I am so glad this week is drawing to a close. I have hardly had time to put my feet up but also pleased to be able to put up new content on the blog, develop new recipes, attend some events and get to know an incredibly amazing community of bloggers here apart from managing daily chores and brace ourselves for Little A’s big school from next month {Yes!!! He is a big big boy now!}. I had been in my shell for far too long, so I guess this year will be a little different.
For bidding farewell to a week that’s been interesting and exhausting at the same time, and my third family recipe for Philips Middle East #30daysofhomemade, I’m bringing you an uncomplicated and tasty finger food easily turned into an appetizer. It can get messy and need perseverance as dealing with okra can be quite grimy but the end-result of this crispy okra is oh-so-worthy!
Okra has been quite a staple in our house because we all love it – either sautéed with onions+spices, fried and tossed in spices, turned into flavorful curry in yoghurt or stuffed with gramflour batter. It such a marvelous accompaniment for a meal and takes dal-chawal (lentil and rice) to whole new level. Usually okra is stuffed with tangy spices and traditionally deep-fried to make them crisp, however, I bake them or as this time around, Air Fry using Philps Air Fryer to avoid all that guiltiness from excess unnecessary oil. After using the Air Fryer, I am so very sure I’ll be sticking to air-fry them because it maintains the essence of this dish by giving a beautiful crunchy exterior and takes lesser cooking time than in an oven. Only problem is that I cannot fit in many okras in the basket although I am willing to overlook that issue as the results are so much better; plus I don’t ever have to remorse on excess fat.
Kurkuri Bhindi - Crispy Air Fried Okra
- Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients:
- Okra – 300 gms
- Gram flour – 3 tbsp
- Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
- Dry mango powder – 1 tsp
- Lemon juice – 1 tsp
- Coriander powder – 1 tsp
- Cumin powder – 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Oil spray
Method:
- Wash and dry the okra very well. Discard the top and make a deep horizontal cut in each okra but making sure not to cut through the whole vegetable. Keep aside.
- In a deep bowl, mix together gram flour, all the spices, salt and lemon juice. Add enough water to make a pancake like thick batter.
- Fill the batter inside each okra and spray with cooking spray or brush with oil.
- Preheat Philips Air Fryer to 200 Degrees C for 5 minutes. Remove the basket and place the vegetable , but not overlapping one another. It may take two to three batches to make around 25 crispy okras.
- Cook for about 8-10 minutes per batch until the okra turns golden brown and is crisp.
- Serve with yogurt alongside daal-rice.