Bhindi Masala / Okra Masala

1 Pound Bhindi
1 Red Onion, medium size
1 Tomato, small size
2/3 Green Chillies, small size
2 Tbsp of sukhee subzi ka masala or dry masala
1 Tbsp Sarson ka tel or Mustard oil (or any cooking oil of your choice, Canola is fine too)
A few methi or fenugreek seeds (alternatively you may use mustard seeds)
1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
1 Tsp red Chilli powder or Cayenne pepper powder (if you'd like to turn up the heat)
Salt to taste

Wash the Bhindi and let them dry on a mat/kitchen towel or wipe them dry, if they are not entirely dry, while chopping the sticky juice is hard to deal with, not a deal breaker though.

Chop Bhindi, onion, tomato and the chillies length-wise like the batonnet cut.

Now add the oil in a heavy bottom kadhai or wok ( a frying pan also works fine). Cooking mustard oil is tricky, it has a very strong smell. To cook with it, oil is first heated until it is about to smoke or as Bua says until it loses the deep yellow color and is a shade or two lighter. Then shut off the heat and let it cool before cooking in it.

Now turn on the heat and add the methi seeds, let them splutter. Add onions and let them cook until they are pinkish in color, and now add tomatoes, at this time also add the turmeric and chilli powders. Let this cook until the tomatoes lose the raw smell. Now add Bhindi, and cook on a medium to low flame. Dont put a lid on to expedite the cooking, as it will make the Bhindi sticky and the color contrast of the green, red and pink fade into a dull unappetizing color. Once the Bhindi start to soften a little add the sukhee subzi ka masala and salt to taste and cook until done.

Serve with hot phulka roti or chapatis .....TezTarrar only from my kitchen...

Green Chutney

Summer vacation from school meant going to Agra or Bareilly to meet with our relatives. I grew up in Bombay, away from all of our extended family in North India. This also meant, two months of running in total abandon around the "mohallas", the cute little courtyard-esque neighborhoods where my extended family then lived, hanging from trees and stealing fruit from their unsuspecting neighbor's yard. My grandfather and his sister were next-door neighbors, and shared a wall. To make things easy, a door was cut out in the wall and that, was the best thing ever to us kids. Because it flung open on both sides, which meant we could come flying, fling the door, turn around and run back the other way. Sounds really silly and stupid, but as kids, when the door was new, we ran for hours, until yelled at by someone. When we visited from Bombay, the entire family was in a constant party mode for the two months. All meals were cooked and eaten together, over conversations and family jokes.

I have one, really, vivid memory of an incident that happened during one such meal. Phuphaji, my granfather's sister's husband, a nice and funny man, but very demanding and sometimes very inconsiderate. On a blistering summer afternoon, when the mercury was hitting upwards of 120 Fahrenheit, we all sat down to a comfortable lunch in the Air-cooled Living/Dinning room. Phuphaji asked if there was any green chutney, but there wasn't, so then he kept complaining, how good it would be if there was green chutney to go with this meal. After the third time, my older cousin got annoyed and went out to make the chutney for him. These were the days prior to the ubiquitous sumeet mixer-grinder, so to make the chutney, she had to use a Sil-Batta. Imagine a stone mortar-pestle, the mortar is a flat stone or the Sil and the pestle is a rolling pin like stone or the Batta. So, here is my cousin, in the summer heat sitting on her haunches, grinding the green chutney for Phuphaji. I can never get that image of her, out of my mind, she was angry and visibly upset, sweat rolling down from her forehead, tears rolling down her cheeks and her skinny body moving back and forth with vigor, grinding the chutney. That day Phuphaji was the villain, I thought he was evil and held a grudge for a very long time. The Sil-Batta has now been replaced with mixer-grinders, my mom still has hers and I think, I should get one on my next trip to India, for posterity sake. Come to think of it, it is a good upper body workout, using the Sil-Batta, perhaps I will get it from India not just for posterity sake!

Almost every Indian household has their own version or twist to this yummy green condiment. Heres our's; Fresh, green and TezTarrar only from my kitchen ...

Ingredients -

1 Bunch of fresh and green cilantro
1 or 2 Small green chillies from the Indian market or 1 jalapeno pepper (you may up or down this depending on how hot you like the chutney, also it is always good to start low and then add more)
2 Cloves of garlic
Salt to taste
Dry mango/Amchur powder to taste

Method -

Clean the cilantro; cut the bottom inch off the bunch, remove any brown or smooshed up leaves and keep the rest. Wash and grind all the ingredients together. Add water as necessary, a few spoonfuls at a time (Be careful not to add too much water, you will end up with a really watered down version of the chutney) it also helps to stop and move things around in the blender. Once you have a nice, smooth and even paste, take it out in a bowl of your choice. Now add salt to your taste. To add some tangy/tartness add Amchur powder, adjust to your taste.

Notes -

You can substitute lime or lemon juice instead of the Amchur powder, caveat is, after a little while, the vibrant green color is lost to a dull green when you use lime or lemon juice.

During the summer months, the Indian market sells raw mangoes and I use fresh slices of tart mango when grinding, instead of the Amchur powder.

There are many variations to this green chutney, you can also add to this; an inch of peeled ginger, half an onion, a bunch or a few leaves of mint (depending on how minty you like) or a few slices of Amla (Indian gooseberry) to add a slighty bitter-sweet taste.

To add volume and to tone down the heat, in case you slipped in too many chillies, try adding beaten plain yogurt.

I make a whole lot at once, double or triple the ingredients, and freeze it. It stays really well, without losing color or flavor for upto 6 months.