania (Coriander Seeds), ¼ tsp Methi Seeds (Fenugreek Seeds), 3-4 Spicy Green Chillies (Tarni Mirsanga/Hirvi Mirchi) and fry for about 3-4 minutes. 

** Now add in 1 tsp of Hing (Asafoetida) Powder, ¼ tsp of Haldi (Turmeric) Powder, 8-10 Curry Leaves (Kadipatta/ Karbev) and fry for a minute then add in ½ cup of freshly grated Coconut/ Soyi and further fry till the coconut turns slightly crisp but do not brown it. 

** Finally add in ½ cup of finely chopped Coriander Leaves (Dhania/Kothimbir) and a small lemon sized ball of Tamarind (Imly/Chinchama) and mix well. Add salt to taste (Namak swad anusar) and remove from fire and let cool for about 5 to 10 minutes. 

** Now add in all the fried and cooled above ingredient in the mixer grinder and grind to a smooth mixture without adding water. Keep mixing often in between to get a well ground fine masala. If needed only sprinkle some water, but I suggest you try avoiding it. 

** Note : You should avoid addition of water while grinding or else when you add in the fried bhendi it will turn softer texture with slightly sticky texture. So you have to be careful. Also the bhendi should be fried crisp or else the end result may become sticky too. 

** Once the masala is ground well, add in the crisp fried bhendi and grind further using pulse mode to avoid the bhendi gets crushed too much. Once mixed in remove immediately and put it in a bowl. Do not over grind or grind on continuous running machine to avoid chutney turning sticky. 

** Now add in the roasted and crushed peanuts prepared and kept ready and mix well. Check salt and add in if necessary. This chutney does not need any seasoning/tempering and can be served immediately. 

** "Bhenda-Kadlo ghalnu Chutney/ Lady's Finger- Peanut Chutney" is done and ready to be served. Tastes awesome with roti/chapatti or dosa. I served it with chapatti as it was fasting day for us and we avoid eating rice at such times. But it tasted equally good the next day for breakfast when I applied it between fried bread slices and served as sandwich. 

** Do try out this chutney and enjoy with family and friends. Do not be disheartened if the chutney turns slightly sticky as some bhendi/ lady’s finger are always sticky by nature and nothing can be done about it. The trick lies here first in proper frying of the bhendi and second proper grinding. Do remember to use pulse mode while grinding. 

** You can add in a few clovers of Garlic/Losun instead of Hing/Asafoetida to the chutney and it tastes awesome and very tasty too. I have avoided addition of garlic today for spiritual reason, as being Ekadashi, in my home we avoid, onion, garlic, rice, rice items and non-veg dishes for the whole day. 

** Again, you can increase or decrease the number of green chillies depending upon individual spice level. You can also add red Kashmiri chillies or any other dried red chillies instead of green chillies or you can add them both in equal amounts to, just remember to add them while frying for masala. 

** I will soon be adding another method of this same Bhendi/Lady’s finger chutney, that is interesting different, so do keep a keen watch on my Blog for regular updates. It is great to receive feedbacks, so do take out a few minutes of your precious time and let me know about the dishes you have tried and liked. It motivates me to do more. 

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