First in a continuing series.

There’s something about the look of a cleaned plate that gives the definitive proof that it was a yummy dinner.  Especially the swirls like brush-strokes from scraping up the last bits.

This was okra with Indian spices.  The recipe came to me from Joyee Deb.  Here is the recipe as originally emailed to me.

one general point is to always wash the okra whole – before cutting. if you wash after cutting, they tend to become sticky. frozen okra works, but i would recommend you use fresh ones. it really makes a difference to the taste.

Cut okra into 1/2 inch pieces (cut off heads and tails first). Heat some oil in a wide pan on a medium flame and add the cumin seeds. Fry till they stop sizzling. Add finely chopped onions, green chilli and garlic and fry till the onions turn light brown. Add the okra and mix well. Add dry mango powders, coriander powder, and red chilli powder. Fry on a low flame till the okra is cooked and has turned brownish. If you feel the okra is becoming dry, add oil.   If you like tomato, you can also add diced tomatoes before you add the okra.

A variation of this is to add “ajwain” instead of cumin. i prefer that actually – i like the aroma more, but tends to make it more spicy.