Vendakkya (Ladies Finger) Thoran (Ladies Finger Poriyal/Ladies Finger stir fried with coconut)

Ladies Finger or Okra helps reduce cholesterol and improves mental function apart a host of other benefits. In north India, its common to hear someone say to a dumb guy - "bhindi kha" or "eat ladies finger" :)

In South India especially Kerala and Tamilnadu, Okra is used in Sambaar apart from preparation of Vendakkya Thoran (Vendakka poriyal in Tamil)

Below is the process to prepare Okra Thoran - Kerala Style.

Ingredients

Ladies finger - 250 gms

Onion - one, medium sized

Coconut - 1/4, grated

Green Chillies - 2 

Dry Red chillies - 2

Mustard - 1 tea spoon

Turmeric - 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Wash ladys finger thoroughly and allow it to dry. Wipe them with a neat cloth if you need to prepare the dish immediately.

Cut it into small pieces as shown. 

Chop the onion into small pieces and keep aside.

In a frying pan, put 3-4 table spoons oil. For cooking dry, sauteed, fried dishes, using an iron frying pan not only engances the taste of the dish but is also beneficial to health owing to the iron that get released from the pan. 

Once the oil is hot, put one teaspoon of mustard into it and wait for the mustards to splutter. Add 2 broken dried red chillies into it and  put the chopped ladies finger into the pan. Also chop the green chillies into lengthy pieces and add the same into the pan.

Add a teaspoon of turmeric powder and a tea spoon of salt. Cover the pan with a lid. 
After sometime, put the chopped onion into the pan and cover the pan. After aroundd 5-7 min, the ladies finger would be almost cooked (NOT completely cooked). At this stage, remove the lid and allow the ladies finger and onion to fry a bit. 




Once the ladies finger has got fried a bit and looks dry, add the grated coconut into it and mix. Donot stir too much since the ladies finger pieces might break and disintegrate, thereby changing the whole taste of the dish.

Serves 2-3 members in a family and is a great dish for lunch/dinner.

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