Roasted Okra In Spiced Yogurt Sauce

Roasted Okra In Yogurt Sauce | Vendakkai Mor Kuzhambu Is Mildly Spiced Curry. Roasted Okra Is Mixed With Spiced Yogurt Sauce And Finally Tempered With Spices In Coconut Oil. Not Much Cooking Is Required To Make This Curry. It is Very Cooling And Refreshing Curry, Perfect with Rice And Roti.

Generally I make this Mor Kuzhambu often, during summer months when it is very hot. Roast and ground spices added to the yogurt sauce and tempering done is coconut oil makes it extra special. Each time I use different vegetable instead of using okra, to make this same curry (see below for vegetable variations). When my mom make this curry , she also prepares Vada ( savoury fried snack ), she soaks the fried vada in this yogurt sauce and it tastes soo good. Because curry is not spicy, this is a Kid friendly dish too . Also very less cooking time, roasting the okras and tempering is the only cooking time.

Benefits Of Okra , Yogurt And Turmeric

Okra is low in calories, with almost no fat. It’s also loaded with vitamin C, vitamin A, and zinc. But perhaps its biggest benefit, especially for people who have diabetes, due to its high amount of fiber. It’s better to get your fiber through food, rather than supplements.

Drinking “okra water” (cutting up pieces of okra, setting it in water overnight, and drinking it in the morning) can help people with diabetes lower their blood sugar.

Yogurt eaters will get a dose of animal protein (about 9 grams per 6-ounce serving). Yogurt is “probiotics.” Probiotics are “friendly bacteria” that are naturally present in the digestive system. Probiotics can help boost the immune system and promote a healthy digestive tract.

Turmeric – A tablespoon of ground turmeric offers nearly a gram of protein, 2 grams of fiber and 6 grams of carbohydrates. Turmeric also contains magical nutrients – to keep you strong and healthy.

Tips To Grow Okra 

Okra is a plant that grows fast in warm weather, wait until there is stable, warm weather. You can plant okra in the garden when the soil has warmed to about 65° or 70°F—the warmer, the better. As a warm-weather crop, okra needs full sun. It is adaptable and will grow in most soils. When Planting okra seeds, plant about ½ to 1 inch deep and 12 to 18 inches apart in a row. You can soak the seeds overnight in slightly warm water to help speed up germination. Plants grown tall, so space out the rows 3 to 4 feet apart. Keep the plants well watered throughout the summer months; 1 inch of water per week is ideal, but use more water if you are in a extreme hot climate.

The first harvest will be ready about 2 months after planting. Harvest the okra when it’s about 2 to 3 inches long. Harvest it every other day. The early growth of okra is often slow, but the plants grow much faster once summer starts . In addition to gaining height, okra’s leaves get bigger as the plants grow and begin producing yellow blossoms followed by tender pods. Keep cutting the pods every day or two, and they will keep on coming. Picture below is the okra plant from my home garden.

Tips to grow Radish, a common garden crop , check out in this post Tips to grow Radish

How To Pick Store Brought Okra

When you head out to pick up some fresh okra, look for bright green fruit pods that are less than 4 inches long, free from bruising, and firm to the touch. (Picture below is okras harvested from my home garden).

Other Vegetable Variations To Okra

White Pumpkin , drumstick ,Brinjal or Potatoes can be cooked first and then add it to the spiced yogurt sauce. You could use more than one vegetable in this curry.

Which Curd Is Best For This Curry?

Generally Sour Curd / Sour Yogurt is used to make this curry (How to make Sour curd – keeping it out for a longer time after the curd has set can turn the yogurt sour,  Also, left over curd can be turned sour by keeping it longer time in the refrigerator or outside the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours can make the curd sour).

But I usually make it with fresh plain yogurt / curd only , I do not wait until it gets sour , make homemade yogurt with the fresh yogurt cultures. Using Fresh Yogurt in the curry, still tastes delicious.

Storing And Reheating Instructions

Refrigerate any leftover in a clean air tight container. Use within a day or two. When reheating prefer to bring the curry to room temperature and then microwave covered for one or two minutes, not more than that.

Other Indian Cuisine Curry ,  Every recipe is explained with step by step pictures,

• Instant Pot Vegetable Kurma
• Ennai Kathirikai Kuzhambu | Brinjal Curry

Step By Step Picture Of How To Make Roasted Okra In Spiced Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients required for Shallow Frying The Okra – Okra , coconut oil

For Base Yogurt Sauce –  yogurt, salt , turmeric and water.

Roast and grind spices – coconut oil , cooking rice, chana dal, jeera , chopped fresh ginger , green whole chilies, fresh grated coconut and water.

For tempering – coconut oil, dry whole red chilies , curry leaves , mustard seeds, Hing , urad dal and water.

Prepare The Base Yogurt Sauce

Take a wide bowl, add ingredients under making the base yogurt sauce except water – firstly add yogurt , turmeric , salt and whisk well without lumps to a smooth consistency , then add water, mix well, set aside.

Shallow Fry The Okra

Buy small sized okras for best taste, wash and cut them into 1/2 inch pieces. Heat oil in a pan (same pan you will be using for final step-when tempering the curry) in medium-high flame. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped okra and fry for 10 minutes approximately or until the slimy texture of okra disappears and okra turns into nice golden brown color (Stir in-between making sure it doesn’t get burnt in the bottom). Drain the fried okra in a paper towel, set aside.

Roast And Grind The Spices

Add coconut oil in a pan (use the same pan used for frying the okra) and heat in medium-low flame. Once the oil is hot, add all the ingredients under roast and grind spices, except shredded coconut and water. Fry for approximately two minutes or until the mixture starts to splutter , slightly changes in color , raw smell from the ginger goes and you will get good aroma from the roasted spices . Switch off the flame and then add shredded coconut , mix with other ingredients in the pan, remove from stove and let it cool down.

In a mixer add the mixture, first grind without water , then half way through add mentioned amount of water and grind to smooth paste.

Now mix this ground paste to the base yogurt sauce, stir well ,set aside.

Final Step – Temper The Curry

In the same above used pan, add coconut oil and heat in medium flame. Once the oil is hot , add mustard seeds, let the sputtering of the mustard stop, then add urad dal , curry leaves , dry whole red chilies and Hing and fry for a minute.

Now add the prepared yogurt sauce and roasted okra to the tempering , stir well and bring it to a boil , immediately switch off the stove (do not boil for too long – curd will curdle ). Serve with rice or roti.