Bendekai Gojju | Tamarind-Based Okra Gravy
Quick and easy bendekai gojju, not-so-spicy tamarind-based okra, and shallots gravy with a tiny hint of sweetness! A perfect rice accompaniment!
Servings: 4
Calories: 125kcal
Equipment
- Clay pot or sauce pot
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- 5 okra 75 grams, edges trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- 5 shallots 25 grams, peeled and cut into half
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp toor dal
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- 1 green chili slit
- 5 curry leaves
- 2 tsp tamarind paste
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 15 grams jaggery
- 1.5 tbsp sambar powder
- 2 cups water divided
- 1.75 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp rice flour
Instructions
- Heat a saucepan or kadai. I used my clay pot. Add the sesame oil. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, toor dal, and asafoetida when the oil is hot. Let the mustard seeds splutter, and mustard seeds turn color. Add the curry leaves, chopped shallots, and okra. Saute until the shallots turn soft.
- Mix 2 tsp of tamarind paste with 1 cup of water. Add the ground turmeric, and salt too and mix well. Now add this to the okra and shallots.
- Bring this mixture to a boil.
- Parallelly, mix the sambar powder with ½ cup of water without lumps. Add this to the gojju and the jaggery too.
- Simmer this mixture for 5 to 7 minutes.
- At this stage, add the rice flour slurry (mix rice flour with ½ cup water) simmer it for 3 to 4 minutes. The rice flour mix helps the gojju to thicken a bit.
- Finally, add the ¼ tsp of fenugreek and turmeric powder, simmer for 2 minutes, and turn off the heat. Serve hot with rice or with ven pongal.
Notes
- Adjust the salt and spices to taste.
- I won't recommend skipping green chilies and toor dal. They both enhance the flavor for sure.
- If you can't source curry leaves, skip it—no need to add cilantro.
- You can add a mix of sambar powder and rasam powder instead of sambar powder alone.
- Shallots are optional. Instead of shallots, you can add ¼ cup of chopped red or yellow onions.
Nutrition
Calories: 125kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 1067mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 158IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg