BENdekaayi Gojju / Ladies Finger Curry

Bendekaayi Gojju, is this tangy , spicy, sweet coconut based curry which takes absolutely yum with roti or with steaming hot rice with a dollop of ghee.

You may also want to try some other lip smacking gojjus like Pineapple Gojju, Badanekaayi Gojju, Hunase Gojju and  Maavinkaayi Gojju.

Gojju, in Kannada means a thick gravy which is tangy, sweet, spicy. Basically a mouth water dish 🙂 . Bendekaayi Gojju, is a very common dish in Karnataka.

I recently lost my Dodamma , my mum’s sister, my favourite aunt. She was one of the best cooks I have know apart from my At the and my Mum. I can come out of any low phase just by having their food. I can’t still digest the fact that she is no more and I now feel I had so much to learn from her. I CAN NEVER COOK LIKE HER, but there are these dishes that just bring back her memories 🙁

Ingredients

1/2 kilo – Ladies finger

3 tbsp – Cooking oil

1 tsp – Mustard seeds

Handful of curry leaves

A tiny pinch of Asafoetida

1 tsp – Jaggery

1/4 cup – Tamarind paste

Salt to taste

For tempering

1 tbsp – Oil

2 nos – Dry red Chillies

Curry leaves

1 tsp – Mustard seeds

For the paste

1/4 cup – Freshly grated coconut

2 nos – Green chillies

1 tbsp – Kadale (Roasted bengal gram)

4 to 5 stems of fresh coriander

Method

Heat oil in a deep pan

Add mustard seeds and let it crackle.

Add Curry leaves and asafoetida and let it crisp up.

Add diced ladies finger to this and fry till the slime is gone and till the ladies finger is well fried.

The ladies finger have to almost crisp up. Keep sautéing it till they almost turn black.

In the meantime, grind the ingredients listed under paste to a smooth paste, using water as required.

Add this paste to the well roasted ladies finger, along with an additional cup of water.

Add tamarind paste, jaggery and salt to this and cook till the curry reaches a thick gravy consistency.

To add the tempering to Bendekaayi Gojju, heat oil in a small pan.

Add mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chillies and let it crisp up.

Pour this over the Bendekaayi Gojju and serve it with steaming hot rice or coconut rice or rotis.

Do let me know how you like it?