Kurkuri Bhindi
Kurkuri bhindi is the crispy snack attack you get when okra is sliced into matchsticks, spiced and lightly battered, fried or air fried, and finished with a tangy burst of lime juice and chaat masala.
Ingredients
- 20-25 okras, cut lengthwise twice
- 2 tbsp besan (chickpea flour) *see note for subs
- 1 tbsp rice flour or cornstarch
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp amchur (dried mango powder) *optional - use it if you have it!
- ¼ tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt or salt to taste
- 1-4 tbsp mustard oil or neutral oil *1 for air frying or 4 for shallow frying
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp chaat masala (or more! or less! your choice)
Instructions
- Wash the bhindi (okra) a few times. Wrap each one in a paper towel or dish towel to squeeze out all excess moisture. Cut into matchsticks by cutting lengthwise twice – each bhindi should yield 4 long pieces.
- Toss the cut bhindi with besan (chickpea flour), rice flour or cornstarch, ground spices, and salt.
- Air frying: mix in 1 tbsp mustard oil to the bhindi. I find that not adding any oil to an air fryer makes some things turn out unappealingly dry. Preheat the air fryer and air fry at 400 F for 10 minutes. Mix once in the middle.
- Shallow frying: heat a cast iron pan or another pan over medium heat with ~ 1/4 cup mustard oil or just enough for the base of the pan to be covered. Add all the bhindi and make sure they are not overlapping. Let it cook for 8-10 minutes until they are crisp. Flip in the last few minutes of cooking. Be careful about increasing heat because they burn easily!
- Once the bhindi have cooled down slightly, finish with a squeeze of lime and sprinkle of chaat masala.
Notes
- Sub corn flour if you don't have besan. The corn flour version might just turn out even crispier! If you don't have either, another flour should work too.