How to Make Bharva Bhindi Recipe

Bharva Bhindi is a side dish from the Punjabi cuisine. Bharva means stuffed and bhindi is okra, bharva bhindi thereby means stuffed okra or stuffed ladyfinger. I have yet to meet someone who does not like bhindi. It is such as crowd pleaser. Everyone, be it kids or adults love it. Bharva bhindi recipe is easy and simple. It calls for a few ingredients. Stuffed bhindi can be customised as per liking. Stuffed bhindi fry recipe calls for some preparations and then it is a less than 20 minutes thing. Here are the steps by step pictures showing how to make bharwa bhindi along with a video which shows how to make stuffed bhindi?

Ingredients for bharwa bhindi

Bhindi: Selection of good okra is very important to make any recipe using bhindi. Tender, small, fresh and green; that’s how your bhindi should be. Not only the selection but the further processing of bhindi is equally important. Bhindi should be washed properly, it should be dried completely. It is very important that there is absolutely no water or moisture on the bhindi.

Spices: Since this bharva bhindi recipe doesn’t call for any onion, tomato, etc spices play a very important role. Only spices are used and therefore good quantities of spices have been used. The most basic spices are used which are always and easily available in the Indian pantries. Kashmiri red chili powder has been used instead of the regular one. It gives better color and flavor as well as increases the quantity of stuffing. However in absence of Kashmiri red chili powder, you can use the regular one, just use a lesser quantity.

Oil: Oil is used to make the stuffing as well as to cook okra.

Best Bharva Bhindi Recipe

Perfect bharva bhindi is cooked but should not be slimy at all. The spices should be perfectly balanced. In order to make perfect bharva bhindi the following steps and tips should be followed:

1. Dry the bhindi properly. The best way to do it is by washing it and leaving on the kitchen towel overnight or at least for a couple of hours.
2. Do not overdo or under do the spices.
3. Add oil to the spices mix. It makes sure that the stuffing remains intact.
4. Add enough oil for cooking okra.
5. Do not cover the bhindi initially while cooking it. Always cook it without any lid for the initial 10-12 minutes. You can skip covering it totally. But I like to cover and cook it after some time.
6. Do not fill too much of stuffing in bhindi.
7. Use a flat bottom pan to cook bharva bhindi.
8. Make sure to have only one layer of bhindi while cooking it. Do not layer it up.
9. Flip the bhindi after every 2-3 minutes.
10. Cook on low to medium flame.
11. If the masala is leftover after stuffing the bhindis, just sprinkle it over the bhindi in the pan.
12. In case the stuffing falls short, just cut the bhindi lengthwise and add to the pan. This much masala is sufficient for the given quantity, so the plain bhindis too will get flavored.

How to make Stuffed Bhindi? Possible Variations of Bharwa Bhindi:

Bhindi is a very commonly prepared delicacy. Although it is a Punjabi thing, it is prepared across the country and therefore it is prepared in many different ways. If you want to make a variation of this bharva bhindi recipe you can add in 2 tbsp of desiccated coconut or 2 tbsp of powdered roasted groundnuts or 2 tbsp of roasted gram flour or 1 tbsp of garlic paste in the stuffing.

Recipes similar to bharva bhindi recipe

You might like kaddu ki sabji, kakdi ki sabji, lauki ki sabji. These are a few other dishes prepared on a regular basis in Indian households.

How to serve bharva bhindi?

It can be served with simple chapati along with some whisked yogurt for a weekday lunch.