It cannot get any simpler than this. Enjoy the flavour of the vegetable without any masalas.
Ingredients:
250 gms Bhindi
1 Potato or equivalent sweet potatoes
½ tsp Jeera or cumin seeds
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
Steps:
- Wash the bhindis, pat them dry. That's important, so that the veg. does not turn gooey and slimy. Cut them into ½ inch pieces. Cut the potatoes/sweet potato to the same size.
- Take a thick bottomed pan. Heat 2 tbsp of oil.
- Put in the Jeera. Immediately put in the potato/ sweet potato as well. Cook covered till half done.
(You can sprinkle some water in between if you find the food is going to burn).
- Now put in the bhindi. Saute uncovered for some time. Add salt. Now cover till fully done.
- And that's it! It's ready to eat.
- Important: Remember to do the cooking on a slow flame since this is a dry preparation.
Back home in Imphal, I grew up eating bhindi cooked like a stew, flavoured with dry fish. It always had gravy , and it was only much later that I learnt that bhindi could be cooked dry the Indian way. It was a friend who showed me that you could cook bhindi just with some jeera, or with some garlic,or both. So simple, retaining the flavour of the vegetable. If you like things spicy, you could always add some green chillies to the dish. I like eating rice with a simple moong dal tempered with jeera in desi ghee and this dry bhindi, simply sattvic, simply vegan.
Bhindi is said to be a very good food for diabetics. It has a low glycemic index.The soluble fiber pectin in it is said to lower bad cholesterol. Some recommend that you should soak 3 or 4 slit bhindi in water overnight in a glass of water and drink it early next morning.
I find that this is one vegetable most children love. So cook it, and eat it, and stay healthy.
Bhindi Flower
