Vendaikkai fry

Vendaikkai (Okra) fry is the simplest yet very delicious recipe to make. Every single kid that I know loves okra fry and without a question, my daughter is one among them. In India, parents & elders have a practice to connect okra & mathematics together (the more you eat okra, better your maths will be), though I don't know if it's for real :-). Or was it just a way to get kids eat more vegetable? Anyways, I have always loved this vegetable and never had a problem with it.

Ingredients:
Cut Okra - 2 cups
Sambar powder / Chilli powder - 1 tsp (or more depending on your spice level)
Hing - 2-3 pinches
Oil - 1-2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Split urid dal - 1/4 tsp

Method
Heat oil in a pan, and add cut okra to it. Add sambar powder (for okra fry, I prefer sambar powder), hing, salt and mix them gently. Let it cook on medium heat until how much fried you want them to be and remove from heat. Stir them gently every now and then so as to not burn them.

Splutter mustard seeds & roast split urid dal in little oil and add it to the curry. Serve it hot as a side for sambar rice / rasam rice.

Tips:

• Okra tends to get sticky & gooey in heat, so take care while stirring.
• Alternatively, you can choose to microwave okra for 8- 10 mins (before starting to cook on heat) to get rid of the stickiness (about 50 - 60%).
• Never add water to cook okra - it tends to make the curry mushy.
• Okra fry tastes yum with curd rice.