A spicy and delicious curry as an accompaniment with pulao, biryani or rotis is always welcome. Such curries enhance the taste of the dish even more and cleanses the palate. Such curries do not have to be oily or loaded with chillies to make them tasty. I have described one such lip-smacking recipe here, bhindi ka salan, Hyderabadi style!
Bhindi ka salan has a delicious masala paste going into it made with with roasted groundnuts, sesame, coconut and some fragrant spices. The flavours are then brought together by adding tamarind and jaggery balancing all the flavours. Ensure you are using fresh and tender bhindi/okra which makes bhindi ka salan really tasty.
With a little preparation this curry can be made very easily. You can roast the masala ahead of time and grind it just before making your curry. Then fry the bhindi and the paste in parallel, finish the curry and then mix in the bhindi. You can even easily make this on a working day. Try more curry recipes from FOI, seemebadanekayi saagu, vegetable kurma etc. Try more bhindi recipes from FOI, bendekayi gojju etc.
- 200-250 Gm or 2 Cups 2" pieces bhindi/okra/lady's finger
- ¼ Cup peanuts/groundnuts/shenga
- 2 Tbsp sesame seeds/til/yellu
- 2 Tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp coconut oil/cooking oil
- 1 Tsp jeera
- ¼ Tsp mustard
- ¼ Tsp menthya/methi seeds
- 1 sliced onion
- Few curry leaves
- 1 green chilli
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- ½" ginger
- ¼ Tsp turmeric
- ½ Tsp red chilli powder
- 1 Tbsp crushed dhania
- ½ Cup water to adjust consistency
- 1 Tbsp tamarind juice
- ½ Tbsp jaggery
- Salt to taste
- Coriander to garnish
- In a pan slowly roast the groundnuts till they turn crisp
- Add sesame and toast for a minute or two
- Then add desiccated coconut and turn off the flame
- Wash bhindi, dry them on kitchen towels well, cut them into 2" pieces
- Add a Tbsp of oil into a pan, drop in the bhindi
- Fry the bhindi slowly till they turn turn soft and skins changes colour
- Set it aside to cool
- In a mixer jar, add roasted groundnut mixture
- Add 2-3 Tbsp water and grind to a paste (adjust water to make a fine paste)
- In a pan, heat oil, add mustard, jeera, let them crackle
- Drop in a few methi seeds, let them fragrant and golden
- Add sliced onions and start frying, let them soften
- Tear up a few curry leaves and drop them in
- Next add crush ginger, garlic and green chilli and add it to the onions
- Saute till the raw smell disappears
- Next masalas go in, red chilli powder, turmeric and crushed dhania
- Mix well and saute for a few seconds
- Scoop out the groundnut masala paste and add water to adjust consistency, about ¼ Cup water will do
- Mix well and let it come to gentle boil
- Add tamarind extract and jaggery, mix well
- Add salt to taste and let it simmer
- Lastly add sauteed bhindi and mix well
- Once it thickens and is uniformly mixed, add some chopped coriander to garnish
- Serve hot with rotis or pulao
Always roast groundnuts/shenga on low-medium flame
Adjust spices as per your taste, you can throw in 1-2 red chillies if you want
Bhindi Ka Salan Stepwise:
In a pan slowly roast the groundnuts till they turn crisp
Add sesame and toast for a minute or two
Then add desiccated coconut and turn off the flame
Wash bhindi, dry them on kitchen towels well, cut them into 2" pieces
Add a Tbsp of oil into a pan, drop in the bhindi
Fry the bhindi slowly till they turn turn soft and skins changes colour
Set it aside to cool
In a mixer jar, add roasted groundnut mixture
Add 2-3 Tbsp water and grind to a paste (adjust water to make a fine paste)
In a pan, heat oil, add mustard, jeera, let them crackle
Drop in a few methi seeds, let them fragrant and golden
Add sliced onions and start frying, let them soften
Tear up a few curry leaves and drop them in
Next add crush ginger, garlic and green chilli and add it to the onions
Saute till the raw smell disappears
Next masalas go in, red chilli powder, turmeric and crushed dhania
Mix well and saute for a few seconds
Scoop out the groundnut masala paste and add water to adjust consistency, about 1/4 Cup water will do
Mix well and let it come to gentle boil
Add tamarind extract and jaggery, mix well
Add salt to taste and let it simmer
Lastly add sauteed bhindi and mix well
Once it thickens and is uniformly mixed, add some chopped coriander to garnish
Serve hot with rotis or pulao
