Vendakkai Mandi ~ Chettinad Style Okra Gravy Recipe

Serves: 4 persons

{Recipe Reference: Nirupama Sundar, a reader of mine}

Ingredients:

Okra : 12
Mandi : 1 cup (mandi is the water which is used to wash the rice. After a first wash of raw rice, take out the second washed water to make this recipe)
Shallots / Pearl Onions: 6
Tomato : 1 big sized
Green Chillies: 3 – 4
Dried Red Chilli : 1
Garlic: 4 cloves
Tamarind : Small gooseberry sized ball
Powdered Jaggery : 1 tsp or to taste
Turmeric Powder: ¼ tsp
Mustard Seeds: ½ tsp
Fennel Seeds: ¼ tsp
Fenugreek Seeds: ¼ tsp
Curry Leaves: 1 sprig
Sesame Oil: 2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak
the tamarind in water and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a vessel, add the
mustard seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds and let them splutter.

3. Add the broken red chilli and curry leaves and fry for a couple of
seconds.

4. Now add the garlic and shallots to it and saute for a while. Add the chopped tomato and fry for a minute.

5. Then add the chopped okra, slit green chillies and turmeric powder and fry for a minute.

6. Now
add tha mandi (rice washed rice) and cover with a lid. Let it cook on a
low flame.

7.When the okra pieces are half cooked, add the tamarind
extract and let it cook completely.

8. Add the salt and powdered jaggery
and cook for another couple of minutes. Switch off the flame and serve
with rice.