Bhindi Masala
Jan 19, 2019, Updated Jun 08, 2020
Indian style okra stir fry with onions, tomatoes and spices! This dish is best enjoyed with warm rotis! Vegan and gluten-free.
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Bhindi Masala is a popular Indian dish made with okra, onion, tomatoes & spices! This stir fry is best enjoyed with warm rotis.
Okra or bhindi as it’s called in Hindi is a very popular vegetable in India. I think after paneer (which though is not a vegetable but most definitely treated like one in India), bhindi must be everyone’s favorite veggies especially kids.
I say this because I remember when I was a kid my friends, cousins who were very picky would always eat 2 veggies – paneer and okra. I’m yet to meet a person who doesn’t like bhindi!
Sarvesh is a huge fan so I get bhindi every other week from the stores. While I do cook it in several ways, this bhindi masala recipe is my absolute favorite. It’s a simple recipe and tastes so good with rotis and paratha.
Roti + dal + bhindi masala = pure comfort food for me! I can pretty much have this combination for the rest of my life.
However bhindi is not very popular here, in the US. I see it sometimes at Whole Foods but mostly you can get it only at the Indian store. I know it’s used in some southern recipes but other than that, not so much.
I think it’s popularity will grow in the coming years since it’s a low calorie vegetable. I recently saw baked okra at Trader Joe’s, so it’s definitely getting popular.
Benefits of Bhindi (Okra)
Not only is bhindi tasty, it also has some amazing health benefits.
✓ rich in folic acid and vitamin B6.
✓ low calorie vegetable
✓ half cup of raw okra has only about 16 calories!
If you are following the very popular keto diet these days, bhindi will be a great addition to your menu.
How to Make Bhindi Less Slimy
If you cook bhindi often, then you are well aware about this problem – the sliminess!
The vegetable exudes a substance called mucilage which makes it slimy. So how do you make it less slimy/sticky?
1. Wash and pat dry the okra before chopping. If you try to cut the okra without pat drying it will be very slimy.
I usually wash it and then put all the okras on a paper towel (in single layer) and let them dry for some time and then pat dry each okra with a paper towel.
If you can plan in advance, it would be good to wash the okra and then let it air dry overnight. That way you wouldn’t need to pat dry each bhindi separately.
You will be good to use the bhindi in the morning straight away.
2. Fry the okra in little oil before adding it to the curry/masala. That’s what I have done in this recipe, fried the okra till all the sliminess disappeared. This takes around 15 minutes on medium-low flame.
Do not cook on high flame else the okra will get brown quickly, even before the sliminess can go away.
How to make Bhindi Masala
This bhindi masala recipe calls for basic Indian masala with onion, tomatoes, ginger and spices.
We start by cooking the bhindi first until the sliminess almost goes away. Once that is done, then we cook the masala and then add the cooked bhindi to it. Simple isn’t it?
And the best way to serve it? With warm roti and dal. That’s my personal favorite but of course you can serve it whatever you like – paratha, rice.
Hope you guys like this simple bhindi masala recipe as enjoy it as much as we do.
Method
1- Wash and pat dry each bhindi with a paper towel and then chop it into rounds (remove the head and little bit from the tail before chopping).
Set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped bhindi to the pan. Let is cook on medium heat for 10 mins, then lower the heat to low and cook 5 more minutes. Stir often.
The bhindi is mostly cooked by now (after 15 mins) and there should be very little sliminess left. Remove pan from heat.
2- To another pan (or use the same pan after transferring bhindi to a bowl), now add the remaining 1.5 tablespoons oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and let them sizzle for few seconds.
3- Add chopped onion and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Then add the ginger and green chili and cook for 1 more minute.
4- Add chopped tomatoes and cook for around 4 minutes until soft and mushy.
5- Then add the spices – coriander powder, turmeric, amchur, red chili powder and salt. Mix the spices well with the masala.
6- I added a tablespoon of water at this point so that the spices do not burn. Stir well.
7- Add the cooked bhindi to the pan and mix well.
8- Set heat to low-medium and cook for 5 minutes without covering the pan.
Sprinkle with garam masala. Garnish with ginger juliennes if needed. Serve bhindi masala with rotis/paratha/rice.
More Bhindi Recipes on the Blog!
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This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in 2014.
Bhindi Masala
Ingredients
- 2.5 tablespoon oil divided
- 500 grams bhindi okra, chopped into rounds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 1 green chili chopped, or more to taste
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- 1.5 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon amchur dried mango powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder or to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- garam masala to sprinkle
- ginger julienne to garnish
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry each bhindi with a paper towel and then chop it into rounds (remove the head and little bit from the tail before chopping). Set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped bhindi to the pan. Let is cook on medium heat for 10 mins, then lower the heat to low and cook 5 more minutes. Stir often.The bhindi is mostly cooked by now (after 15 mins) and there should be very little sliminess left. Remove pan from heat.
- To another pan (or use the same pan after transferring bhindi to a bowl), now add the remaining 1.5 tablespoons oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and let them sizzle for few seconds.
- Add chopped onion and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Then add the ginger and green chili and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add chopped tomatoes and cook for around 4 minutes until soft and mushy.
- Then add the spices - coriander powder, turmeric, amchur, red chili powder and salt. Mix the spices well with the masala.I added a tablespoon of water at this point so that the spices do not burn. Stir well.
- Add the cooked bhindi to the pan and mix well. Set heat to low-medium and cook for 5 minutes without covering the pan.
- Sprinkle with garam masala. Garnish with ginger julienne if needed. Serve bhindi masala with rotis/paratha/rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for all your recipes!! Amazing Content! Thank you for your delicious recipes!!
I’ve tried several recipes and techniques previously, this one was the best I’ve tried. My okra was in pretty good condition so I didn’t wash it – after all it’s going to be fried for 15 mins to start. Thanks for sharing.
I have made this twice with frozen okra. I just put in the fry pan straight from the bag and cook it with a tablespoon of oil until the slime cooks off and then proceed with the recipe as written. It comes out great that way and much faster than trying to dry off the okra.
This is the best Bhindi Masala I tried and the result is delicious! I don’t know where you live in the States but Okra is popular especial Fried Okra in the southern states (i.e. Texas, SC, Okalahoma, Alabama,…., etc) but not where I reside now (Michigan).
yes I find it at Farmers’s market at an Indian stores here, I live in Pacific Northwest
Have made the Bhindi Masala couple of times using Frozen okra. It always turns out great and we enjoy it a lot.
I made this yesterday and it turned out to be very tasty. I guess it is going to be a regular recipe in my kitchen now.
Making your Okra tonight, I cut and dried the okra in the SUun ( tip from my granny)
For the non-vegetarians, I figured out a nice variation on this which incorporates chicken curry, just prepare the chicken curry by adding chicken and curry spices after step 3; don’t add the tomatos until chicken is nearly cooked.
Super easy recipe and tastes great!
This is an excellent recipe! Thanks so much. I served it with yogurt salad and my wife and daughter loved it.
glad to know
I saw okra/bhindi at the farmers market and immediately had a craving. A friend linked me to this recipe and it was simply amazing. Thank you!
welcome, glad to know!
Very tasty! Highly recommend this recipe if you are craving Bhindi sabzi.
Delicious! Thank you for a great recipe 🙂
welcome 🙂
Hello, I was wondering is there a substitute for amchur powder or may I omit that altogether? Thank you in advance
squeeze of lemon juice at the end should be good enough!
Excellent recipe. Your suggestion to dry the okra before cutting and then frying before incorporating makes the difference.
This is now one of my go to vegetable recipes. Thank you.
welcome! 🙂
I made this Bhindi today and oh my lord, it was yumlicious!!!! Thank you Manali. I rocked because of you. My guests are enjoying the food and saying California mein India yaad aa gay!!! My best to you.
I have been trying your recipes for quite some time now. Thank you.
You are welcome 🙂 so glad to know!
Bhindi Masala made like instructed. Turned out great. Even my wife appreciated the taste and my culinary efforts.
good to know 🙂
I rarely comment on recipes, but this one deserves it. I cooked it today with Dal Bhat Bihari-style – toor dal very soupy with spice tadka. This was a pilot run for me, and this tripple combination rice, yellow dal and bhindi sabzi turned out just amazing. Thanks for the recipe.
that’s the best combo! 🙂
The recipe was great and I tried with a small variant. Thank you! Just a suggestion, do not cut off the thin tips of Bhindi. They contain meristems good for brain health.
Thanks for the suggestion, glad you liked the dish!
Thanks for the great recipe. The only Indian food I have had is what this southern girl cooked. But thank to people like you I feel it is authentic tasting. I love; okra even the slimy one. This is a big keeper!
welcome 🙂 so glad you enjoyed it!
Yummy ! Bhindi Massala put extra tomatoes in, left the green chillies out , absolutely lovely dish. ????
great!
This recipe is fantastic and one of my favorites of yours. I could eat it every day and never be tired of it. So SO good. Keep those recipes coming! American girl loving Indian cuisine!
glad to know 🙂
I am a non-Indian girl married to an Indian guy. So recipes like this help me a lot to learn more of the very diversified indian cuisine! My husband and my daughter loved it! Thanks for sharing! (:
Hi Manali. I loved yr recipe. I used diced frozen okra and it was a task to dry them out. Also instead of fresh tomatoes, purely because I did not have some handy when preparing the dish – I used unsalted canned and diced tomatoes which gave it that extra bit of tang. Will definitely try yr other recipes too. Thank you.
So delicious, and leftovers tasted great for lunch too!
thank you for the recipe, I was wondering why do people always fry the bhindi first, but not with other veggie curries? If I were to add the bhindi without frying would it not be the same?
Because bhindi is quite sticky. I prefer frying it first so that it’s cooked and not slimy anymore before mixing in the tomato masala. You can very well add bhindi directly, my advice would be to use only onion then else with tomatoes it will be very slimy.
Manali you’re receipes are so practical n great. Al dis while i had a cook n knew little of cooking. Since I’ve retired, am cooking by myself and a beginner too at the age of 67. Your receipes hv saved me. Thank you. Do you cook only veg?
Hi Marie, glad recipes are helpful 🙂 Yes this is a vegetarian blog since I am one! 🙂
How can I lower the sodium content of this recipe?
I am not sure…maybe reduce the salt? also the nutrition informational is calculated automatically by a plugin so it’s not 100% accurate, please keep that in mind
Delicious!
What type of green chili? Jalapeño?
thai green chili is what is most commonly used in Indian cuisine…yes you can use jalapeno
I can hardly wait to try this. I went to the Indian grocer today and they had Okra! I got some and everything else I need. All of my Indian friends have been telling me for years to try to make Indian food myself and I’m finally doing it! Recipes like this make it so easy!
Can this be frozen if made in large quantities? Thank you so much!!
Hmm I am not sure if this would freeze well. I would not do it.
Have made the Bhindi Masala couple of times using Frozen okra. It always turns out great and we enjoy it a lot.
Glad to know Uday!
Paneer is cheese not a vegetable.
right but it’s most definitely treated like one in India that’s why I wrote like this..hope that clears it up
Thank you so much for this recipe and especially the idea how to take away the slime….i have learnt a new trick!!!?we get tons of bhindi here in South Africa and in Morocco. Devendra Gangadayal
Hi manali
Today i tried ur recipe..with minor changes adding with sliced french beans..i hope it will taste good..i began to love okra so much…thanks for the recipe! Great cooking page with detailed instructions…
Kumu
Welcome Kumu! so glad you liked it!
Being the daughter of a good Southern boy, I grew up with fried okra, gumbo, succotash, all the great okra recipes, and I’m SO HAPPY I found this one to add to my collection! Bhindi all day! I actually don’t mind a little gooeyness to my okra, so I didn’t cook it completely dry, but it’s still tasty! New favorite recipe!
Awesome! glad you enjoyed it!
Hi-five from a Southern girl (New Orleans) who also isn’t going to bother patting the okra dry! Living in Boulder CO now, I get homesick for fresh okra; a nearby international grocery has it frequently (and mirliton too!), and one of the Sprouts groceries has it all the time. Looking forward to trying this tomorrow along with the sourdough naan recipe from Gingered Whisk!
Metoo! I am fromNC and have been eating okra all my life. Fried with cornmeal, salt and pepper or whole okra boiled with crowder peas.
Yummy
This was wonderful! I have always enjoyed at restaurants but so glad I can make at home any time I like! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
you are welcome!:) bhindi is my favorite!
I’m a beginner in all things cooking and EVERY single recipe I’ve made from your website – the vegetarian biryani, stuffed okra, okra masala, tofu scrambled, mango raita, roasted eggplant, the chickpea salad….just everything has turned out amazingly well. Thank you for sharing your talent.
You are welcome! I am so glad to hear that, keep cooking!
OMG! Made exactly as recipe states, Jesus Bezus! Banging! Thanks so much that is the goodness i was looking for! Heck with ordering this is way better!
awesome!
Thanks so much for the recipe!
BTW, you mention garlic as an ingredient, but it’s not listed in the official recipe or with any precise measurement.
You are welcome! hmm I don’t see garlic as an ingredient..there’s ginger only and it’s quantity has been mentioned
It’s mentioned under the “How to make Bhindi Masala” section: “This bhindi masala recipe calls for basic Indian masala with onion, tomatoes, ginger, GARLIC and spices.” (emphasis added)
okay, that’s a typo. I fixed it. The ingredients list and the directions never had garlic.
Most amazing Bhindi Masala i have tried. I did cheat and used Rotel no salt added tomatoes with chilies. I also served it with Dosa. This is now be a staple at my house.
Glad you liked it! 🙂
Yummy. Even my husband who doesnt usually like okra finished his plate. Thank you!!
This came out really well! I have never managed to make okra well, this recipe was delicious! My fam loved it! Thanks!
Awesome! So glad you all enjoyed it Malvika!
You mention paneer as a vegetable twice? Does this mean anything lacking meat is a vegetable? Is my beloved Coke Zero actually vegetable juice? Please let me know so I can tell my wife immediately.
paneer is not a vegetable but Indian cottage cheese but in India we cook it as a vegetable..so as an Indian, I am used to calling it a sabzi (vegetable)..hope this helps..
I’m not sure if you are trying to be funny or if you are being sarcastic. She clearly says “paneer (which though is not a vegetable but most definitely treated like one in India),”. Manali’s recipes are amazing and we should respect her and skip the sarcasm. If that was actually meant as a joke, hmmmm.. not too funny.
Recipe achha hai.
Recipe likhne ka tarika achha laga .
Jis tarah se sab kuchh samjhaya gaya hai.
Nice……
bhindi masala racepi is favorite yummy food also mixed with chicken.
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Welcome! 🙂
This is the best Okra recipe I have ever tried, and I have tried several. I think one big difference is you have the okra fry for 10 minutes to start. My kids loved it and scored it a 10/10. I can’t thank you enough. I feel like I can actually cook now! Thank you …. thank you ! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
That makes me so happy! 🙂 You are welcome Lisa!
Hi Manali,
I am from NC and I have been eating okra all my life. My grandmother had a garden with many different veggies and okra was one of them. The version of okra I had was fried okra…..it was cut into small pieces across, tossed in cornmeal, salt and pepper then fried in a cast iron pan. while cooking, it had to be “baby sat ” as it was cooked until it was very soft. Another version was that the okra was kept whole and boiled on top of what is called crowder peas. Ssssssssooo yummy.
I married a bengali guy so I made it with it with posto and sliced it a little bit larger and then fried it.
I am so happy that okra is becoming more popular nowadays.
Thank you for posting this recipe and I will try it this evening!
Thanks for sharing your version Lisa 🙂
This bhindi masala recipe is looking so tempting. Bhindi is the one of my fav dish.
Thanks for this delicious recipe 🙂
Hi…I don’t know that I can find fresh okra right now. Can I use frozen, since they would not be completely dry as you suggest for the fresh? If I can, do you have any tips for de-sliming those? I can’t wait to try some of your recipes!
-Ophelia
I have the same question, how to make frozen okra less slimy ad cook Indian way?
Hi for frozen okra, I would probably place it between 2-3 thick sheet of paper towel ..so that if there’s any ice formation it dries out…I would leave for 1-2 hours or so and then make the recipe as instructed. The frozen okra is usually cut.
Hi Ophelia, you can use frozen okra. I would probably place it between 2-3 thick sheet of paper towel ..so that if there’s any ice formation it dries out…I would leave for 1-2 hours or so and then make the recipe as instructed. The frozen okra is usually cut.
Thank you!
aww you are too sweet, let me know if you make this!