Oxymoron Okra

Oxymoron Okra - Kurkuri Bhindi

The okra is such a perplexing paradox

Popular with some, yet staunchly heterodox

A vege many abhor, more certainly adore

Slimy and glib but can surely jab you sore

Stewed in a panchamrut or in a gumbo sticky

Gets lynched with stone in “bhendi chi chutney”

Hot and spicy and exotic in a masala Punjabi

Dried to last a year in dahi sour and spicy

While milk and mash “Doodh-bhat-bhendichi bhaji”

Makes the ultimate insult for a milksop in Marathi

Battered crisp with cornmeal, Kentucky fries trendy

Or baked, dredged in besan as kurkuri bhindi.

The oxymoron okra, is indeed such a paradox…

I must thank Deepa Sasan-Bagal for this idea...

Kurkuri Bhindi

Ingredients

15-20 okra or bhindi

1 tbsp besan

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

½ tsp ajwain powder

¾ tsp red chilli powder

A pinch of haldi

A pinch of hing

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp water, or a little more to make a paste

Salt to taste

Method

Wash and dry the bhindi thoroughly. Trim the tips and cut them into thin slivers.

In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients into a paste. Mix the bhindi into the paste and toss it to coat.

Line a baking tray with parchment and spread the bhindi evenly and thinly.

Preheat the oven to 200 C and bake the bhindis till crisp.

I baked the bhindis for around 30 minutes and then turned the heat down to 180 for another 10 minutes.