Surprised at the heading? Well I have attended a Hindi Karyashala i.e. Hindi Workshop today. And this name just sprang to my mind and since it is apt I decided to let it stay.
I have always loved had bhindi/lady finger as a kid but Amma was allowed to make them fried only and they had to be cut in circles and fried crisp till they were crisp.
I make that often but my elder daughter wants me to try different ways of making this veggie. So I do make bhindi/lady finger masala often.
But no matter how I made them I ended up with a sticky lady finger veggie. To solve the problem I used to add rava but I always wondered how Amma made her bhindi/lady finger so crisp without much oil and non sticky at that.
Slowly it dawned to me that I wash the veggie and chop them 1 day prior and store them in the fridge both Amma never did. She also told me water makes them sticky so do not use the stuff no matter what my urgency is.
Now I use a slightly damp kitchen napkin to wipe the bhindi/lady finger lengthwise and then use the dry side to dry them. Next chop them and either use them immediately or store them in a sieve covered with a kitchen napkin.
The pictures are what I have stored the lady finger under the napkin overnight. The paneer was a last minute addition as I discovered much to my horror in the morning somebody has left the freezer door open. Thankfully for once there was only paneer in it and which I could salvage.
I need to thank Aipi for had she not mentioned in her Killer Bhindi Masala that she fried the bhindi/lady finger before adding to the masala I would be slaving hours over the stove.
This is by no means an original recipe and is a mixture of all that I have picked up over the years. Also the ground masala is a lot more than what you need you can use it or store it in the freezer for later use. I used ¾ of the ground onion mix.
Ingredients:
500 grms bhindi/lady finger
200 grms paneer
2-3 tomatoes ground to paste {you can peel and grind them I don’t. Good for fibreJ}
Oil
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon sugar (optional)
Coriander for garnishing
Grind to paste:
2 onions, roughly chopped
7 cloves garlic
½ inch ginger
1 green chilli
Few coriander stalks
½ teaspoon Haldi/turmeric
½ teaspoon Red chilli powder (adjust as per taste)
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon pav bhaji masala
½ teaspoon lime juice
Method:
1. Remove the tops of the bhindi/ lady finger and cut them into longish pieces. Slit them till about ½ the cut lady finger piece. (I did this the night before).
2. In a kadhai/wok heat oil and add the bhindi/lady finger few at a time, add a little salt and fry them till they are done. Drain and keep aside.
3. I never fry paneer but I read in this blog world that paneer hold its shape very well when fried and used so I fried them. But old habits die hard, so on the non stick dosa tava I spread some oil and toasted them till golden . (Thank goodness both my daughters and hubby dear was not around I would have missed quite some pieces)
4. Grind all the ingredients under to grind to a fine paste.
5. In the same oil in which the lady finger have been fried fry the onion paste till you get a very nice fragrant mixture and the masala starts sticking to the bottom of the pan.
6. Stir in the ground tomato and fry till the tomato is well incorporated in the onion mixture and before it starts sticking to the pan add the lady finger stir.
7. Add the paneer check the salt, add sugar if you are using it. Mix well.
8. Garnish with coriander and serve with chapatti or curd rice.
Priti says
Looks delish ....n yummy combo ....gud one dear
Authenticoriyafood says
What a yummy preparation!!!! Love it!!!Superb....
SravsCulinaryConcepts says
wow Bhindi+ Paneer yummy combo !! Looks delicious and superb masala curry !!
Vatsala. says
great Combo and both are my favorite too.
Show and Tell
Event - LGSS_Paneer
Hari Chandana says
Woww.. What a delicious combination.. looks absolutely inviting.. Love the preparation dear.. Yummy !!
Indian Cuisine
Priya says
Quite a new and wonderful combo, fantastic masala..
Santosh Bangar says
new combinaton never tried paneer with okra but sounds delicious
Sobha Shyam says
Great combo..liked the recipe..looks delicious..i too posted a bhindi recipe today 🙂
Ongoing Event at Good Food:
COOK IT HEALTHY:PROTEINicious
Torviewtoronto says
delicious combination with the paneer
thekitchenaffaire says
Woww.. yummy.. never tried this combo.. I have to 😀
Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal says
Love the title 🙂
it is so good that daughter wanted to try new ways of making. In my house, bhindi is a rare thing, your recipe looks superb 🙂
Amritha Kalyani says
Interesting combo archana. looks delicious. actually i would like to give u a hint in cooking bhindi. Instead of storing it in the fridge overnight, u can actually add about a tbsp of lime juice when u saute the bhindi. it removes the sliminess in just 2 - 3 mins and you wont have any taste of lime. I tried it and it really works. If u cut and keep it overnight, the liquid from the veggie oozes out and there is a dry brown coating over the vegetable. So try this lemon juice. But i love ur subzi.
Vardhini says
Lovely combo .. both are my favorites .. cant wait to try it out.
Vardhini
Event: Dish it Out - Spinach and Garlic
Event: Healthy Lunchbox Ideas - Broccoli
divya says
So tempting and delicious stir fry.. simply inviting dear !!
Reshmi Mahesh says
A nice combo...sabzi shud have tasted great...
Mythreyi says
Never tried Bindi and Panner, Looks yummy. will try soon.
-Mythreyi
Yum! Yum! Yum!
Archana says
@Amritha Kalyani: Thanks will use the tip next time.
@The rest of you:Thanks for your comments, lovely ones at that. Looks like I should get Mr. Somebody to leave the freezer door open more often!!
Premalatha Aravindhan says
wonderful combo,very tempting masala...
RAKS KITCHEN says
I have never tried or tasted this combo,sounds really good!
sowmya says
A different combo to try out..looks yummy n colorful!
Sadhana Valentina says
Very nice recipe dear. Love ur blog very much. Happy to follow u.
hemalata says
different combo,looks so yummy.
Vatsala. says
Hi dear.....I'm glad that you've shown your intrest in hoasting the event LGSS. Please let me know which month and the theme.
Radhika says
First time here dear. Love your collection. Love the combo for this too. Glad to follow you. Do visit mine when you find time.
Alessandra says
How nice! I love paneer and never know how to cook lady's fingers!
Ciao
A.
Archana says
Thanks all of you.
Prachi says
I had paneer and bhindi dish at a restaurant in artesia, ca years ago but they stopped making it. We tried making it at home because we love paneer and bhindi but never thought of mixing it. Im soo happy theres a similar recipe to follow on a website now. Its delicious!!!!