Cooking made easy

Ladies finger, as we all know is very good for memory power. I have often heard people telling that they will take ladies finger on the day of the math exam. I am not sure of any scientific reason behind that .But as a habit we have come to believe it and try to give it to our children. Many tasty dishes can be made out of this common vegetable. Ladies finger sambar and fry always tops the list.

In chettinad we make tasty vendakkai pachadi out of this which can be used as an all in one curry when we don’t have time to cook. This can be mixed with rice like sambar or rasam and can be taken as a side dish also for curd rice.

The main thing to be noted by the beginners while cooking ladies finger is that it should be sauted in oil in medium fire nicely so that the sticky thing in the veg gets off. If water is added without sauting nicely the curry will become sticky like a paste. While cutting also we should be very careful that it does not have any water content. After washing the veg it should be wiped dry with a towel or paper napkin

Ingredients
Ladies finger-250 gms(15 medium sized ones)
Small onion-15 or big onion-1
Green chilli-2
Tomato-1
Sambar powder-1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon
Thoor dhal-2 to 3 table spoons (1 hand full)
Coriander leaves-little
Curry leaf-little
Procedure
Cut the ladies finger into small pieces like in the picture. Chop the onion and tomatoes also.Split the chilli in the centre lengthwise Cook the thoor dhal 1 whistle less than you cook for sambar(switch off the stove 5 minutes after the first whistle in medium fire).Once the dhal is cooked open the cooker and take the water on top of the dhal (if there is not much water add a cup of water to the dhal and take out that water and keep aside.)

Keep the kadai in the stove. In 1 table spoon of oil season the pachadi with a teaspoon of mustard seed, cumin seed, broken urudh dhal and little curry leaf. First add the onion pieces then the tomatoes and green chili and sauté for a while. When there is not much water content add the ladies finger pieces and sauté in medium fire for 5 to 6 minutes without it getting burnt. If you find it difficult to sauté add few drops of oil. Once the pieces are sauted well add the water from the dhal kept aside. Add turmeric powder, sambar powder and the salt needed also. Cook for 10 minutes in medium fire. If water is less add little more. Once the pieces are cooked fine add the dhal also (don’t overcook the dhal).Cook for 5 minutes more. Let the consistency be semi solid. Garnish with coriander leaves. Coriander leaves will add to the taste. So if you have stock, be little liberal in adding coriander leaves

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