Bhindi Raita (Spiced Yogurt With Crispy Okra)

Bhindi Raita (Okra Raita, Vendakkai Raita, Spiced Yogurt With Crispy Fried Okra) is a refreshing raita recipe with crispy bhindi added to mildly spiced yogurt. Serve it on the side with your everyday Indian meals. Here is how to make it.

If you love to serve raita with your Indian-style meals, here are some more raita recipes for you – Mooli Raita, Pomegranate Raita, Beetroot Raita, Boondi Raita, Sprouted Chickpea Raita, Lauki Ka Raita, Carrot Raita, and Cucumber Raita.

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• About This Recipe
• Ingredients
• How To Make Bhindi Raita
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage Suggestions
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About This Recipe

Bhindi Raita (Okra Raita, Vendakkai Raita, Spiced Yogurt With Crispy Okra) is a refreshing Indian side dish made using plain yogurt, okra, and a few Indian spices.

Serve it as a side dish with your everyday Indian meals or pair it up with your favorite pulao or biryani recipes. Just like onion raita or tomato raita, this easy okra raita recipe will also become your favorite, I can assure you!

This creamy yogurt dish is great for summer as it has a cooling effect on the body. It also has many health benefits.

This bhindi raita recipe can be easily doubled or tripled as per your requirement. You can also air-fry the okra instead of frying it in a pan.

Ingredients

For The Raita

To make this easy bhindi raita, you will need plain yogurt (curd), vegetable oil, okra (bhindi, lady’s fingers), green chillies, salt, roasted cumin powder, and chaat masala powder.

Select okra that are firm and bright green in color. Avoid the ones that have black marks or bruises.

Adjust the green chilies as per your taste.

You can also add red chilli powder, black salt, fennel seeds powder, and black pepper powder to spice up the raita.

For Tempering

Tempering is optional but highly recommended. To temper the yogurt bhindi raita, you will need vegetable oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafetida (hing), curry leaves, and dry red chilies.

Skip adding hing to make it gluten-free.

Add some white urad dal to the tempering to give a nice crunch to this simple dish.

You can garnish the raita with chopped coriander leaves (cilantro).

How To Make Bhindi Raita

Cook The Bhindi

Wash 200 g okra (bhindi) and wipe each of them with a kitchen towel or paper towel. Chop off ½ inch of top and bottom and cut the bhindi into ¼ inch rounds.

Note – Wiping the lady’s fingers is important to get rid of the sliminess.

Heat 2 teaspoon vegetable oil in a wide pan over medium heat.

Once the oil is hot, add the okra pieces and 2 teaspoon chopped green chilies to the pan and fry until they are crisp (12-15 minutes). Stir frequently while frying.

Remove the pan from heat and let the bhindi cool down for 10 minutes.

Make The Bhindi Raita

Whisk 1 cup of chilled yogurt in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy.

Add crispy fried bhindi, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder, and ½ teaspoon chaat masala powder, and mix well.

Tip – Keep some crispy bhindi aside for garnishing.

Add some chilled water if the raita is too thick.

Temper The Raita

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a small pan over medium heat.

Once the oil is hot, add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing), 5-6 curry leaves, and 1-2 dry red chilies to the pan and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.

Pour the tempering over the raita and mix well. Serve!

Serving Suggestions

Bhindi Raita tastes best when served chilled.

It is a delicious accompaniment to your everyday meals or special occasion meals. It makes your meal filling and wholesome.

This okra raita can also be served with mixed rice, pulao, or biryani recipes. I like to serve bhindi raita with stuffed parathas or thepla for lunch or dinner.

Storage Suggestions

Leftovers can be stored for about a day or two in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

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