Bendakaya Pulusu
Andhra home-style okra simmered in a sweet, sour and spicy tamarind gravy with a mustard and fenugreek tadka. Best poured over hot rice with a spoon of ghee.
Prep 15 min · Cook 30 min · Total 45 min · Serves 4
Ingredients
Pulusu
- 250 g Okra (bendakaya), cut into 2 inch pieces
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 1 Onion, sliced
- 3 Green chillies, slit
- 1 Tomato, chopped
- 30 g Tamarind
- 2 ½ cups Water
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- 1 ½ tsp Red chilli powder
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 2 tbsp Jaggery, grated
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Rice flour
Tadka
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- ½ tsp Cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp Fenugreek seeds
- 2 Dried red chillies
- 2 sprigs Curry leaves
- 1 pinch Asafoetida (hing)
To finish
- 2 tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped
Method
- Soak the tamarind. Soak the tamarind in the warm water, then squeeze it well and strain, keeping the juice and throwing away the pulp and seeds.
- Fry the okra. Heat 1 1/2 tbsp of the oil in a heavy pan and fry the okra over medium-high heat, stirring now and then, until lightly browned and no longer slimy. Lift it out.
- Tadka and onions. Add the rest of the oil. Crackle the mustard seeds, then add the cumin, fenugreek, dried chillies, curry leaves and hing. Add the onion and green chillies and cook until soft, then add the tomato and cook until mushy.
- Simmer. Pour in the tamarind water and add the turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, jaggery and salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 8 minutes until the raw tamarind smell goes. Add the okra and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes more until tender.
- Thicken. Stir in the rice flour slurry and simmer until the pulusu turns glossy and coats the spoon. Taste for the sweet-sour balance, adding more jaggery or salt if needed.
- Serve. Scatter with coriander and rest for 15 minutes before serving. Pulusu always tastes better a few hours later, and better still the next day.
Tips
Never add the okra raw to the tamarind: frying it first stops it going slimy and lets it soak up the gravy without falling apart.