Okra Stir Fry/Lady's finger chilli fry

Tender lady's fingers are tossed in oil, sprinkled with some salt and red chilli powder when they get a little crispy to make a tasty lady's finger starter. A yummy appetizer. A healthy, quick, easy-to-do recipe that get's ready in a jiffy with minimum prep.

This is called as benda fry in konkani (benda means okra in konkani) and can be served as a starter or as a side dish. People who like lady's finger and who don't like lady's finger will love this appetizer equally. A healthy way to get the goodness from lady's finger. 

P.S: Key to tasty, perfect okra fry is using the right okra. The kind of okra you use plays an important role. Use only fresh, tender lady's finger. If the lady's finger are mature then this stir fry isn't a pleasure to eat. 

Ingredients:

20-25 lady's finger
1 tablespoon of red chilli powder
3-4 tablespoons of oil
Salt to taste

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Preparation method:

1. Wash the lady's finger and wipe them dry. If there's any moisture, lady's finger gets slimy on cooking and that's not how we want our stir fry. 
P.S: Lady's finger if cut soon after washing become slimy. So, dry them nicely after washing and only once they are perfectly dry cut them. 
2. Cut off the stem and the end tips of the lady's finger.
3. Slice each okra longitudinally into two pieces.
4. Cut each slice horizantally into two or three pieces depending on the length of the okra. We need pieces of 2-3 inches like in the image below. If you have tiny finger sized okra's then just slit the okra into 2 longitudinal slices. 

5. Heat up a wok, add oil, add okra pieces and toss them continuously on medium heat until they start to brown/start to get crisp. 
6. Then add red chilli powder, salt and give it a nice toss. 
7. Remove off heat and serve hot.

P.S: If you are a health conscious person like me, then you can stop sauting once the lady's finger is cooked just enough and enjoy it. That way you keep the lady's finger a little raw and you get more goodness out of it. However if you like crispy lady's finger which is yummy by the way, then do follow the above steps.

Add less oil if you're oil conscious. :-) But, oil helps the lady's finger get crisp.

Find more fritter (bajo, phodi) recipes here.

Tags: okra recipes, lady's finger, fry, recipe for constipation, Bhindi, Bhende, side dish, starter, appetizer, benda fry, bachelor recipe