Eat your Veggies & LOVE it Curried Okra (or Binda Jo Saak as it is properly called), is a favourite Indian dish in my friend Alnaar’s home. Its full of flavour and goes great with Roti (gluten free roti recipe to come soon)! I try to make a veggie dish at least once a week, and this is definitely one of my go to meat free recipes. An added bonus is that my recipe doesn’t even require much prep if you buy the okra frozen instead of fresh. Honestly I’ve had it both ways and you can’t tell the difference.
Ingredients in Eat your Veggies & LOVE it Curried Okra
Okra is a super nutritious green vegetable that looks kind of like a finger… which is probably why its also called lady’s finger. Funny nickname hey! Okra is super duper healthy for you! It is packed with vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin K. Its also a great source of mucilage which aides in digestion and helps with constipation… so if you’re backed up then this is the dish for you!
Most large grocery stores will sell okra fresh, but if you don’t like to waste time then you are better off buying it frozen. Trust me, it can be a pain in the you know what to clean and slice okra correctly. In Canada, I know for certain that you can buy frozen okra from Superstore (Loblaws), but you can probably get it at most ethnic stores as well.
- Spices
Turmeric, Coriander, Cumin Seen, Chilli Powder, Salt
- Fresh Ingredients
Okra: I like to use Frozen Okra for ease use but if you can find it fresh where you’re from and don’t mind the extra work, by all means use it!
Fresh Garlic
Fresh Lemon Juice
Red Chilli Peppers
- Coconut Oil
- Tomato Paste
Check your ingredients! Some tomato pastes have unnecessary additives. Yuck!
How to Make Eat your Veggies & LOVE it Curried Okra
When you cook up the okra, the most time consuming part is pan frying it in some oil. It can take half an hour and though you may be temped, try to not stir the okra too much as it breaks apart very easily. Just keep an eye on it and sit back and relax for the most part.
I know this recipe can seem intimidating and you may be unsure if you really like Okra that much that you would want to make it your main dish. But I promise you won’t be disappointed if you try this recipe.
Curried okra can be eaten on its own as a side dish or served with rice or Roti (I promise to have the gluten free version of Roti soon).
ENJOY!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Please leave a comment as I would love to hear from you. Also, please subscribe to keep up to date with my latest and upcoming recipes. You can follow-me on Instagram @Turmeric_Me_Crazy. Please do!
Thank you kindly for your readership!
Hugs,
Curried Okra Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- â…“ Cup Coconut Oil
- 1 Kilo Okra Frozen or fresh
- 1 tsp Coconut Oil
- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1 tsp Garlic Crushed
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Coriander Seed Ground
- ½ tsp Cumin Seed Ground
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice Fresh
- 1 tbsp Water
- 2 Red Chili Peppers Chopped. Optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Melt 1/3 cup of coconut oil in a large pan or wok over medium heat. Add the Okra and fry for about half an hour. You can stir the Okra occasionally with a large wooden spoon, but do not stir too much as it breaks apart very easily.
- Once the okra has been fried melt a teaspoon of coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients and a tablespoon of water and mix together.
- Gently stir in the okra and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle with chopped chilli peppers (optional).