Okra Thiyal

My version

Okra or Lady's fingers (Vendaka/bhindi) cooked in a thick roasted and puréed coconut gravy. Thiyal or Theeyal is a Kerala dish and it is prepared using different vegetables. Ulli Thiyal is prepared using whole shallots. Thiyal is also prepared with other vegetables like potato, bitter guard, brinjal etc. Like I mentioned earlier, most dishes in Kerala have coconut added in them in different forms. Well, it is said that the name Kerala or Keralam derived from the Sanskrit word Kera, which means coconut. The land of coconuts :) You will see coconut trees in every nook and corner in Kerala. Maybe so, coconut and coconut oil is an inevitable part of Kerala cuisine.

Ingredients :
Okra	-		3 cups
Coconut oil	-		2-3 tablespoons
Mustard seeds	-		1/2 teaspoon
Dried red chillies	-		4-5 nos.
Curry leaves	-		2 stems
Onion	-		1 medium
Garlic	-		2 cloves
Green chillies	-		2 nos.
Tamarind	-		Lemon sized
Warm water to soak tamarind	-		1/2 cup
Freshly ground coconut	-		3/4 cup
Curry leaves	-		2 stems
Shallots (thinly sliced)	-		4-5 nos.
Coriander seeds	-		2 tablespoons
Dried red chillies	-		7-8 nos.
Water	-		As mentioned
Salt	-		To taste.

Tempering is usually done after the cooking process in this recipe as well. But, like I've said earlier, I personally prefer it at the beginning allowing it to infuse all the flavour and aroma into the gravy. Upto you to try your style :)

Preparation Method :

In a wok throw in the fresh grated coconut and add the curry leaves, sliced shallots, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and dried red chillies. Combine everything well. Turn the flame on medium and keep sautéing until the coconut begins to brown. Then reduce the flame to low and sauté until coconut turns really brown as seen in picture below.  Ahh! I love that colour and my kitchen smells awesome! :) Then cool the roasted coconut mix and fill into a blender. Pour in water enough to cover the coconut and purée into a fine paste. In a wok, heat the coconut oil and crackle the mustard seeds. Add the dried red chilli, curry leaves, garlic, green chillies and chopped onion and sauté. Cut off the head and tail of each okra, cut into two and cut into 1 inch pieces. Then, add the Okra and keep sautéing until the sliminess or glueyness disappears. Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup of warm water for 10 minutes and extract the pulp. Pour the pulp, into the wok and combine well and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Then pour in the blended coconut paste and 2 cups of hot water and combine well. ( If you dont want the gravy very thick, add some more water). Add some salt, bring to a boil, then bring down the flame to low and allow the thiyal to simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.  Then turn off the flame and allow to cool. When the thiyal cools it will thicken further. Thiyal is served with rice in Kerala. But, it goes well with chapattis as well. Some even have vellaiappam with it. Do leave your valuable feedback, results, comments, queries, suggestions or criticisms below!