Bende Kavi Saru (Curried Lady's Fingers)

Ingredients

• twenty-four lady's fingers
• four or five large sliced green chillies
• one red chilli
• one point of crushed garlic
• a pinch of mustard seeds
• a pinch of caraway seeds
• a cup of cocoanut milk
• two of curds
• salt to taste

Method

1. 1

   Wash and prepare lady's fingers.

2. 2

   Fry chillies, onions, garlic, mustard seeds, and caraway seeds in ghee.

3. 3

   Drain and fry lady's fingers, then add coconut milk and curds.

4. 4

   Cover and simmer until soft, adding salt before serving.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Banquets of the nations (1911) by Robert H. Christie, page 98. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Bende Kavi Saru (Curried Lady's Fingers) Begoon Bhahja (Fried Egg Plant) Khiman (Minced Meats) Shandesh (Milk Balls) Rohit (Fried Salmon) Jhal Chai (French Beans) Dal Pithas (Lentil Croquettes) Kabutar Doopiajas (Stewed Pheasants) Cajure (Sweet Wheaten Cakes) Halwa Sond (Milk Pudding) 229 BANQUETS OF THE NATIONS Mussoor Dal. (Fried Red Lentils.) Wash and pick half a pound of red lentils ; when thoroughly dry, roast the same as you would coffee beans. Now put into a pan one ounce of tamarinds, three teaspoonfuls of ground onions, one teaspoonful of ground large red chillies, halt a teaspoonful of turmeric- half a teaspoonful of ground green ginger, a quarter teaspoonful of ground garlic, and a half teaspoonful of salt, the roasted lentils, and sufficient water to stand two inches above the mixture. Give it a good stir, then place it on the fire till the lentils are all dis- solved, being careful not to disturb the contents till they are cooked into a soft mass. Now take and whip the mass with a wire whisker (in lieu of a churn) till quite light, removing the tamarind seeds during the process. Cut a pound of onions in slices, not too thin, and fry till a reddish brown in two ounces of boiling ghee. Heat six ounces of ghee in a pan ; chop up the onions, which, along with the lentils, put into the ghee. Place the pan on the fire and stir well, and simmer at the side of the fire for twenty minutes. Eat with vegetables, fish, and meats. Gheevhat. (Spiced Rice). Slice two onions very fine and fry in four ounces of ghee till dark brown, but not charred, then put in four cloves, six cardamoms, a teaspoonful of coriander, half a teaspoonful of caraway, and a pounded red chilli, and fry for two or three minutes. Put this into 230 BENGAL (Hindu) a pan with a pound of well-washed rice and thirty ounces of water and three teaspoonfuls of salt. Boil till all the moisture has evaporated, and place at the side of the fire to dry. Eat with fish, vegetables, and meats. Katol. (Curried Turbot.) Cut two pounds of turbot into two-inch squares, free of skin and bones. Mix a teaspoonful each of ground turmeric, coriander, and cumin, and brown in boiling ghee. Pour in one teacupful of boiling water and half a teaspoonful of salt, and boil for five minutes ; add a stick of cinnamon, and one point of garlic, and boil for other two minutes. Eat with plain boiled or spiced rice, lentils, and chutnies. Rohit (Fried Salmon.) Cut two pounds of salmon into two-inch squares, free of skin and bones. Smear the pieces with a mixture composed of a teaspoonful each of ground coriander and ground onions, half a teaspoonful red chillies, and one and a half teaspoonfuls of salt. Let stand for an hour. Cut three large onions into very fine slices, and fry a rich brown in six ounces of boiling ghee ; place them to the one side and fry the pieces of salmon ; just before finishing add the fried onions. Eat with bread, rice, and fish chutnies. 231 BANQUETS OF THE NATIONS Bende Kavi Saru. (Curried Lady's Fingers.) Wash twenty-four lady's fingers, rub the skin with a rough cloth to remove all bristles, cut in inch lengths, wash a second time in water, and dry them. In a pan fry four or five large sliced green chillies and one red chilli in boiling ghee, a few sliced onions, one point of crushed garlic, a pinch of mustard seeds, and a pinch of caraway seeds. Drain and fry your pieces of lady's fingers in the above, and add a cup of cocoanut milk and two of curds ; cover very carefully, and allow to simmer till the vegetables are soft and tender. Add salt to taste

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.