Bitter Bhindi (Bitter Melon and Vegan Okra Recipe)
Bitter melon and okra might not be the most obvious combination, but it is a delicious one! Salty, umami, funky, bitter, flavorful, this vegan okra recipe will leave you with an empty plate and a full stomach, plus a mouth happy from all the flavors. No, this probably isn’t the dish for your five year old nephew that lives off of mac and cheese and chicken nuggets, but for the more adventurous eaters among us, this bitter melon and okra combination is both interesting and delicious. Serve with rice, and dig in!
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What I Eat When I Have Too Many Vegetables
I have a bit of a routine over the summer. I go to farm stands and farmers markets- I have all my favorites- and I spend a relatively small amount of money and end up with both my crisper drawers filled and produce taking over the rest of the fridge. I make a little pasta with kale, and throw some tomatoes on a sandwich, before I have to face the reality that I have bought far more produce than my two person household can eat. Again. I am not a big fan of food waste, and so I actually have a solution to this problem. We call it “Indian Feast”, and it basically involves making a meal comprising of a homemade Indian bread, and several vegetable filled dishes. Some are more traditional, like a saag, and others are more Indian-inspired like this bitter melon bhindi. I’m sure you could do this same method in other cooking styles, but for us Indian food just works- Indian food is naturally very vegetable heavy, and meals filled with several dishes isn’t unusual. More than anything, I think this method gives us a common flavor palette, that all sorts of vegetables can go into and create a meal that tastes good together. Of course, I am not an expert on Indian cooking, and my Indian Feast nights are hardly authentic. This dish I’m sharing is only inspired by Indian food, and I can’t say that it’s in anyway traditional to any of the regional cooking cultures across India.
Looking for Indian-Inspired Recipes? Try one of these!
- Indian-Spiced Vegan Warm Pumpkin Salad
- Homemade Bitter Melon Chips
- Garlic Mustard and Spinach Saag
- Vegan Date Scones with Pistachios and Rose Glaze
- Just Flour and Water Flatbreads (Oh, and Salt…)
- Garlic Scape Sweet Potato Pakoras or Fritters (Vegan)
- Butter Chicken of the Woods (Vegan Butter Chicken)
How to Make Bitter Melon Bhindi
What we’ve got here is a basic stir-fry type situation, so start by getting all your vegetables prepped and your spices ready to go. Which is definitely a case of “do as I say, not as I do”, because I always chop my vegetables as I’m cooking, and occasionally end up burning things or finding out we don’t have an ingredient halfway through as a result. Once prepped, start with your spices and aromatics, building up flavor in your oil as you go. The okra needs to cook longer than the bitter melon, so throw it in first. Stir it occasionally, but not all the time because it’s best when you get a bit of charring and caramelization. Your bitter melon will only need a few minutes by comparison, so wait until your okra is just about ready before throwing it in. This bitter melon bhindi is given an extra layer of flavor with black salt, also called kala namak. Black salt has a sulfur flavor to it, and often gets used to mimic the flavor of eggs in vegan cooking. That’s not what we’re using it for here. We’re just using enough to give our dish an bit of funky umami flavor. If you can’t find kala namak near you, you can always pick some up online here. Start with 1/2 tsp. and see how it tastes as the flavor can be very strong. We ended up using 1 tsp., but you might want more or less as desired. Eating this with a good bread (like our super simple flatbreads) and/or rice is highly recommended!
Bitter Bhindi (Bitter Melon and Vegan Okra Recipe)
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 chili pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
- 2 medium-sized tomatoes
- 1 lb. fresh okra
- 1 large bitter melon (about ½ lb.)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp. cumin seeds
- ½ tsp. ground turmeric
- ½-1 tsp. black salt (kala namak)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Start by preparing all your vegetables. Mince the garlic and chili, dice the onion, and grate your ginger. Chop the tomato into small pieces, and cut the okra into pieces down the length. Peal the bitter melon, remove the seeds, and chop into pieces about the same size as your okra.
- Heat your oil in a large skillet. Add the cumin seeds, and cook, stirring, until they start to pop. Add the diced onion, and cook for a couple minutes, until fragrant. Add the garlic, ginger, and chili pepper, and cook for another couple minutes, stirring. Add the turmeric and tomatoes, mix well, and add the okra.
- Cook the okra for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until there begins to be some darkening. Add the bitter melon, and cook until softened. Turn off the heat and add black salt, starting with ½ tsp. and adding a second ½ tsp. if desired. Season with regular salt and pepper, and serve. Delicious with rice!
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