Dahi Bhindi – Okra Yogurt Curry Recipe

Dahi bhindi aka dahi wali bhindi recipe – This is a gravy based okra curry, here okra is first shallow fried and then cooked in the gravy of and gram flour. The spices in curry makes it mildly spicy and the yogurt makes this curry little tangy, whilst gram flour helps in thickening the curry. You may find this yogurt okra curry somewhat closer to kadhi, however, it tastes different.

What is Dahi Bhindi

Dahi = Yogurt (or curd) in Hindi, Bhindi = Okra. A curry with yogurt and okra is dahi bhindi. This okra curry has mild spicy flavour and thick gravy. Addition of yogurt offers the creamy texture to the curry, alongside making it little tangy. Yogurt with gram flour, also makes the curry little thick and suitable to be scooped with chappati. However, if you a rice person, you may keep the curry little runny by adding little water.

Kapil is huge fan of Okra and fortunately okra is available round the year almost everywhere and is less restricted to being a seasonal vegetable. On regular days, I will make bhindi masala however, on days when I wish to eat little different version of okra, I make this dahi wali bhindi. The beauty of this dahi bhindi recipe is that its really straight forward and super easy to make.

I shared the recipe of this on my Instagram, way back in July 2020, but never got around to write a proper blog post. Thanks to a follower who asked me if I have detailed recipe of this yogurt okra curry, I realised I need to write on blog, and here I am with full step by step recipe and nutritional information.

Whilst okra is available round the year and this okra yogurt curry can be consumed anytime, I recommend that you eat it more often on a hot day or summer time. Presence of yogurt offers a nice cooling factor to the curry and soothing to the tummy.

Ingredients for dahi bhindi

• Okra, we need okra, look for fresh green okra.
• Dahi, aka yogurt, we need yogurt which is little sour in taste, however if you do not have that sort of yogurt, do not worry, you can squeeze a little bit of lemon in the curry, once its done.
• Gram flour – it acts as binding agent with yogurt and makes the gravy thick, apart from adding its own taste and texture.
• Spices – No special spices required here, its red chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, etc, all of which will find in your kitchen cupboard.

How to make Dahi Bhindi vegan

Look out for vegan yogurts in supermarkets and use that in the curry as against to normal yogurt. I have not used vegan yogurt ever in this curry, however, I will think that the curry will taste equally awesome.

Method of making dahi bhindi

• Wash and then pat dry okra, leaving no water on okra. Now cut okra into small pieces, I prefer keeping to 1-1.5 inch in size, but you can choose the size which may suit you.
• Take a pan and put on medium heat, then add 1.5tbsp of oil. Once oil is hot, add okra and fry up okra. You need to check that okra is no more raw.

• In the same pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and add asafoetida and carom seeds, let the seeds crackle. Now onion paste to it and sauté on low heat till raw smell of onion fades away, by then onion paste would have turned little brown., subsequently add ginger garlic paste and sauté it to take away rawness from the paste.

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• Now add, cumin powder, turmeric powder, chilli powder, kashmiri chilli powder and coriander powder and roast the spices, but do not burn spices.

• Keeping the flame on low, now add gram flour and roast it well, ensuring that the rawness of gram flour (besan) fades away entirely.

• Now carefully add whisked yogurt to this, let this cook for 5 mins on low heat, keep churning the pan.
• Add little bit of water to get desired consistency of the curry, and add salt too, mix well.

• Now add the fried okra into the pan and let it cook for 2-3 mins.

• Sprinkle garam masala to finish with, and serve hot.

Other versions

Jain Diet

Follow the same recipe as above, but do not add onion and garlic paste. This curry will taste almost same as with onion and garlic, minus the fragrance of garlic.

Gluten Free

Avoid adding asafoetida in the recipe for gluten free dahi bhindi, or check that the asafoetida you using is fully gluten free.

South Indian Style

My recipe here is north indian version, however if you wish to follow how it may be done in down south of India, you can add cashew nut paste in coconut milk. Give it a semi liquid consistency, and at the point when you add spices, soon after that add this cashew nut coconut milk paste. Rest of the recipe to remain the same.

Dry Bhindi

If you do not like gravy, avoid adding any water, or keep the water topping to limited. This will make the gravy thick, however do keep stirring pan to avoid it getting burnt.

Pro Tips for best Dahi Bhindi

• Use yogurt which is little sour in taste. This curry is supposed to be little tangy.
• You must keep stirring the pan when adding yogurt, else yogurt will curdle and ruin your curry. Keep flame on low when adding yogurt.
• Use fresh okra for best crunchy taste. Working with okra can be bit messy as it gets slimy when washed, hence thoroughly pat dry okra with a towel.
• Avoid rushing in by increasing the flame, keep flame to low and at best medium.
• You must roast spices well, including gram flour, else curry will taste bitter and get raw unpleasant flavours.

This Dahi Wali Bhindi

• Is an easy okra curry to make with normal spices found in kitchen cupboard.
• Has mild spicy and tangy flavour, making it very unique in taste.
• Take less than 45 mins to dish up this delicious okra yogurt curry from scratch.
• Can be made in dry, semi-dry or with runny gravy as per taste, though I personally favour semi-dry.
• Is a pleasant change from usual okra recipes.

Serving suggestion

Serve this okra yogurt curry with plain steamed rice or with any Indian bread such as chapatti, paratha or naan, however curry must be hot when served.

Other Okra – Bhindi Recipes

Bhindi Masala

Bhindi Do Pyaza

Stuffed Bhindi

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