Vendakkai Kaara Kuzhambu (Okra in Spicy Sauce)

Lady Fingers or Okra as they are called are one of the favorite vegetables in our house, cooked usually as a stir fry like in this recipe here, and tend to vanish very quickly. I hesitate just a teeny weeny bit to cook them as Kuzhambus because of the slime, the longer they have been sitting in the refrigerator the slimier the Kuzhambu tends to become. If the slime can be taken dealt with, they taste excellent when cooked as Puzhi Kuzhambu or Kara Kuzhambu. To keep the slime at bay wash the okras and dry out the moisture before chopping and roast separately till they start to turn color and blackened on the edges. This Spicy Kara Kuzhambu is best eaten with rice and some dal.

Originally Posted : 6/25/07 9:53 PM

This is a recipe that I go back to every time I get some fresh okra. Like I mentioned in the first paragraph I save making this only when there are fresh okras which I seem to have plenty of these days. The recipe itself is fool proof so I won't tinker with it much. The channa dal tends to thicken the curry a little so if you want to swap it out for coconut, by all means.

Vendakkai Kaara Kuzhambu
Preparation Time:20 minutes
Cooking Time:20 minutes
Ingredients
1. 1/2 lb Okras cleaned and cut into ¾ inch pieces
2. 1/4 Medium Sized Red Onion Chopped
3. 3 Garlic pods chopped
4. 1/4 cup tamarind pulp (soak the tamarind in water and extract pulp)
5. seasonings - split urad dal , methi seeds, cumin seeds and mustard seeds
6. salt to taste
7. 3 tsp of oil
8. 1/2 tsp of jaggery or palm sugar

Paste
1. 1/4 Red Onion chopped roughly
2. 2 tbsp Corriander seeds
3. 2 tsp Cumin Seeds
4. 1 tsp pepper corns
5. 2 Red Chillies
6. 1 tbsp of channa dal (kadalai paruppu) [can use coconut instead]

Roast 2-6 in a little bit of oil, remove and add the onions and saute till translucent. Blend to a smooth paste.

Method
1. In a pan add a little bit of oil and add the okra pieces and saute till they start to turn slight brown/black around the edges. Set aside.
2. Add a little bit more oil, when hot add the urad dal, methi seeds, curry leaves and mustard and when the mustard seeds start to pop add
3. the onion and saute till translucent, add the garlic pieces and saute for a few minutes
4. now add the sauteed okra pieces and saute for a few more minutes.
5. Now add the blended paste, enough water, salt
6. Cook for 3-4 minutes
7. Add the tamarind pulp and cook till the required consistency is reached.
8. Add the sugar when ready to turn off the heat.

Serve with rice.