Cooked Okra – Goan Ladyfingers Recipe

Sometimes the most simplest ingredients make for the best tasting dishes and this is one of those recipes. My husband and me love this old goan recipe of ladyfingers(Okra, Bhindi) that he willingly makes the trip once’s a week to the Indian stores to buy okra along with Chinese long beans. It is simple vegetarian clean eats unlike Fried Okra 😉 .

Apart from okra the other star ingredient is Kokum( Garcinia Indica) and in portuguese is called Brindão.  Goan’s call it aamsul or binda sul in Konkani. It is a sour fruit mostly used in goan and maharashtrian cooking. Hard to find in the US, I have to get mine when I visit Goa. The one I am using is almost 2 years old. It’s sour and slight fruity smell makes for a great addition to a dish on top of it’s nice reddish black color when soaked in water. It is great for digestions and is used to make an after meal sour drink called Sol Kadi with water, cilantro, green chilli and coconut milk(optional). It was a staple at my engineering hostel(dorm) kitchen. It is more popular in a hindu household. They also make a syrup called Xarope de Brindão

My quick tips to beat the slime 🙂

• Wash the okra and cut and line it on a cookie sheet to dry about 2 hours.
• While cooking mix the okra with the spices gently and then cook on lower medium heat just checking it and not over sauteing or stirring.

Serving Size:  6

Ingredients:

2 lbs of cut okra

1 medium diced onion

1/2 tsp of cumin seeds

4-6 chopped garlic

8-10 kokum

1 chopped jalapeno

1 cup water

salt to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in a pot saute onions, jalapeno and cumin till the onions are soft. Next saute the garlic.

Once done add the kokum, water, salt and cover and simmer the liquid.

Next add the cut okra mix gently, cover and cook for 20 minutes check in-between and just stir once or twice.

You can also add fresh grated coconut 5 minutes before you take it off the heat.

Perfect as a side and tastes even better the next day as the okra absorbs all the flavors. As a Goan I know okra is used in 2 goan dishes. The other is the famous Ladyfinger and Prawn(shrimps)Curry.

   You can also check my version of the popular Indian restaurant Tava Bhindi Masala Fry or Spiced Sauteed Okra recipe here.