Lady’s finger fried and cooked in spicy coconut and yogurt based gravy. It’s an easy to prepare and a yummy side dish which goes well with rice. Lady’s Finger / Vendakka kichadi is one of the must side dishes for Kerala Sadhya which is popular during festivals Onam and Vishu.

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Summary

(316 votes, average: 4.47 out of 5)

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Course Side Dish
Cuisine indian kerala, indian south indian
Yield 4 serving
Cooking Time 20 minutes
Preparation Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Lady's finger (sliced or 8 medium sized okra)

2 cups

salt

Grind

grated coconut

1/2 cup

green chilli

4 number

mustard seed

1 pinch

jeera

1/4 teaspoon

curd

3/4 cup

salt

Seasoning

mustard seed

1 tsp

Dried Red Chilly

3 number

curry leaves

1 Sprig

Steps

Wash and pat dry the Lady's Finger. Cut off the ends from the Lady's Finger. Slice lady’s finger into thin round slices. If lady's finger is very thick in size, split it vertically and then slice.
Heat 2 tbsps oil in a pan. Add sliced lady’s finger into the pan. Make sure that okra is not overcrowded in the pan. Sprinkle salt. Fry on medium high flame until okra is slightly brown at the edges. Add extra oil if needed. Stir it continuously. Once fried, transfer it to a bowl.

Grind coconut, green chilli, mustard seeds, jeera with some water into a smooth paste. If you are using frozen or refrigerated coconut (and not freshly grated one), grind with lukewarm water to get the fine paste.
Add curd at the end and just pulse it in the mixer. Add sufficient salt.

Heat a pan, add the grinded mixture and heat it. Don't allow it to boil. It should be just heated. Add fried lady’s finger and mix it.
For seasoning - Splutter mustard seeds. When they crackle, add dried red chilli and curry leaves.

Serve it with rice. Enjoy 🙂

Notes

Never miss the step to fry the lady's finger. Without frying, lady's finger won't taste that good.
Based on the consistency you need, you can add more water while grinding the coconut paste.