Vendakkai raita (Ladies finger raita)
I have too many recipes to finish and I realised just now that I have published this article without fulfilling my usual norm – a prelude before a recipe post :). Too bad of me, but its also a good place to be in. Happy to see my blog grow. Happy to see friends & family trying out different recipes and letting me know they liked it. Happy to get in touch with long lost friends who I am now in touch with because they dropped a message either wishing me luck with my new venture or tried out something and wanted to tell me etc. Either ways, wrt my blog everything just makes me happy. So I am going to end this prelude on that positive note – happyness (Ever since the movie pursuit of happyness, the spelling for the word has changed in my dictionary :)). A bit about this dish – Vendakkai raita is something I remember eating a lot at weddings. My mil makes it a few weeks once since D & I both love it. It’s very simple to make and on the day you make this raita, all you need to have is some basic cooked toor dal & rice. This raita serves both as gravy & as curry. Win win for all :). Try it out and am sure you will feel the same way as me :).
- 400 gms Ladies finger (sliced small)
- 3 cups curd
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 1 no green chilli
- 0.5 tsp mustard seeds
- a few curry leaves
- a pinch asafodita
- 1 tsp refined oil
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In a mixer blender, grind together the shredded coconut, green chilli and a bit of salt. Add some water to ensure you get a smooth paste.
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In a large bowl, whisk the curd & to that add the coconut chilli paste. Keept it aside.
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Place the ladies finger in a microwaveable bowl & microwave the ladies finger for 8 minutes (after the initial 4 minutes, take the veggie out and give it a quick stir and place it in again).
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In a pan/ kadai, heat some oil and add mustard seeds.
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Once the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the curry leaves & asafodita.
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Toss in the microwaved ladies finger, some salt and saute for 10-15 minutes on low flame.
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The ladies finger will start to blacken & start to get crispy. Turn off the heat.
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Right before eating, mix together the ladies finger & the spiced curd. Enjoy this raita on the side of some simple dal rice.
Stepwise pictures
In a mixer, add together the shredded coconut, green chilli, some salt & grind.
Add a bit of water to make it into a smooth paste.
In a bowl, whisk the curd & add the coconut chilli paste and mix well. Set this aside.
In a large microwaveable bowl, microwave the ladies finger for 8 minutes.
In a pan/ kadai, add 1 tsp oil and add the mustard seeds & wait for it to splutter. After that, add the curry leaves & then the microwaved ladies finger & some salt. Mix well.
Saute in low flame for 15-20 minutes. This will get the ladies finger to shrink, get crispier & you will notice it even starts get a slight black char on the outside. Turn off the heat at this stage .
Right before serving, mix the sauteed ladies finger in the spiced curd & serve it cold. It pairs really well with plain dal rice.
