Besan Bhindi / Bharvan Besan Bhindi / Stuffed Okras (Okras stuffed with bengal gram flour)

We all love okras, generally it is stir fried in oil. Besan bhindi or bharvan besan bhindi is palatable, appetizing curry. Filled with roasted bengal gram flour in onions and tamarind paste in dry masalas. The filling is stuffed in the slits, fried and cooked in oil. Stuffed okras / Besan Bhindi / Bharvan Besan Bhindi goes well with phulkas and parathas.

Besan Bhindi / Bharvan Besan Bhindi / Stuffed Okras (Okras stuffed with bengal gram flour)

Category- Vegetarian

Ingredients

Okras / lady finger (bhindi) 150 Gms, stalk and end removed, slit from the centre

For Stuffing

Bengal gram flour (besan) 1 ½ cup

Onion 2 large, finely chopped

Green chillies finely chopped 2 tbsp

Red chilli powder (lal mirch powder) 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Dried mango powder (amchoor) 2 tsp (dried mango powder can be replaced with 2 tbsp of tamarind pulp, if desired)

Coriander powder (dhania powder) 1 tsp

Turmeric powder (haldi) ½ tsp

Garlic cloves 4-5, peeled and finely chopped

Asafetida (heeng) ¼ tsp

Cumin seeds (jeera) ¼ tsp

Mustard seeds (rai) ¼ tsp

Sugar 1 pinch

Oil for cooking

Method

Stuffing Preparation-

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in pan; add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and asafetida. Let it sputter, add in chopped garlic, onions, green chillies, sauté till the onions turn pink, add in gram flour, sauté for one minute.

Add in all the dry masalas, keep stirring till the ingredients get mixed well and the rawness of Bengal gram flour disappears.

Let this stuffing cool for a while. Once the stuffing cools fill it in slits of the okras / lady finger (bhindi) and keep aside.

Curry Preparation-

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in shallow pan gently place the stuffed capsicum, cook evenly on all sides, over sim. Keep turning gently so that the stuffing doesn’t come out. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of Bengal gram flour (besan) on top, sauté for 2 minutes, stuffed okras are ready.