VENDAKKAI PULI PACHADI | OKRA IN SWEET SOUR SAUCE

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         Puli means sour and pachadi means sauce.  Vendakkai puli pachadi / Okra in a sweet sour sauce is a typical south Indian dish. I really love this dish because it has a perfect balance of all tastes like sweet, sour, spicy and salt. This is very easy to make dish for lunch. Always use tender lady’s finger(okra) to make this pachadi. It goes well with white rice and kootu.


    Ingredients

            10 Lady’s Finger(Okra), Small size, Chopped
            1 Large Onion, Finely Chopped
            1 Tomato, Finely Chopped
            1 Green Chilly, Slit
            1 Tsp of Sambhar Powder
            1/2 Tsp of Jaggery
            1 Tsp of Rice Flour
            Gooseberry Size of Tamarind
            Salt to Taste
          
     To Temper

             1 Tbsp of Gingelly Oil (Indian sesame oil / Nallennai)
             1 Red Chilly
             1 Tsp of Mustard Seeds
             1 Tsp of Urad Dal
             1 Sprig of Curry Leaves
             Pinch of Asafoetida
          

     Method

  • Wash lady’s finger, dry them in a paper towel and chop them pieces. Discard the tails and head part of lady’s finger.
  • Soak the tamarind in 3/4 cup of hot water and squeeze the juice. Discard the pulp.   
  • Heat a pan with little oil, add chopped lady’s finger, fry for 2-3 mins in a medium flame until it turns soft. Once it done. Keep it aside.
  • Heat oil in a pan, when it is hot, add red chilly (Break it), mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida and curry leaves, after mustard seeds splutters and dal turns light brown. Add chopped onion, salt and green chilly, fry this for few mins until onion turns golden brown. Add tomato, fry this for 2 mins until it turns soft and mushy.
  • Add lady’s finger, fry this for few mins. Add sambhar powder, fry well for few mins.
  • Add tamarind water, mix well, let it boil for 5 mins in a medium flame until raw flavor of tamarind vanishes.
  • Dissolve rice flour in water and add it to the gravy and finally add powdered jaggery, boil it for 2 mins. Turn off the flame.
  • Serve hot with rice and kootu and Also it tastes great with curd (yogurt) rice.   
  • My gravy is little thick, you can make it thin by adding little more water and cook it for few mins. 


   Tips

  • You can use small onion instead of large red onions.
  • Instead of sambhar powder, you can add 2 tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of red chilly powder and 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder.
  • If you don’t have jaggery, add sugar at the end.
  • Always use tender okra to make this dish, you can check that by bending the tail part,  if it is broken easily, then it is tender in nature.

  
    Health Benefits of Okra/ Lady’s finger


  • Rich source of vitamin A and Antioxidants.
  • Fiber in okra helps to maintain the health of GI tract.
  • Ideal vegetable for weight loss and lot of health benefits provided it is cooked in a medium flame to retain its properties.
  • Okra has laxative treats irritable bowels and treats ulcers.
  • Excellent for feeding the good bacteria(probiotics)
  • Protects you from pimples and helps in maintaining beautiful skin. 
  • Normalizes blood sugar and cholesterol levels.


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