I love cookbooks. I have quite a few in my personal collection, but my absolute favourite, and the one I consider my cooking “bible” is Charmaine Solomon’s The Complete Asian Cookbook. Although I now do often turn to the internet for my recipes, I still refer back to this book for some favourites mainly in the Indian and Sri Lankan sections.

Okra fry is one of these recipes. My kids grew up with this dish and love okra because of it. The recipe is uncomplicated, contains limited ingredients, and not overpowering with heavy spices.

Ingredients

• 300g tender okra
• ½ tsp panch phoran (see below).
• 1 medium onion chopped finely.
• 1-2 tbsp ghee or oil
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ½-1 tsp chili flakes
• ½ tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp Salt

Method

Wash and dry the okra, then tip and top them (cut off the tips and the tops). Heat ghee or oil in a heavy bottom frying pan and add the panch phoran, fry for about a minute. Add the onion and continue frying till the onions turn golden, stir frequently. Add the turmeric, chili flakes, garam masala, and salt. Mix well. Cover and cook till the okra is tender. Intermittently uncover and stir well. If the okra gets too dry and it looks like the contents are burning, you may add about a teaspoon of water at a time, however its usually not necessary as the okra contains enough water. Too much water makes the okra slimy.

Panch Phoran

Panch phoran is a spice blend containing whole spices (all seeds). The word panch translates to English as 5 and the name literally means 5 spices. The spice blend originates in the Eastern part of the Indian subcontinent and is seen in the cuisines of Eastern and North-eastern India and Nepal. The 5 seeds used are:

• Black mustard seeds
• Cumin seeds
• Nigella seeds (black cumin)
• Fennel seeds
• Fenugreek seeds

The seeds are mixed in equal quantities though some prefer to reduce the fenugreek by half because of its bitter taste.