We like to justify our meat usage innocently - when we cook it with vegetables, we reassure ourselves ‘It’s all good and healthy, LOOK THERE’S OKRA IN HERE’, or ‘i=It’s a good way to get some vegetables in’ - some even openly claim they would never eat whichever vegetable concerned if it wasn’t cooked with meat! Other examples of such vegetable and meat curries include Karela Gosht, Phali Gosht, Palak Murgh. So as I write this, we’re in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. My local Tesco has pretty much been annihilated thanks to people panic buying. I could only get my hands on a handful of fresh vegetable items which were of the more ’exotic’ variety, including this here masoom okra, known as Bhindi in Urdu and Hindi. Unfortunately, couldn’t even get my hands on some potatoes - my initial plan was to make a standard Aloo Gosht on this fateful day. However once I came across the packets of okra, vacant and homeless, I had an epiphany - ‘I haven’t made Bhindi Gosht in AN ABSOLUTE AGE!’ adds to basket, which is empty because everyone has stock-piled everything and I can’t even do a basic shop (And in case anyone is wondering, nope my local Tesco didn’t have any tissue or hand sanitiser) I used to cook Bhindi Gosht often in the early days of my marriage. It’s just something that has slipped out of my routine and now that I’ve revisited it after so long, I have vowed to pick up that often overlooked packet of okra more often. I learnt a great tip for this - I can’t remember from where - which is to ensure the ratio of meat is roughly double to that of the okra. Additionally, I learnt the ratio of onions and tomatoes should be pretty similar to the okra too. If this all sounds very mathematical, don’t worry - all the quantities are here in the recipe so you don’t need to do any calculations.
🥄 Method
Here’s a walk through of the method, including pictures. As always, the full recipe, including quantities, are listed at the bottom of the post. To prep the okra, wash it well, then allow it to air-dry before trimming the ends off. Cut it into halves, as shown in the images below. If your okra is particularly short, you don’t have to halve it. We start off by frying some chopped okra in oil. This helps get rid of the slimy consistency that is off-putting for some. If you don’t feel too bothered about the slimy texture, feel free to skip this stop. Once the okra is lightly golden, remove it from the oil using a slotted spoon and set aside for later. In the same oil, add some sliced onions. Fry these over a medium/high heat, until they take on a slight gold colour. Not too much - we don’t need to meticulously brown them for this recipe. Next up, add your meat. ginger and garlic. Fry this until the meat no longer remains pink. Once you’ve got there, add in tomatoes, spices, and water as needed (again, quantities are all at the bottom of the post!). Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and then cook on a low heat for 1hr for lamb, and 1hr 45 mins+ for mutton - it’s ready when it’s cooked through, but not super tender (otherwise it’ll start to shred in the next steps). Uncover - the meat should look like the image on the left below. Add in some oil and turn the heat up high - we’re going to start bhoon-ing, i.e., sautéing this over a high heat, drying out any excess water. Keep on going, stirring constantly, until the mixture looks glossy, thick and the oil has risen to the top, like in the picture below on the right. Add in the reserved okra from earlier, alongside some sliced onions and a small bit of water, just to loosen things up. Cover and cook this over a low heat for 10-15 minutes, to allow the onions to soften and all the flavours to meld into the okra + onions. Fin. Garnish with fresh coriander before serving!
⭐ Tips and tricks
On to the recipe! Enjoy, with love x
📋 Recipe
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