Rajasthani Bharwan Bhindi (Stuffed Okra)

I have eaten and relished this dish on several occasions, but tried it out for the first time last week. Turned out to be very simple and pretty good.

Without further ado, here is the recipe:

What you'll need:
Fresh Okra - 1Kg
Besan (Roasted black-chickpea flour) - 3Tbsp
Oil - 3Tbsp + 2Tbsp
Kalongi (Onion Seeds) - 1tsp + 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp (or more depending how spicy you want it)
Coriander Seed Powder - 4 tsp
Amchoor (Dry Mango Powder) - 1 tsp
Saunf Powder (Fennel Seed powder) - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

And here's how you make it:
- Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan, when hot (not smoking), add onion seeds, and then the besan. Continue stirring until the besan is fragrant and changes color. Add the rest of the spices (chili powder, coriander powder, amchoor, saunf, salt) and stir well and roast for a minute more. - This roasted goodness will be the stuffing.
- While the stuffing cools, snip off ends of Okra. Slit the Okra (not into two pieces, just a slit so you can stuff it).
- Now stuff each okra making sure that the stuffing is divided as evenly as possible amongst the Okra.
- Heat a pan, add 2 tbsp of oil, add 1 tsp of onion seeds and all the stuffed Okra.
- Toss well so that all okra pieces are coated with oil.
- Cover the pan and lower heat (I lower it to 2-3). Let the Okra cook for about 10 mins. Stir occasionally.
- Check if the Okra is soft - it should be cooked by now. If not, cook longer until soft and cooked.
- Once cooked, uncover pan, and let Okra roast on low heat. stir occasionally to ensure all side get crisp.

- Thats about it. The longer you roast, the crispier it gets.

Enjoy. Do let me know how it turned out if you try it.

Asparagus Stir-Fry

This is the only recipe I have tried whose only main ingredient is Asparagus and I love it. I am not sure what I would pair it with since I always finish it by munching away. 

This is based off of a Tarla Dalal recipe

Asparagus -1 bunch

sesame seeds - 2 tbsp

corn flour - 2 tsp

water - 1/2 cup

grated ginger - 2 tsp

minced garlic/ garlic powder - 1 -2 tsp

soy sauce - 1 tsp

sesame oil - 1 tbsp

salt - to taste

Cut the asparagus into 2 inch long pieces. If chopping is hard (meaning there is resistance) discard those pieces. It usually happens with the end-pieces which are too fibrous to chew on.

Toast the sesame seeds in a pan. Add the sesame oil and ginger and garlic followed by the cut asparagus. Saute for a few minutes before adding the corn flour dissolved in half a cup of water. Stir vigorously as the corn flour-water mixture boils so that it coats all the asparagus pieces. This helps the sesame seeds to also be coated on the asparagus. Soon the water evaporates and it is now time to add soy sauce and salt. Adjust salt according to the saltiness of soy sauce. The dish is ready to be served.

A word on Soy Sauce:

Soy sauce is an item worth buying from a health food store after a careful look at the ingredients. The most common ones have more corn syrup and other yuck than there is soybeans in it posing health risks. The one I have has only 4 or 5 ingredients - water soya bean, wheat etc and is pretty good.