Bendekai Gojju

Bendekai is commonly called Lady's finger in Indian English! Here in America, it is known as Okra.. Well imagine my shock when i was told that lady finger in America meant a sort of cracker! Nevertheless, this curry has been a favorite since i was a kid. I remember my maternal grandmother's absolutely yummy bendekai gojju.. i used to eat just the curry in a big bowl no rice nothing, just the curry and also end up licking the bowl (licking obviously invited my grandmother's wrath how much ever she loved me! She is one of those very orthodox types) Finally a couple of years back i sat with my grandmother and noted down all her recipes. I am sure i missed out a lot of them given that her recipe index is oral!!Here is the yummy bendekai gojju i covet so much.

Okra(lady's finger) 3/4 lb
coconut grated 1 cup
onion 1 small
jaggery (or brown sugar) about 11/2tablespoon (or a piece of jaggery the size of a lime)
tamarind extract 1/2 tablespoon
salt
Sambar Powder (Huli pudi) 2 tablespoons
corriander( cilantro)
curry leaves 5-6
mustard 1/2 teaspoon
Hing 1 big pinch
Ghee (Clarified butter) or vegetable oil

Heat a non stick pan to high. Drop the chopped okra. Sear it till the okra looses its stickiness and becomes a little charred. Do not turn it often. The undisturbed it sits the faster it chars.

Chop onions and toast it in a pan till it becomes slightly brown. Set it aside to cool. Combine coconut, the toasted onion, jaggery, Sambar powder, tamarind and cilantro in a blender and grind it into a smooth paste.

Heat ghee/vegetable oil in a thick bottomed pot. Add the mustard, curry leaves and hing. Once it stops spluttering add the ground masala. Cook till fragrant (about 15 minutes, it is always better to cook it longer than leaving it raw if you are not sure) Gently fold the okra finish, adjust salt and serve it with steaming rice.