Bhindi Masala Recipe: Okra Curry With Frozen Okra

Bhindi masala is okra (bhindi, or ladies' fingers) cooked with onion, tomato, garlic, ginger and ground spices until the masala clings to the pods: a fairly dry okra curry rather than a saucy one. This bhindi masala recipe serves 4 as a side dish and starts from frozen okra, seared in a hot, wide pan so that it browns rather than stews. Allow about 50 minutes.

What is bhindi masala?

Bhindi is the Hindi word for okra. The Oxford Learner's Dictionaries give "ladies' fingers" as its British English name and "bhindi" as the Indian English one, and Britannica notes that in traditional Indian cookery spice mixtures are called masala: bhindi masala is simply spiced okra. Saveur's version, from a roadside dhaba in northern India, is crisp-fried okra with garam masala, coriander, chillies and onions, while Maryam Jillani's Pakistani one folds pan-fried okra into a tomato and onion base. For the Middle Eastern way with okra, simmered whole in a garlicky tomato sauce, see our bamia recipe.

Which frozen okra to use

Our frozen Indian vegetables range has whole and cut okra from Taj and Armaan, singly or in packs of 2 or 4, and our Taj whole and Armaan pages suggest them for bhindi masala. All four pages say the okra "Contains none of the 14 major allergens".

Whole pods hold their shape, and the Oxford Companion to Food notes that cooks take care "not to break the pods and thus release the mucilaginous substance within". With cut okra the pods are already open, so expect a softer, clingier finish. You need 600g: two 300g bags, or weigh it from a bigger bag, then reseal the rest and keep it frozen.

Bhindi masala recipe (serves 4)

Prep: 10 minutes. Cook: about 40 minutes. Total: about 50 minutes. It serves 4 as a side dish, or 2–3 as a main with dal and bread.

Ingredients

• Okra: 600g frozen okra, whole baby or cut (two 300g bags).
• Oil: 3 tablespoons of vegetable or sunflower oil.
• Base: 2 medium onions (about 250g), thinly sliced; 1 Taj Garlic and Ginger Paste cube (about 10g each of garlic and ginger), or 2 garlic cloves and 2cm of ginger, grated; and 2 medium tomatoes (about 250g), chopped.
• Spices: 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, 2 teaspoons of ground coriander, ½ teaspoon of turmeric, ½ teaspoon of hot chilli powder (or to taste) and 1 teaspoon of garam masala.
• To finish: about 1 teaspoon of salt, the juice of ½ lemon (about 1 tablespoon) and chopped fresh coriander (optional).

Method

1. Check the okra pack. Our okra pages say: "Follow the cooking and defrosting instructions on the pack." Taj's product information for its whole baby okra says "For best results cook frozen", as this recipe does. If your pack says to thaw first, thaw the okra and pat it dry.
2. Sear the okra. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in your widest frying pan or wok over a high heat. Carefully add one bag of frozen okra in a single layer (it will spit) and cook for about 7–10 minutes, turning it every minute or two, until the liquid has gone and the edges are browning.
3. Sear the second bag. Tip the okra onto a plate and sear the second bag in another tablespoon of oil, or cook all 600g at once if it fits in one layer. Don't salt the okra yet.
4. Soften the onions. Turn the heat to medium, add the last of the oil and the onions, and cook, stirring now and then, for 8–10 minutes, until soft and golden.
5. Add the garlic, ginger and spices. Stir in the garlic and ginger cube from frozen for 1–2 minutes, until it has melted and no longer smells raw. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli for 30 seconds, with a splash of water if they start to catch.
6. Cook the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook, stirring now and then, for 5–7 minutes, until they break down into a thick masala and the oil starts to separate.
7. Fold in the okra. Return the okra to the pan and fold it gently through the masala. Sprinkle over the garam masala and cook over a low to medium heat for 3–5 minutes, until the okra is coated and steaming hot all the way through.
8. Finish with lemon. Take the pan off the heat and gently stir in the lemon juice. Add more salt or lemon to taste, scatter over the coriander and serve.

Allergens: Taj okra may contain wheat (gluten), milk, nuts, peanuts, sesame and soya, and the Taj garlic and ginger cubes may contain celery and peanuts. For Armaan okra, check the pack label. Greenfields lists none of the 14 major allergens in its turmeric but says some of its blends are made in a facility that also handles sesame, mustard and celery. Check every label, including your garam masala's.

How to cook frozen okra so it's less slimy

Check the pack first, because brands differ: Taj's product information for its whole baby okra says "For best results cook frozen", but one UK brand we checked says to thaw and drain its okra before frying, to prevent oil splatter. Some silkiness is normal, but you can keep it in check:

• Use a hot, wide pan and don't crowd it. In her bhindi masala on SBS Food, Maryam Jillani fries the okra over a high heat until it "stops being sticky", in batches so as not to crowd the pan. Another UK brand stir-fries its whole baby okra from frozen for 7–10 minutes, and Nik Sharma warns that frozen okra releases much more moisture than fresh.
• Stir gently and salt late. Turn the okra only every minute or two, and fold rather than stir. Nik Sharma holds back the salt because "Salt pulls water from the okra".
• Add acid late. Chris Smith, author of The Whole Okra, writes in Saveur that acid such as tomatoes, lemon juice or vinegar gives a less slimy dish, and Nik Sharma says his lemon or amchur at the end helps neutralise any residual stickiness.
• Don't overcook it. "The longer you cook it, the slimier it gets," says the University of Rhode Island's okra guide.

Short of time? Taj's own bhindi masala method cooks the okra in the finished masala for about 10 minutes. Follow steps 1 and 4–6, then add the okra and cook it for about 10 minutes, stirring gently, until tender and steaming hot, adding the garam masala near the end; finish as in step 8. Expect a softer, saucier result.

The masala, and lemon instead of amchur

The spices are the single-spice base our guide to Indian spice blends suggests in place of curry powder: cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli with the onions, then garam masala near the end (see what garam masala is). Garam masala is aromatic and warming rather than chilli-hot, so the heat comes from the chilli powder: ours is hot, so start with ½ teaspoon and add more to taste.

Nik Sharma finishes his bhindi masala with amchur, which the Oxford Companion describes as dried unripe mango from northern India, used "as a souring agent for curries, including certain vegetable curries". We don't sell amchur, so this recipe uses lemon juice, which Nik Sharma suggests adding off the heat at the end in its place. If you have amchur, sprinkle a little over at the end instead.

What to serve with bhindi masala

Christine Manfield calls a dry vegetable dish like this "an ideal accompaniment to dal", and Shehar Bano Rizvi serves her okra masala "with daal and chapati or boiled rice". Try our tarka dal with chapati or a flaky paratha (our guide to cooking frozen paratha has the pan method), or make a spread with our chana masala and plain rice.

How to store, freeze and reheat bhindi masala

• Fridge: cool leftovers, get them into the fridge within one to two hours and eat them within 2 days, as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) advises.
• Freezer: cool it, divide it into smaller portions and label it, as the FSA advises.
• Defrost and reheat: defrost it in the fridge, use it within 24 hours and reheat it once only, stirring, until steaming hot all the way through.

Frequently asked questions

What is bhindi in English?

Bhindi is the Hindi word for okra, the long green seed pods of a plant of the mallow family. In Britain okra is also called ladies' fingers, and in North America gumbo, as the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries note. Bhindi masala is okra cooked with onion, tomato and spices.

Do you need to defrost frozen okra?

Check the pack first: our okra pages say "Follow the cooking and defrosting instructions on the pack." Taj's product information for its whole baby okra says "For best results cook frozen", as this recipe does. Keep okra frozen at -18°C and don't refreeze it once thawed: the FSA says you can't refreeze food once it's been defrosted.

Can I use fresh okra for bhindi masala?

Yes. The University of Rhode Island's okra guide says smaller pods are less slimy, and that you should dry the pods well after washing them. Trim the stalk ends, leave small pods whole or cut them into 2cm lengths, as Madhur Jaffrey does, and sear them in batches as in steps 2 and 3.

Can you freeze bhindi masala?

Yes, even though it is made with frozen okra: the FSA says you can freeze food again once cooked, but you'll only be able to reheat it once after that. Cool, portion and label it; defrost it in the fridge, use it within 24 hours and reheat it, stirring, until steaming hot all the way through.