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Home » Asian » Indian » Okra Curry | Vendakkai Fry Recipe

Published: Oct 24, 2019 · Modified: Jan 18, 2021 by Sandhya Ramakrishnan · This post may contain affiliate links

Okra Curry | Vendakkai Fry Recipe

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okra curry

A simple Vegan Okra Stir fry / Okra Curry made with garden fresh Okra. This side dish will definitely make you an Okra lover (if you are not one already)!

Okra stir fry in a blur bowl with a wooden spoon in the background

Growing up and to this day, Vendakkai / Okra is one of my favorite vegetables. My favorite has now transformed into family favorite as my boys love okra than any other vegetable.

Lot of people shy away from this vegetable because of its slimy texture, but if we cook it right we can get rid of that texture and achieve a wonderful recipe. This Vendakkai Curry is a simple recipe that we all love.

This okra stir fry recipe is without onions and it goes well with rice and sambhar or rasam. I love this curry with my curd rice too. I make another version of the okra curry with onions and tomatoes as side to roti / chapathi.

Vendakkai curry / poriyal

What is Okra

Okra also known as Vendakkai in Tamil, Bhendi in Hindi and ladies finger as the English name in India is a topical vegetable that grows well in summer.

Ever since we moved to Oklahoma, we have been having an Okra bonanza. They just love the heat here and it yields much more than we have ever grown anywhere else.

Growing our own Okra

We plant around 70 to 80 okra plants every season. It is such a pleasure to be walking to our backyard and picking young tender okras.

We grow enough okra to last us the whole year. We use it in abundance in summer and any extra is promptly frozen to be used in winter months. Okras are very picky vegetable and has to be picked almost every day.

My husband does a great job keeping up with it. If I just have an handful of okra picked certain day, then vendakkai sambhar / Okra sambhar is what it is used in.

One of our other favorite in the Okra Pachadi / Raita that has fried okra pieces in yogurt.

If you are looking to make something different with okra, then I would highly suggest making this Bhendir Sorsori / Okra in mustard paste. It is a recipe from the Assam region and quite different from anything we make.

okra plants in the garden

Ingredients to make Okra Curry

  • Okra – 1 lb or about ½ kg
  • Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder – 1tsp
  • Red chili powder – 1 ½ tsp
  • Dhania Jeera Powder / Coriander - cumin powder (optional) – 1 tsp
  • Asafetida – ¼th tsp
  • Salt – to taste
  • Oil – 3 tbsp
  • Curry leaves – few

Procedure to make Vendakkai Curry

  • Wash the okras and drain them in a colander. It is important to wash the okras before we chop them. If we chop them first and then chop, the sliminess of the vegetable will increase.
  • Now chop it into small circles and keep aside.
Chopping the okra
  • In a non stick pan, heat the oil and once the oil heats up, add all the ingredients except the okra and salt. Let the seasoning fry for about a minute.
  • Now add the okra and salt and mix it well.
Frying the okra with spices
  • Cover the pan with an airtight lid and let it cook on medium high heat for about 3 to 4 mins. Do open the lid once in between and give it a stir. At
    no point add any water to the vegetable. The okras would cook in the steam produced by covering the pan. Adding water will increase the
    sliminess.
  • Once the okras are cooked, leave the pan open and let it fry well. In about 5 - 7 more minutes the okra would have fried well and your curry is now ready. Do stir the curry once or twice in between cooking.
Cooking okra / vendakkai in cast iron pan
  • Serve the vendakkai curry with rice and sambhar or rasam or in my style with curd rice.
Ladies finger curry

How to save / freeze the okra

After leaving India, I became obsessive with this vegetable because of the scarcity of it. We did not get very good okras in the stores here.

So when I do find fresh okras peeking at me in the Indian stores or to extend our summer produce, I freeze the vegetable. Clean the okras and then let it dry completely. Then chop them into desired size and place it a freezer bag and freeze them.

Do not defrost the frozen okras. To use them, directly put it in a hot pan to cook. Defrosting would make the vegetable very slimy.

 If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter

How to make okra fry

Vendakkai Curry / Okra Fry

A simple Vegan Stir fry / Curry made with garden fresh Okra. This side dish will definitely make you an Okra lover (if you are not one already)!
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Vegan
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 People
Calories: 108kcal
Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

  • saute pan
  • Cutting board
  • Knife

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Okra
  • 1 tsp Mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1 ½ tsp Red chili powder
  • 1 tsp Dhania Jeera Powder / Coriander - cumin powder
  • ¼ tsp Asafetida
  • to taste Salt
  • 2 tbsp Oil
  • few Curry leaves

Instructions

  • Wash the okras and drain them in a colander. It is important to wash the okras before we chop them. If we chop them first and then chop, the sliminess of the vegetable will increase.
  • Now chop it into small circles and keep aside.
  • In a non stick pan, heat the oil and once the oil heats up, add all the ingredients except the okra and salt. Let the seasoning fry for about a minute.
  • Now add the okra and salt and mix it well.
  • Cover the pan with an airtight lid and let it cook on medium high heat for about 3 to 4 mins. Do open the lid once in between and give it a stir. At
  • At no point add any water to the vegetable. The okras would cook in the steam produced by covering the pan. Adding water will increase the sliminess
  • Once the okras are cooked, leave the pan open and let it fry well. In about 5 - 7 more minutes the okra would have fried well and your curry is now ready. Do stir the curry once or twice in between cooking.
  • Serve it with rice and sambhar or rasam or in my style with curd rice.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 25mg | Potassium: 359mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1112IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. MJoseph says

    May 17, 2020 at 11:45 am

    5 stars
    Hi Sandhya, does this same recipe work for thawed frozen okra? Thanks

    Reply
    • Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      May 21, 2020 at 10:15 pm

      Absolutely! But don't thaw it. Use frozen okra directly from freezer to the pan after the initial seasoning. Just replace the fresh ones with frozen okra.

      Reply
  2. Amara says

    November 02, 2019 at 9:13 pm

    Okra is our favourite too. It's awesome that you are growing them. Garden to the table...Yumm...

    Reply
  3. Danielle says

    October 31, 2019 at 8:07 pm

    5 stars
    I am already and Okra lover just from looking at these images. Such a yummy and healthy dish - I've got to try it!

    Reply
  4. Harini Rupanagudi says

    October 30, 2019 at 4:14 pm

    Growing okra in your backyard is an invite in itself for me 🙂 How I wish you were my neighbor 🙂 Would love to have this fresh okra fry.

    Reply
  5. Srividhya Gopalakrishnan says

    October 30, 2019 at 3:23 pm

    5 stars
    Growing your own veggie is always great. I usually plant 5 to 6. But I think I should atleast plant 20. Between love the simple curry.

    Reply
  6. Pavani says

    October 29, 2019 at 8:52 pm

    5 stars
    My daughter would eat that whole bowl of okra fry 🙂 I especially buy these for her. Wish I could grow my own okra - love the really fresh ones - so tender and delicious.

    Reply
  7. Leslie says

    October 29, 2019 at 4:12 pm

    Great recipe here! I love the mix of flavors that you used for this! Very appetizing!

    Reply
  8. Leslie says

    October 29, 2019 at 4:10 pm

    I hate to admit, but I still have yet to try Okra. It's not very popular where I'm originally from. But I live in the south now and it's very popular here! This recipe does look very tasty!

    Reply
  9. Vaishali Sabnani says

    October 29, 2019 at 8:40 am

    Bhindi is our favourite too , and growing it in your own backyard - wow ! You are lucky to enjoy the farm fresh veggies .

    Reply
  10. Byron Thomas says

    October 29, 2019 at 5:39 am

    5 stars
    This is a quick and easy recipe which is perfect for a weeknight side dish. I love the addition of the mustard seeds and the chili. I did leave out the cumin, because I'm not a fan of it, but it was still very, very delicious!

    Reply
  11. Srivalli Jetti says

    October 25, 2019 at 2:05 am

    I love bendi fry and your plant looks so lovely Sandhya..

    Reply
  12. Priya R says

    December 04, 2012 at 10:40 am

    simple and delicious veg 🙂 love this with sambar rice yummm!

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      December 04, 2012 at 2:22 pm

      Thanks priya!

      Reply
  13. Ramya Krishnamurthy says

    December 04, 2012 at 2:16 am

    my fav sis.delicious.

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      December 04, 2012 at 4:51 am

      Thanks Ramya!

      Reply
  14. Meena B says

    December 04, 2012 at 8:07 am

    love this okra and whats more u r growing ur own okra
    reminds me of life in village where we had a house long back and had our own backyard to grow plants

    lovely okra dish sandy

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      December 04, 2012 at 2:21 pm

      Thanks Meena Aunty! We grow all our vegetables in our backyard. This way I never have shortage of Indian vegetables and the pleasure we get from gardening is immense 🙂

      Reply
  15. Aruna Manikandan says

    December 04, 2012 at 5:47 am

    Healthy and delicious curry 🙂

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      December 04, 2012 at 2:20 pm

      Thanks Aruna !

      Reply
  16. Amy says

    December 04, 2012 at 4:19 am

    yummy dish...

    Reply
    • My Cooking Journey says

      December 04, 2012 at 4:51 am

      Thanks Amy!

      Reply

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Sandhya

I am Sandhya Ramakrishnan, author, recipe developer and photographer in this journey! 'My Cooking Journey' is all about family friendly Vegetarian and Vegan recipes from around the World with focus on Indian cuisine.

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