Bhindi Masala (Indian Okra Stir Fry) is a popular Indian dish made by cooking bhindi / indian okra in onion tomato masala. Usually made as a dry sabzi / stir fry of sorts, that gets ready under 30 minutes, and goes extremely well with rotis.
In my family, we love Bhindi, and so it’s an easy veggie to keep in regular rotation at our place. And this Bhindi Masala is my go-to dish to make, as it is a relatively quick and easy way to incorporate bhindi on a day to day basis. But of-course we love kurkuri bhindi too, though I don’t make it as often.
That being said, when I first started cooking, I used to be a little hesitant to deal with bhindi, because bhindi as a veggie needs to be handled right, otherwise it can get really sticky. Though honestly, it’s just a matter of knowing how to handle it, and it’s a fairly easy veggie to work with.
And that’s why I’ve shared my recipe for bhindi masala, along with tips on how to prep and handle bhindi to avoid it from getting sticky.
Here’s my step by step recipe for making Bhindi Masala.
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Ingredients You Need
Ingredient notes
Bhindi Masala can be flavored many different ways, based on your preference.
I love using mustard seeds and curry leaves to give it a slight south indian twist, in addition to the whole garam spices. You can skip it if you don’t have them or prefer them. But if you do have them on hand, then definitely try out this combination – you will love it!
How to Prep Bhindi to Avoid it from Getting Sticky / Slimy
The most important thing to remember to handle bhindi right is that you need to avoid moisture, during all stages of handling and cooking bhindi.
I usually make bhindi masala using 1 pound of bhindi at a time, as that is a good enough quantity for 4-6 people, depending on whether you are having it as the main dish for lunch / dinner or as a side with dal rice etc. So I am sharing the measurements and time for that quantity here.
You can always use the slider in the recipe card below to adjust the quantity of ingredients, if you need to make more or less quantity.
With that being said.. follow this method to prep bhindi to avoid them from getting sticky and slimy in bhindi masala –
- Take 1 pound bhindi, and wipe all of them with a damp towel once to clean them. When done, wipe all of them with a dry towel or paper towel to dry them off. Do not wash the bhindi using water, as they need to be kept as dry as possible to avoid them from getting slimy.
- Cut off both the ends of the bhindi and discard them. Then chop the bhindi into small pieces of roughly half an inch or based on your preference. I usually keep a paper towel handy, while chopping bhindi, to wipe off the slime that gets on the knife. You can also coat the blade of the knife with lemon juice – the acid helps control the slime.
- Then in a wide bottomed pan (wide enough that all the bhindi touches the bottom), lightly heat up 1½ tablespoon of oil, for about a minute or so, and then add in the chopped bhindi, and mix it in, ensuring to coat all the bhindi with a little oil.
- Lightly roast the bhindi for about 10-15 minutes on medium flame, stirring intermittently, till it gets lightly roasted, and develops a slight color on the edges.
- When done, turn off the flame, and set it aside. Pre roasting bhindi in a little oil, avoids it from getting slimy later when mixed in the onion tomato masala for making bhindi masala.
How to Make Bhindi Masala – Step by Step
- In a pan, add 1½ tablespoon of oil, and lightly heat it up for about a minute.
- To it add ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds, and then ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds, and let them roast for a minute or so.
- When the mustard seeds start crackling, add 10 curry leaves, 1 chopped green chilli, and 1 teaspoon asafoetida / hing. Mix everything together, and lightly roast them for 30 seconds or so.
- Then add 1 cup of chopped onions, along with 1 teaspoon of salt, and saute on medium flame for 7-8 minutes, till the onions turn light brown in color.
- When the onions are done, add 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste, mix it in, and lightly roast it for 1-2 minutes, just until the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes away.
- Then add the spice powders (preferably all together, to avoid them from burning, so best to pre mix them and add) – ½ teaspoon red chilli powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala powder, ½ teaspoon coriander powder, ¼ teaspoon cumin powder, and ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder. Here you can also add a splash of water and lower the flame for a bit to avoid the masalas from getting burnt.
- Lightly roast the spices for about 30-60 seconds.
- When the spices have been lightly roasted, add in ¾ cup of chopped tomatoes, and saute for 2-3 minutes, till the tomatoes have cooked down a bit.
- Now to this add the pre-roasted chopped bhindi, mix it in, and saute for 5 minutes or so, till the bhindi is fully done. Here it is best to not cover the pan while cooking bhindi, so as to not incorporate any additional steam or moisture, which might make the bhindi slimy.
- When done, turn off the flame, and serve hot.
Time Saving Tip
When you start pre-roasting the bhindi in oil, also start making the base of the bhindi masala. Because it will take 10-15 minutes to roast bhindi, and about 15 minutes to make the masala base before you need to add the pre-roasted bhindi. So you can save on time by doing them both simultaneously.
Serving Suggestion
Bhindi masala goes very well with rotis / chapatis, and even as a side with dal rice.
More quick + easy recipes to try..
⭐️ Easy Paneer Bhurji (with a tasty twist)
⭐️ Roasted Makhana (ready in 10 minutes)
⭐️ Easy Sambar Recipe (perfect for beginners)
As always, I hope you found this recipe useful. If you did, please let me know your rating ⭐️ and feedback 📲 in the comments below, or simply rate the recipe right on the recipe card. I’d really appreciate it. ❤️
📖 RECIPE
Bhindi Masala Recipe (Dry Sabzi)
Ingredients
- 1 pound bhindi (okra)
- 3 tablespoon oil divided
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai)
- 10 curry leaves (cadipatta)
- 1 green chilli chopped
- 1 teaspoon asafoetida powder (hing)
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- ¾ cup chopped tomatoes
Instructions
For prepping bhindi (okra) ~ to ensure it doesn't turn slimy
- Take 1 pound bhindi, and wipe all of them with a damp towel once to clean them. When done, wipe all of them with a dry towel or paper towel to dry them off. Do not wash the bhindi using water, as they need to be kept as dry as possible to avoid them from getting slimy.
- Cut off both the ends of the bhindi and discard them. Then chop the bhindi into small pieces of roughly half an inch or based on your preference. I usually keep a paper towel handy, while chopping bhindi, to wipe off the slime that gets on the knife. You can also coat the blade of the knife with lemon juice – the acid helps control the slime.
- Then in a wide bottomed pan (wide enough that all the bhindi touches the bottom), lightly heat up 1½ tablespoon of oil, for about a minute or so, and then add in the chopped bhindi, and mix it in, ensuring to coat all the bhindi with a little oil.
- Lightly roast the bhindi for about 10-15 minutes on medium flame, stirring intermittently, till it gets lightly roasted, and develops a slight color on the edges.
- When done, turn off the flame, and set it aside. Pre roasting bhindi in a little oil, avoids it from getting slimy later when mixed in the onion tomato masala for making bhindi masala.
For making bhindi masala
- In a pan, add 1½ tablespoon of oil, and lightly heat it up for about a minute.
- To it add ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds, and then ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds, and let them roast for a minute or so.
- When the mustard seeds start crackling, add 10 curry leaves, 1 chopped green chilli, and 1 teaspoon asafoetida / hing. Mix everything together, and lightly roast them for 30 seconds or so.
- Then add 1 cup of chopped onions, along with 1 teaspoon of salt, and saute on medium flame for 7-8 minutes, till the onions turn light brown in color.
- When the onions are done, add 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste, mix it in, and lightly roast it for 1-2 minutes, just until the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes away.
- Then add the spice powders (preferably all together, to avoid them from burning, so best to pre mix them and add) – ½ teaspoon red chilli powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala powder, ½ teaspoon coriander powder, ¼ teaspoon cumin powder, and ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder. Here you can also add a splash of water and lower the flame for a bit to avoid the masalas from getting burnt.
- Lightly roast the spices for about 30-60 seconds.
- When the spices have been lightly roasted, add in ¾ cup of chopped tomatoes, and saute for 2-3 minutes, till the tomatoes have cooked down a bit.
- Now to this add the pre-roasted chopped bhindi, mix it in, and saute for 5 minutes or so, till the bhindi is fully done. Here it is best to not cover the pan while cooking bhindi, so as to not incorporate any additional steam or moisture, which might make the bhindi slimy.
- When done, turn off the flame, and serve hot. Bhindi masala goes very well with rotis / chapatis, and even as a side with dal rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Video Recipe
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