Stuffed Okras

Happy New Year Everyone! Hope you all had a great holiday season. Like many people, I am not good at keeping up New year resolutions. They are easy to make, but not easy to keep. I recently read that a study shows that the average time most people stick to their New Year’s Resolution is one month. I am one of them. I have tried and given up now. These days, I tend to make commitments anytime in the year, when I really have the spirit to do it. And my simple solution to keep up with commitments is lowering the bar - I try to set realistic goals, yet demanding goals - something that can still give me a satisfaction of Mission accomplished!

With that being said, I certainly do have some things I would like to get better at in 2012. The first and foremost is "Post more often"! I started my previous year with the same goal and have not been good in keeping up with it :) However this year it is more realistic since I will be done with my school in a few months and certainly looking forward to get back my time to do my favorite things. The second one is "Eat a healthy breakfast". I'm not a breakfast person. Except in the weekends and when I am on vacation, I don't really eat breakfast. Although I've started practicing the habit of eating breakfast since last September, I would like to get regular at it and making it more healthier is this year's goal - probably a step ahead. Hoping to keep up with these two as much as I can.

About this recipe, this recipe is adapted from a cookbook. I made it a while back and tweaked a little bit to suit my taste. Okra is something that I get fresh many times during the week in my local grocery store. If I have the patience, I end up collecting fairly tender ones during my visits, although not always - especially when the store is crowded and 3 people plunging their hands into the box at the sametime to get the Okras. I do not prefer shopping during busy times and hate making my way through the aisles when it is crowded. So, I shop when it is dead. One quiet day, I was lucky to see the store keeper dumping some fresh okras in the box right in front of me and obviously I bought a few pounds. This dish came out so good with those tender okras. Definitely worth a try.

Ingredients:

• Fresh tender Okras - 15 numbers


• Chilli powder - 1 tsp


• Corriander powder - 2 tsp


• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp


• Dry Mango powder - 1/2 tsp


• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp (optional)


• Peanut Powder (finely powdered) - 2 tbsps


• Ginger / Garlic paste - 1 tbsp


• Tomato Ketchup - 1 tsp


• Tomatoes - 1 medium (finely chopped)


• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp


• Olive oil - 2 tbsp


• Corriander leaves - chopped -a handfull


• Salt - as required

Procedure:

• Wash the okras, pat dry with a paper towel. Remove the front and back parts. Set aside.


• Take a large flat pan, preferably non-stick and heat 2 tsp of oil. Add the full okras and give it a quick toss for 2 -3 mins on high heat. Keep stir-frying continuosly until you see a few brown spots on the okras. Remove from heat and cool for 5 mins.


• Meanwhile to prepare the stuffing, mix all the spice powders above with tomato ketchup and salt to a smooth paste. You can add a few drops of water if needed. The paste should be thick and should stay intact within the okras when stuffed.


• Slit the Okras in the middle, but not fully. Take a okra, fill it with the paste, tightly close it and wipe off the extra paste outside. You can use a small flat dinner knife if that helps.


• Repeat this for all okras and set aside.


• Heat the remaining oil in the pan, season with cumin seeds. Once they splutter, add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a min. Then add chopped tomatoes and fry until they become a paste.


• Add the stuffed okras and add the remaining stuffing, if any. Give it a good slow stir and and spread the okras individually throughout the pan.


• Cook in low heat until the okras are fully cooked. Takes about 20 mins. Keep stirring often every few mins. When done, season with Corriander leaves.

You now have another great side dish for rotis!