I first had Kurkuri Bhindi many, many years ago during a conference at the Taj Coromandel in Chennai. I instantly fell in love with this spicy, crispy okra dish. However, I never got around to trying it because I thought it used a lot of oil.
A couple of weeks ago, while I was in Vienna, I stayed with Kartik and Himani, and saw Himani make a delicious low calorie version of this dish.
This is Himani’s recipe that I am reproducing here. More importantly, it is her technique for achieving the same crispiness using very little oil. I love to eat Kurkuri Bhindi with Dal Fry and Jeera Rice or Moong Dal Khichadi. You can eat it it with roti as well, but that combination can feel a bit dry.
Serves: 4
Time: 45 Mins
Ingredients
- Bhindi or Okra – 250 gms
- Besan – 3 tbsp
- Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
- Amchur Powder – 1/2 tsp
- Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
- Chat Masala – 1 tsp
- Salt – To Taste
- Oil – 2 to 3 tbsp
Method
- Cut the ends of the bhindi.
- Cut each bhindi in half along the length.
- Cut each half into thin long strips.
- Set aside.
- Combine besan, chilli powder, amchur powder, turmeric, and salt.
- Mix well.
- Add the bhindi strips and mix till the bhindi strips are coated in the besan-spice mix.
- Set aside for 10 mins.
- In a wide saucepan (mine is 8″ in diameter), heat 1 tbsp oil.
- Swirl the saucepan around so that the surface is evenly coated with oil.
- Spread half the bhindi strips evenly across the surface.
- Over low to medium heat, let the bhindi strips saute in the oil.
- Keep turning the bhindi strips over every few minutes so that they are evenly fried and are crisp.
- Remove the fried bhindi strips onto a platter and let cool slightly.
- Repeat the process with the remaining bhindi strips.
- Sprinkle some chat masala on the kurkuri bhindi.
- Mix well.
- Serve immediately or store the kurkuri bhindi in an air-tight container till you are ready to eat them.
Tips
- I omitted the chat masala as I found that the amchur lent enough tanginess.
- Be careful about the amount of salt you use because amchur lends significant saltiness as well.
Nice and crispy, I thought that it would take up lots of oil as you mentioned, but this looks cool 🙂
I love crispy okra. Low-fat is always good!
I love fried okra. My Grandmother made it breaded in cornmeal and fried with only a little oil, they were crisp and delicious. I will have to try cutting into strips and using chick pea flour and spicing. Sounds wonderful.
Bhindi is my daughter’s fav… she likes it in all forms. We had crisp bhindi in a buffet once, she has been a fan since. Great simple recipe Aruna. Thank you.
Looks so good – I haven’t made kurkuri bhindi in forever!
Crispy okra cry looks delicious
Looks nice and crunchy 🙂
Yum!!! Yes please 🙂
I love bhindi anytime, and your sound and look delish!!
This is a cool recipe! Travelling and getting to know what others cook is a great way to explore the culinary world. You are lucky to taste this dish and try it out in your kitchen. Looks yummy and the name suggests its texture.
I am forever grateful for a life that helps me travel the world; seeing and experiencing new things. 🙂
Ah, you’ve just reminded me that it’s been too long since I experimented with Okra… will definitely try it soonest.
I’ve never had okra before, but this is making my mouth water!
This year I have a bigger crop of okra than ever and the plants are enormous, so very soon I am going to have a load of the stuff (we called them lady fingers in India). Thanks for a very timely and useful recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
This looks like such a flavourful dish Aruna and I love that you’ve discovered a way to cook this okra (that you’ve been craving for so long) in a more healthy way! Perfect to bring along to FF#27 this week – thanks so much for sharing! Cheers, Margot
Thank you, Margot!
Crisy Bhindi’s…..Love it….
I loooove bhindis. And if it is crispy, im sure it will be super awesome. 🙂
Okra is such a lovely vegetable but one that I often forget about for a long time. Thank you for inspiring me to cook it again. Happy FF
I love this Aruna! Thanks for the low fat version. Am so making it. I guess I might add a bit of rice flour too for extra crispness :). Yay :).
Nice idea, Sonal, to add rice flour. Will try it the next time around. 🙂
I got some bhindi yesterday. This is on my list for tomorrow :).
Crispy okra sounds delicious! I love that this is a low fat recipe, as I don’t tend to make deep fried things. Thank you for sharing this great recipe with Fiesta Friday, I can see everyone loves it! I hope you are enjoying the party!
wow, georgeous healthy snacks,
i love okra in fish head curry and i’m gonna love this okra chips
Hiii.. Congratulations.,I have nominated you for “I Am part of the WordPress Family Award”:D!!
Please do collect it at
My fave dish! 🙂 yum
Interesting the use of besan. I tried using it in the stuffing but it didn’t work out too well. This method seems better.
Hmm, a very simple and easy dish, yet so flavorful. 🙂 Thanks for introducing this to me. I hope you have an amazing week.
I also wanted to cook the Low fat version kurkuri bhindi.
As I am following your blog and got the mail in my inbox about this.
My problem was solved. Now I cooked it and it really tasted yum 🙂
Thanks Aruna 🙂
I am glad you liked it …. 🙂
Glad to be of help! Let me know how it turns out. I will be waiting to hear from you. 🙂
Hi , I will definitely try this delicious item .