Bhindi Moshla with Roasted Okra

Bhindi or Okra is one of my favorite veggies. Surprisingly, I don't cook it that often. Last weekend when I finally got some okra, I wanted to do a simple Bengali "Dharosh Aloo Charchari", a dry potato-okra sabzi with a tempering of paanch phoron and barely any other spice. But then I saw this recipe of roasted okra and thought -- "Why Not?". So then I mixed both ideas, first roasting the okra and then doing the paanch phoron tadka and cooking with potatoes. The result was lovely as anticipated.

Since, I was anyway deviating from the norm, I also used Anjali's( who blogs at Anna ParaBrahma) Koli Masala(given to me by lovely Manisha of IFR), in this dish. I have been meaning to use it with fish but then I just put a bit of that gorgeous masala in the bhindi and the flavor was amazing.  For this particular dish, you can use any other spice you like too. Cumin or Coriander powder would be a natural choice.

You guys might be thinking, that I forgot about the giveaway. But I do remember. Winner of Monica Bhide's book is Mausumi Ray. Her comment was -- "My favorite spice is actually a combination of spices that is paach foron. I use it in my Musur daal, kumro chhokka, shak bhaja, achari murgh, chutney and in many more dishes. :-)". Mausumi, look out for an e-mail and please respond.

And wait, wait, after many moons and seasons, I have again updated the Kid's Page. Even if I don't post recipes there that often, I will be posting projects that the kids do or about the books they read. So keep checking. This time it is a 3D-earth layer model project.

Bhindi Moshla with Roasted Okra

Rinse and pat dry okra/bhindi/dharosh. I had about 12-14 of them.

Trim away the tips and the stem ends. Then slice each okra in two along the length, so that they split open.
If the okra is really tender and you prefer to keep it whole, do so.

Put all of the sliced okras in a large bowl.

Toss them with
2 tsp of Olive oil
1/4th tsp of Amchoor/Dry Mango powder
1/2 tsp of Bhaja Moshla
1/2 tsp of Koli masala
Note: The spices are your choice. You pick any two that you think would go in this dish. Get creative.
I picked Koli Masala because I had some great smelling home-made masala by blogger friend Anjali Koli and given to me by dear Manisha.


Next take a large-ish potato.
Rinse and pat dry.
Peel and chop in thick, long, fry like pieces.

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lift the okra and place on the sheet in a single layer.

Bake for about 20-25 mins. Timing might vary. You will see okra will be tender and lightly brown.

Now heat about 2 tsp of Olive oil in a frying pan. Go with Mustard Oil for sharper flavor.

Temper the oil with 1/2 tsp PaanchPhoron and 2 dry Red Chillies

When the spices pop, add quarter of an onion chopped in thin long slices

Saute until onion is soft and translucent

Add the potatoes. Sprinkle some turmeric, 1/2 tsp of Kashmiri Mirch and saute the potatoes. Cover and let the potatoes cook.

Once potatoes are done, put in the roasted okra and toss. Add salt to taste.

Cook for a couple of minutes.

Serve with roti for best taste. Or eat just like that.