Andhra-style stir-fried okra with sesame seeds

I must admit I am getting a bit obsessed with okra. It is commonly available, and the depth of recipes available is fantastic. Each recipe is unique, with spices adding new flavours and cooking techniques so different that this simple vegetable becomes a special dish every time.

This is a lovely recipe that is so simple to make. The okra is soft and not slimy. The spices are bold, and the sesame seeds add a lovely nuance. I love this recipe for its subtlety and how my guests love to dig into it.

Southern Spice is a thin volume of amazing recipes by a master chef. This volume rounded up my collection of Chandra Padmanabhan's cookbooks. It is filled with amazing recipes from South India, like this one. Each recipe is absolutely delicious, stays true to the core of the native cuisine, and is always a crowd-pleaser. I highly recommend this and all her other cookbooks as a must-have for South Indian cuisine.

For more recipes from this amazing cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

1-2 dried red chillies

10 curry leaves

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

3/4 lb okra, wiped with a wet tissue

1/2 teaspoon tamarind extract

1/2 cup water

Salt, to taste

Dry roast the sesame seeds until aromatic and golden. Remove one teaspoon of the seeds and grind the rest to a fine powder in a spice mill. Set aside.

Heat the oil on low heat in a wide frying pan, one large enough to contain the okra in a single layer. Add the mustard seeds and fry. They will splutter in 20 seconds. Add the cumin and asafoetida and give the pan's contents a quick stir.

Add the red chillies and curry leaves and fry for 10 seconds. Add the okra, setting them into a single layer. Add the larger pods about three minutes before the baby ones. Fry on low heat with the lid sealed carefully, turning them over every minute. Add the rest of the okra and fry for another 3 minutes.

Add the tamarind, water and salt. Mix well and cook the okra with the lid closed for 6-8 minutes. At this point, you want the okra to be very soft and cooked through and soft. Cook with the lid open so the water evaporates completely and the oil begins to appear in droplets.

Add the sesame seed powder and coat the okra well. Fry for 2 minutes until the spices have clung to the okra and fried in the oil—taste for salt.

Serve immediately, garnished with the toasted sesame seeds.