Bhindi: Indian cuisine
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Bhindi: Indian cuisine
Arunoday’s fried bhindi
My earliest memories of food:
I Are my maternal grandmother's fabulous lunch spreads. I would play around in the kitchen as she cooked and help her with the dishes. I still remember the love in her eyes when she saw the entire family relishing the mouth-watering meal prepared by her.
My favourite recipe:
Aunty Fay's Blueberry Pie. She is the owner of a little bakery in Kodaikanal where I did my schooling. Since I was her best customer, she would bake pies especially for me and send them to my dormitory. Nothing in life seems as good as Fay's Blueberry Pies.
Staying away from home I miss:
My Maa ke haath ka khana. Mom enjoys seeing me turn into a starving wolf as she places a plate filled with home-cooked food on the table. To me, this means contentment and unconditional love. Stress seems to be miles away.
I love cooking but:
The inevitable trauma of cleaning up after all the fine preparations makes it a bit tedious. I wouldn't mind cooking if I had a helper, particularly my girlfriend. Cooking together brings an element of fun to the relationship.
If I'd enter the kitchen, i would end up making:
Probably, a cup of coffee and a quick turkey sandwich.
I've been successful in impressing my girlfriends with:
My cooking skills but I have ended up in disasters too. Most women I've dated have been wondrous and kind and expressed delight either way.
On the sets I eat:
Lots of eggs, fruits and coffee.
The best meal i have had on the sets till date:
While on the sets of Jism 2 in Sri Lanka, I had some amazing dishes at Why Bungalow. The chef was a man of unbelievable skill. Each meal made up for the day's hard work.
With my friends and family, i am a regular at:
I Indigo Deli and Olive Bar & Kitchen as the food served by them is consistently good. Moreover, they treat me like a prince and you'd always want to go to a place where people are happy to have you. It's what makes a restaurant worth going back to.
My all-time favourite cuisines are:
Thai and East-Asian.
Food I crave for:
Rice, dal and fried bhindi. They are my top favourite since I became old enough to eat on my own.
I have a ravenous sweet tooth:
I love absolutely everything sweet, including chocolates. I am the cookie monster someone warned you about!
My non-food passions:
Wine, wonderful women, travelling and work.
Arunoday's fried bhindi
Ingredients
Okra (bhindi): ½ kg, Bengal gram flour (besan): 100 gm, Turmeric powder: ½ tsp, Red chilli powder: 1 tsp, Carom seeds (ajwain): 4 tsp, Chaat masala, Salt to taste, Juice of 1 lime, Vegetable / canola / sunflower cooking oil for deep frying and fresh mint leaves and juliennes of ginger for garnishing Method
Wash the okra and then dry thoroughly. If this is not done, the okra will be sticky and slimy when cut in the next step. Remove the top stem of each okra and then slit diagonally into thin slices. Heat the cooking oil on a medium flame.
Do not heat the oil too much as okra burns quickly when deep fried. Put the okra in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle all the other dry ingredients on it. Season with salt just before frying or else the okra will release water and become soggy.
Deep fry the okra a little at a time, until crisp and drain on paper towels. Garnish with lime juice, fresh mint and juliennes of ginger. shikha.desai@timesgroup.com
