There are times when you feel like trying out something different and innovative but you just don’t know where to begin. Having indulged in enough of non-vegetarian food during the past week, I wanted to stick to vegetarian (inspite of it being a weekend). So this recipe is one, which I tailored to suit the convenience of having vegetarian with the teasing taste of a non-vegetarian aroma and flavour in it.
The dish ‘Drumstick and meat curry’ is a very common dish, prepared in Anglo-Indian homes, which accompanies hot steamed rice and papads. Having had this dish umpteen times back home, for a change, I chose to try the same recipe (from mom’s cook book) with the nutritious okra and soya nuggets as its main ingredients, instead of ‘drumstick and meat’. The result was awesome and the best part was it tasted like a non-vegetarian curry- Ok now I’m not scaring off my vegetarian readers/bloggers. I assure you this is a pure vegetarian dish prepared with the same masalas used for the non-veg dish. So you can go ahead and try it!
Here’s how I prepared this recipe:
Ingredients:
- 500 gm Lady’s Finger(Okra/Bhindi)
- 1 cup Soy/soya nuggets (soak for10 minutes in hot water, then transfer to cold water and squeeze out)
- 2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
- 1 Onion (finely chopped)
- 1 Tomato (finely chopped)
- 2 tsp Cumin powder(Jeera powder)
- 1 tsp Chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 3 tbsp of coriander powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp curry powder /non-vegetarians can use meat masala( Both available at grocery stores)
- 3 tsp Tamarind juice(Lime size tamarind soaked in water for a few minutes)
- A few curry leaves
- Oil
- Salt to taste
- Finely chopped coriander leaves for the garnish.
Method:
- Wash and immediately dry wipe the okra. Cut into medium size pieces.
- Heat oil in a pan- add curry leaves, onion, and ginger-garlic paste and fry well.
- Then add cumin powder, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and stir fry well.
- Now add tomatoes and fry again.
- When the oil separates and the masala emanates a spicy aroma, add the okra and soy/soya nuggets.
- Gently mix well the ingredients to coat the okra and soya nuggets in the masala. Add very little water for the gravy.
- When the okra and soya nuggets are cooked, add the tamarind juice.
- Cook again, covered for two minutes on low flame.
- Garnish with coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with rotis or rice (if served with rice increase the quantity of tamarind juice and water for gravy).
Tips:
- Ensure not to over cook the okras.
- Any remains of the tamarind juice can be used to massage the face. It acts as an astringent.
- After the soy nuggets are soaked, you can cut the nuggets into halves to increase the quantity.
Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 4-6