Pyaz ki Khatti-Meethi Tarkari (baby-onions in sweet-tangy sauce)

Nice sweet tangy onion subzi thats quite refreshing. It's a simple, no-fuss dish that goes very well with any kind of dal and phulkas (puffed indian bread). Perfect on a day when you want to eat something light and easy!

You need:

White pearl baby onions - 12-14 cps. (Substitute with roughly chopped onions)

Green Chili - 2 (slit)

Mustard Oil - 1 tsp

Onion Seeds/ Kaluanji/ Nigella Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Ginger Pate - 1/2 tsp

Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

Tamarind pulp - 1 tbsp

Jaggery - 2 Tbsp 

Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp (adjust to taste)

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

1. Heat mustard oil in pan till it starts fuming. If you are cooking in mustard oil, always make sure the oil is heated till it fumes and only then start adding other ingredients. This takes away the bitterness from the oil and lends only the mustard flavor to your dish.
2. Add kalaunji and green chili. 
3. Once kalaunji splutters add turmeric, ginger, garlic paste and fry for 15-20 sec. 
4. Add the tamarind pulp, red chili powder, salt and jaggery.
5. Add a cup of water and mix all the ingredients well. 
6. Now add the onions and cook till the onions lose their pungent taste and become sweet and soft.
7. Serve with phulkas and dal. 

*If you don't have baby-onions at hand, replace with red onions (quartered and layers separated)

Tomato Egg-Drop Soup

So my friend Sahana (who has been helping me proof-read my blog and championing salt.pepper.chili) calls me early one morning and comes straight to the point (we have always been like that with each other, having known each other for 14 years now!) - "you know what, your blog has just 1 soup and a very few sandwich recipes! You need to have more!". And this got me thinking. Why had I ignored something, which most of us love, but end up eating completely packaged or processed version most of the time. We feel we are giving our kids (and ourselves too) something really healthy, but are packaged/ canned soups really as healthy as you think? With all the preservatives and salt content, well... probably not! 

So next time you feel like having a nice healthy soup, take some fresh ingredients and make your own. And you will not regret it! I will be posting a few of my favorite, quick and easy recipes!So lets start with a very popular chinese style soup we all love! The sweet, tangy soup with this lovely egg ribbons. Just the way they serve in restaurants!

And if you have spent a little time reading this blog, you would know my love for dimsums/momos! I suffer from dimsum fanaticism, yeah that's true :).  So after a few continuous days of indulgences, soup - dimsum - focaccia bread would be such a nice combo! Since I already had lots of the amazing Tuscany Pane bread at home, decided to toast and slather it with soft butter! 

You need: Serves 2

Oil - 1 Tbsp

Ginger - 1/2 inch (finely chopped)

Garlic - 2-3 cloves (finely chopped)

Tomatoes - 2 medium size (Finely chopped/paste) 

Onion - 1/2 medium size (Finely chopped)

Egg - 2 

Tomato ketchup - 2 Tbsp (if you want spicy, replace 1 tbsp with tomato chili sauce)

Vinegar -  1Tbsp

Corn flour - 1 Tbsp

Fresh Coriander/ Cilantro ( including stems) - 6-7 sprigs (chopped finely)

Black Pepper powder -  to taste

Salt to taste

Sugar - 3/4 - 1 tsp (adjust to taste)

Vegetable/ Chicken stock - optional (can replace with water)

1. Break the eggs in a bowl and whisk lightly. Set aside. 
2. Mix the cornflour in 1/2 cup of water. 
3. Heat the oil in a wok or a pan, add ginger and garlic and stir-fry for half a minute.
4. Add onion and continue to stir-fry it it turns lightly translucent. You don't have to brown it. 
5. Add the tomato ketchup (or half tomato ketchup, half tomato chili sauce for a spicy soup) and chopped tomatoes and cook on high heat for about two to three minutes. Cook till its all pulpy. 
6. Stir in the remaining vegetable/ chicken stock or water and bring it to a boil. Add the salt, sugar, black pepper powder. 
7. Stir in the cornflour mixture and cook for a minute or until soup thickens, stirring continuously. 
8. Add the vinegar and cook for a min. Taste the recipe for salt sugar etc at this stage. 
9. Pour 1/4 of the whisked egg at a time from a height in a steady stream. Stir gently 1-2 times to form egg threads. REpeat with the remaining eggs. Allow the egg to coagulate and come to the top. Don't stir too much as you will get all scrambled eggs and no lacy eggs in the soup. 
10. Serve hot garnished with the fresh coriander. Coriander is indeed important.

Bharwan Karela (Stuffed bitter gourd/ Bitter melon)

I am sure a lot of us would have never eaten karela/ bitter gourd out of choice during childhood! Maybe even now!! :) But this is one preparation that will change your perception about karela. For some strange reason, I have always loved this vegetable. But stuffed variety a little more than the simple stir fry. The bitterness in this preparation reduces drastically, but if you are the kind who absolutely hates the idea of  even the slightest bitterness of karela, marinate it with one tablespoon lime juice and a teaspoon of salt for an hour. Squeeze out all the juice from karela and rinse under hot water. The karela would have transformed as if  straight out of a cosmetic surgeons clinic! 

Would recommend you to try this recipe without marinating the karela and use a little extra oil instead. All the bitterness will  be gone and you will see this 'generally hated' veggie called karela in a new light. :)

You need:

Karela – 2 (scrape the rough surface outside to smoothen it, this will help even browning)

Mustard Oil – 3 Tbsp

Onion seeds/ Nigella seeds/ Kalonji – ½ tsp

Onion – ½ medium size (thinly sliced)

Salt – to taste

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Ajwain/ Carrom seeds – ½ tsp

Fennel seed powder – ½ tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – ½ tsp

Aamchoor / Dry mango powder – 1 tsp

Red chili powder - ½ tsp

Besan/ Gram flour – 2 Tbsp

1. Slit the karela on one side so as to form a pocket to stuff the filling. Carefully remove all the seeds and flesh to form a hollow space. Don't discard the seeds and flesh as it will be used for preparing the stuffing.
2. In a non stick pan heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add onion seeds and ajwain. 
3. Once they splutter add onion, turmeric, coriander, red chili, fennel, cumin powder, aamchoor. Fry till onions become translucent.
4. Now add the besan and roast till the raw taste of besan is gone. This takes about 1-2 min on low flame. Transfer to another bowl since you don't want the besan to burn from the heat of the pan. 
5. Once the stuffing has cooled down adjust salt. It should be on slightly higher side as there is no salt in karela. 
6. Now stuff the karela with filling. Stuff as much as you can, however you should still be able to close the slit. 
7. Using a thread tie the karela all over so that the slit doesn't open and stuffing spills, when you fry them.
8. Heat oil in a non stick pan. Add karela and gently stir to coat oil evenly. Cover the lid and cook.  Intermittently stir gently to brown all sides evenly. 
9. When you see karela is dark brown on all sides uniformly and the skin as becomes soft, you will know its cooked well. 
10. Now cook the karela with lid open to make it a little crispy on all sides. 
11. Serve hot. 

*You can see the way I have used thread to tie the karela. Please follow the same style to avoid the masala spilling out while frying. 

Thai Prawn-Mango Salad (Thai Shrimp-Mango Salad)

The only difference between this salad and Thai Mango Salad, as the name suggests, is the addition of prawns/ shrimps. I think the sweetness of prawns goes so wonderfully well with tangy-sweet-spicy salad! It is a good appetizer too! I have written so much in the Thai Mango Salad post, I feel this time around, I should just get on with the recipe!

OK. There are three key ingredients that make this salad flavoricious (don't know if there is any such word like that, I just coined it) – toasted peanuts, kaffir lime leaves and of course shripms. While shrimps lends a sweet, rich flavor, toasted peanuts give a nice crunch between the tangy-hot-sweet bite. Though traditionally kaffir lime leaves are not added to this dish, I feel lime leaves give it a totally new dimension. But I  know, in most part of the world kaffir lime leaves are hard to come by, so if you can't find any, don't worry, it will still taste awesome!! 


You can always add deep fried calamari, crab meat, baked tilapia,  or any seafood of your choice

You need:

Semi ripe mango – 2 Parts (I prefer slightly ripe mango which is still very firm when you press the surface and try picking a variety that is not too sour) 

Cucumber – 1 Part (discard the seed part completely)

Carrot - 1 Part

Tomato - 1 Part (discard the juicy seed part completely)

Greens of spring onion - 1 Part

Red onion - 1 Part

Kaffir Lime Leaves – 2-3 Nos.

Shrimp/ Prawns – As per your liking

Salt

Pepper

Cream Sherry (optional) – 2 Tbsp 

Toasted peanut – roughly broken into halves

Getting the veggies ready:

Make very fine juliennes of all the vegetables. You can always add or subtract as per your choice. 

Getting the salad dressing ready: 

Just follow the ratio of ingredients as below, and make as much you wish. Best way to do it, is to first make the dressing, taste and then add the veggies. This is because you can always tweak the dressing to your taste before you add the veggies, but once added, there is no going back! ;)

Lime juice – 2 Tbsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Fish sauce – ½ tsp (optional, or replace with ¼ tsp of light soy sauce)

Getting the Shrimp ready:

Marinate the shrimp/ prawns with salt, pepper and cream sherry for not any more than 15 min.

In a pan, heat 1 tsp of oil, add shrimps and fry on high flame. Don't over cook or  they will not be succulent anymore. Rule of thumb - cook till shrimps turn pink, and there is no pale patch anywhere, that's when you know its done. 

Now getting the salad ready:

Pour the dressing in a big bowl, add all the veggies, add the toasted peanut and then shrimps. Toss all of them gently so as to coat the dressing uniformly. Serve immediately. 

**If you are making it for a party, you can chop all the veggies and keep them all in an air tight container (don't mix them, keep them separate so that their individual flavors intact) in refrigerator. Make the dressing and store it in a glass jar and refrigerate. Keep toasted peanuts in a box. Only shrimps will have to be made just before serving.

Thai Mango Salad (Vegetarian/ Eggetarian)

I just love the way this salad preparation relaxes me. I usually put down all the ingredients on the kitchen counter near the the window and look at all the colors that will soon be a part of this sweet-sour-spicy salad. The pale yellow from the mango, light green from the cucumber, light pink from onion, deep red from tomato, orange from carrot, bright red from thai red chili, and a fresh green color from cilantro. It's like a song!

I diligently try to get fine juliennes of everything to form lovely ribbons. There are so many textures and flavors in one single platter, yet they all marry together so beautifully! 

You can't help but wonder, it really must have been someone who looked at life so differently to think this up! Or maybe it's just my love for Thai food, that makes me so happy. 

OK now back to the dish. There are two ingredients that make this salad interesting – toasted peanuts and kaffir lime leaves. Toasted peanuts give a nice crunch between the tangy-hot-sweet bite. Though traditionally kaffir lime leaves are not added to this dish, I feel the lime leaves adds a totally new dimension. But I  know, in most part of the world kaffir lime leaves are hard to come by, so if you can't find any, don't worry, it will still tastes awesome!! 

You need:

Semi ripe mango – 2 Parts (I prefer slightly ripe mango which is still very firm when you press the surface and try picking a variety that is not too sour) 

Cucumber – 1 Part (discard the seed part completely)

Carrot - 1 Part

Tomato - 1 Part (discard the juicy seed part completely)

Greens of spring onion - 1 Part

Red onion - 1 Part

Kaffir Lime Leaves – 2-3 Nos.

Eggs (Optional) –  Soft boiled or Scrambled with salt pepper

Toasted peanut – roughly broken into halves

Getting the veggies ready:

Make very fine juliennes of all the vegetables. You can always add or subtract as per your choice. 

Getting the salad dressing ready: 

Just follow the ratio of ingredients as below, and make as much you wish. Best way to do it, is to first make the dressing, taste and then add the veggies. This is because you can always tweak the dressing to your taste before you add the veggies, but once added, there is no going back! ;)

Lime juice – 2 Tbsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Fish sauce – ½ tsp (optional, pure vegetarians  replace with ¼ tsp of light soy sauce)

Salt - if required

Getting the eggs ready:
Bring water to a boil, add eggs. Cover and boil for 1 min. Switch off the flame and let the eggs rest in hot water for 15-20 min. You get perfect, soft boiled eggs with soft centre. De-shell and cut into 4-6 parts

Tossing the salad up:

Put all the ingredients of dressing in a big bowl, whisk well. If the taste is balanced (else, adjust at this stage), add all the veggies, toasted peanut. Toss all of them gently so as to coat the dressing uniformly. Serve on platter and add eggs on top of the salad. 

* If can replace egg with tofu or you can skip that as well.

**If you are making it for a party, you can chop all the veggies and keep them all in an air tight container (don't mix them, keep them separate so that their individual flavors intact) in refrigerator. Make the dressing and store it in a glass jar and refrigerate. Keep toasted peanuts in a box. 
***You may also want to try the seafood version of this salad  here: Thai Prawn-Mango Salad (Thai Shrimp-Mango Salad)

Parwal ki Subzi (Pointed gourd in onion tomato based gravy)

I Have always had lovely memories of parwal subzi. The crispy exterior with soft juicy interior and the occasional crunchy seeds, as you dig into this soupy-tangy gravy, is pure comfort food for me. Reminds me of winters, when you eat hot tangy gravy with hot-hot phulkas (Indian bread), smothered with ghee (clarified butter). On the side you have grated jaggery immersed in warm ghee. Salads, dal and raita would go un-noticed on such days.

Even now, I feel I am back into my childhood when everybody sits together at the dining table and  mom serves the exact same combo. And dad requests my sis (Renu) and me, to chatter lesser and focus on food. 

You need:

Parwal (pointed guard) – 250 grams (scrape the skin gently to remove stringy texture and cut lengthwise into halves, if they are bog cut lengthwise into 4 pieces, like wedges)

Potatoes – 1 large (boiled)

Onion – 1 large (chop as fine as you can)

Ginger – ½ inch (chop as fine as you can)

Garlic – 4-5 cloves (chop as fine as you can)

Tomato - 1 large (finely chopped)

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Garam Masala – 1tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Red chili powder – ½ tsp

Mustard oil – 2 Tbsp (use vegetable oil if not available)

Bay leaf – 1

Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp

Green cardamom – 1 pod

Cinnamon stick – ½ inch

Fresh coriander leaves/ Cilantro 

1. Heat oil in a pan and fry the parwal till it becomes a little crispy. You know its done when the edges get crispy but the centre is still soft. Remove from pan and keep aside.
2. In the same oil, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cardamom and cinnamon stick. Fry for a min on a low flame till you get the aroma.
3. Now add the ginger garlic and fry for another half a minute. 
4. Add the onion and salt and fry till very light brown in color. 
5. Now add the coriander powder, chili powder and turmeric powder. Give a stir and fry on low flame for 2-3 min.
6. Add tomatoes and cove for a min. Once they become a little soft, add garam masala. 
7. Cover and cook for 6-7 min, or till masala is cooked and all the raw taste is gone. 
8. Add roughly chopped potatoes(keep some pieces of potatoes big and some small). This is done to give a creamy texture to the gravy, and at the same time also bite into chunky pieces of  potatoes. Fry for 2-3 min. 
9. Add the parwal, a cup of water and salt as per liking. Cover and cook till you get the gravy of your choice of consistency.
10. Garnish with fresh cilantro. 

Karahi Chargha Chicken

Traditional Pakistani chargha requires chicken to be deep fried. However this recipe is made with big pieces of chicken with bones cooked in a pan/ karahi. 

While the chicken prepared in the traditional way, tasted awesome by itself, I felt adding some crunch from onions would not only add to the texture, but also balance the tangy taste with some sweetness of the onions. So gave it my own twist in the end by adding onion rings. 

Another prominent flavor in this dish comes from the thick grated ginger, sliced chilies and fresh coriander/ cilantro added to the chicken just when ready to serve. As you bite into it, all the different flavors unfold. The end result is thick  masala coated chicken that goes well with paratha and should be served with yogurt-mint raita. (dahi pudina raita). This combo is believed to be inseparable!

You need (Serves 2) :

Chicken – 300 grams 

Chili powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp

Chargha Masala – 1/2 tsp (grind 1 black cardamom, 1 ½ inch cinnamon, 10 cloves,1 ¼ tsp black pepper)

Dry red chili- whole – 2-3 nos.

Garlic – 4-5 cloves

Ginger – 1 inch (grated thick or fine juliennes)

Fresh red chili/ Birds eye chili – 3-4 (slit)

Fresh coriander leaves – 2-3 Tbsp

Yogurt – 1/2 Cup

Onion - 1 medium size (cut into rings and separated)

Salt 

Oil

1. Blend garlic to a fine paste (use a little yogurt if the quantity is too less to blend, but don't use water).
2. Marinate the chicken with salt, garlic, yogurt, garam masala, cumin seeds, chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Leave it for minimum 1 hr. 
3. Heat oil in a wide mouth pan and add whole red chilies. Once lightly fried, add the chicken. 
4. Fry the chicken till it turns brown. Now cover, reduce heat and let it cook.
5. When the chicken is almost done, add onion rings, cover for 2-3 min and cook. 
6. Once  the onion rings become translucent and soft (should still have some crunch), and the raw taste goes, add the grated ginger, slit red chilies and fresh coriander leaves. Give a stir.
7. Switch off the heat. Serve hot!!

*If you want to make the traditional karahi chergha, just skip the onion rings.

Tomato Khajjur chutney (Tomato and Date Chutney)

One of the quick, easy and tasty treats from Orissa - this one is a great accompaniment for Dalma and Rice meal. It can also be had as an individual dish as well with rice or paratha. It's a sweet and sour chutney, but I like it a little bit sweeter than normal since I have a sweet tooth!


I have also tried it with an extra green chili, and I think the combination of sweet, sour and hot makes a thrilling trio!


You need


1 tbsp panch phoran
2 tbsp sugar
1 green chili - slit down the middle
2 big tomatoes chopped in small pieces
1/2 inch ginger ,chopped into very thin pieces
5 dates, soaked and deseeded
4/5 curry leaves
1 tbsp refined oil

1. Heat oil and add panch phoran
2. When it starts to splutter, add slit chilies, curry leaves, chopped ginger and fry for 1 min
3. Add chopped tomato, dates and sugar and cook till tomatoes get dry. (Retain water based on consistency needed - I like mine a little gooey)
4. You can garnish with coriander if you like

Tandoori Chicken/ Oven roasted chicken in a tangy marinade

Chicken lovers don't need an introduction. It's pretty simple to make. And now you won't have to depend on store bought tandoor masala. Make your own marinade and give it your own twist if you wish!

You need:

Whole chicken – cleaned and skin removed (use a young chicken, weighing around 800- 900 gram)

Lime juice – 2 tbsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Kashmiri mirch/ Paprika – 2 tsp

Ginger paste – 2 tsp

Garlic paste – 2 tsp

Yogurt/ thick curd – 1 cup

Red chili powder  - 1/ tsp (adjust to taste)

Mustard powder – 1 tsp

Garam Masala – ½ tsp

Gram Flour/ Besan – 3 Tbsp

Salt

Mustard Oil – 2 Tbsp

Vegetable Oil – 2 Tbsp

1. In a bowl place the chicken. Rub the mixture of lime juice, salt and 1 tsp of kashmiri mirch well into the chicken. Now add 1 tsp each of ginger and garlic paste and rub well. 
2. Heat vegetable oil and roast gram flour, till it gives a nice aroma. Make sure you don't burn it as it will turn bitter. 
3. In another bowl take yogurt, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste, garam masala, red chili powder, 1 tsp kashmiri mirch, mustard powder, mustard oil and salt. Mix it really well so that it forms a homogeneous mixture. 
4. Now add this marinade to the chicken and rub well. Make sure the slit on the chicken too have marinade the marinade coated uniformly. Put a cling wrap and keep it in the fridge for 3-4 hours min. 
5. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degree F. Place the chicken on a baking try in the middle rack. After 25 min, baste the chicken with some oil/ butter and let the other side of the chicken face up. Bake for another 25 min. 
6. Sprinkle chat masala on top before serving.
7. Serve with lime wedges, sliced onions and mint chutney. 

*Before marinating, make slits on chicken on both sides as follows – 

- 3 slits on the thigh

- 3 slits each on left and right breast. To simplify, place the chicken on a chopping board (lying position), with neck on top, breast in the center (facing up) and thigh below. Now imagine the chicken  wearing a V neck sweater. :) make the first slit along the neck V, and then 2 more parallel to that. This slit is important as chicken becomes tough if the slits are in the opposite direction.

- Make small cuts in the knee joint, and also the end of the leg piece (usually its call the vein)

Kashmiri Dum Aloo / Potatoes simmered in aromatic gravy

This is a traditional Kashmiri delicacy in a rich yogurt gravy. The characteristic  flavor of fennel seeds (Saunf) and creamy texture of yogurt makes this dish a perfect thing to go with puris, parathas or pilaf.

Though there is no onion or garlic, but a blend of so many different spices, makes this dish very festive! Follow this recipe as is, and you won't go wrong ever!

You need: 

Baby Potatoes - 4-5

Cumin seeds/ Jeera – 1 tsp

Asafoetida/ Hing – 1/8 tsp

Gram flour/  Besan – 1 Tbsp

Whole red chili - 2

Yogurt – 4 Tbsp

Sesame seeds – 1 Tbsp

Coconut powder – 1 Tbsp

Ginger – ¼ inch

Green chili – 1 (or adjust to taste)

Coriander powder – 1 Tbsp 

Fennel seed powder / Powdered Saunf – 1 Tbsp 

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Red chili powder – ¼ tsp (or adjust to taste)

Paprika/ Kashmiri mirch – ½ tsp

Salt

Garam masala – ½ tsp

Coriander leaves / Cilantro – 2 Tbsp

Sugar – ¾ tsp

Oil

1. Peel, wash baby potatoes and poke with a tooth pick (this will help it cook through and also in infusion of flavors). Heat one tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan, add potatoes, toss it to coat uniformly with oil and cover. Check every 30 sec and stir to brown potatoes on all sides. 
2. Heat the pan on medium heat and roast sesame seeds for about a minute until it lightly change color. 
3. Blend sesame seeds, coconut, ginger, green chili to a fine paste (add a tbsp of water if required) 
4. In a small bowl mix the sesame paste, yogurt, coriander powder, fennel seed powder, paprika, red chili powder, and turmeric. Keep aside.
5. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a saucepan. Add cumin seeds, asafoetida.  Once the cumin seeds crackle, add whole red chili and gram flour. Stir-fry for about half a minute until the gram flour is golden-brown.
6. Add the spice paste, and stir-fry for about 3-4 minutes on medium heat until the spices starts to separate from the oil. Add the sugar and fry for another 30 secs. 
7. Add the potatoes, mix it well and add about 1cup of water. Once it comes to a boil, cover and  let it cook on low-medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes. Adjust the water in gravy to your liking.
8. Add the cilantro and garam masala, cover the pan and turn off the heat. Let it sit for few minutes before serving. This helps bringing the color on the top of the dish.

 * If you don't have baby potatoes, use regular/russet potatoes and cut into quarters.

** The traditional recipe calls for deep frying the potatoes. You can make a healthier version (like mentioned above) or deep fry for special dinner/ occasion. However I didn't find a big difference in the taste, so you might as well skip the deep frying.

Bharwan Bhindi (Okra with tangy stuffing)

Stuffed veggies always look special and make a delicious appetizer/ side. The spicy filling in crispy veggies, almost every time, look like hand crafted piece of art (provided it's a job well done ;)) made exquisitely for the patron. Quite frankly, the effort is a lot lesser than what the final product looks and tastes like. So go ahead and make this to impress your loved ones! Gentle warning : a little patience helps.. ;)

Some of my favorite stuffed veggies are okra, bitter gourd (karela), parwal (pointed gourd, potola), capsicum, eggplant (baigan) etc. 

You need:

Small tender okra/ bhindi 

Oil (preferably mustard)

For the filling: Below is the ratio of various ingredients. Make as much as you need. Typically, ¾ – 1 tsp filling per okra is a good estimate.

Oil (preferably mustard)

Nigella seeds – ¼ tsp

Green chilies – ½

Garlic (optional) – ½ tsp (very fine chopped)

Gram flour/ Besan – 1 Tbsp

Cumin/ jeera powder – ½ tsp

Mango powder/ Aamchoor – 1 tsp (use lime juice as a substitute)

Red chili powder – ¼ tsp

Salt- To taste

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Coriander powder – ¼ tsp

1. Take oil in a pan, add nigella seeds and very fine chopped green chilies, followed by garlic. Once you get the aroma, add all the ingredients in the list above (from gram flour to coriander powder). Roast on very low heat till the gram flour is roasted well. Remove from heat and let it cool. 
2. Make sure the okra is completely dry once washed. Trim the stalk. Now make a slit from one end to the other. But make sure you don't cut open the ends, as you need a pocket to stuff in the filling. 
3. Stuff the filling. If you have some stuffing left, reserve it. You can sprinkle on top while cooking to make it crispier.
4. In a wide pan, add oil. Now place the okra with open side facing upwards. Close the lid and cook on very low flame. Open after 4-5 min, shake the pan gently to turn the okra to the other side. Sprinkle some water (not more than a tbsp), cover and cook again. 
5. Once ¾ done, open the lid and let it cook while it gets a little crispy. If you have any filling masala left, sprinkle it on top of okra and give a stir. Be gentle. 
6. Once done, transfer to a serving dish.

* If you wish, add sliced onions when ¾ done and give a stir.

** Sprinkle chaat masala to add more zing.