Tell me something… do you feel cranky, irritated etc etc on some days that you (or the people around you) might wonder whether you woke up from the wrong side of the bed? How does your day go on such days? This Okra curry happened on one such day.
Since I wasnt very happy with “my attitude” for the day, I wanted to do something to cheer up myself and checking out my cookery books seemed like a good idea. If you haven't noticed, awesome food pics releases so called “happy hormones” ;) So as I was going through this particular cookery book, I saw Okra Curry recipe and almost turned over the page instantly. Since Jose doesn't like Okra, I never cook it. But then the “happy hormones” started working… I came back to the Okra recipe page. Suddenly a thought struck me.. why shouldn't I cook something, just because my husband doesn't like it? How come he can force me to eat the things I dont like (read fruits) saying that it's healthy and I cant do the same to him. Last I heard, marriage is a two way street. Ok, that's it, I'm making it and I dont care whether he likes it or not. I wrote Vendakka in Vendakka aksharam (Okra in bold letters) on top of my “to buy” list.
Ok, I need to tell you something else… if you are thinking Okra is my fav veggie and I miss eating it because of Jose,well… that's not the case. Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of Okra myself. But if irritating somebody can bring you happiness and above all cheer you up, I think the statement”the end justifies the means” is apt here, you get what I mean, right ;) But the thing is I've often heard my friends saying that they miss cooking/eating some particular dish/ingredient because their spouse or kids dont like it.
I've often noticed that people who do the cooking at home, tend to cook something which is liked by others and sacrificing their own likes. I think it's mainly because the best reward for cooking is seeing a smile on somebody's face when they eat the food cooked by you. You dont want to be the reason for taking away that smile from their face. Another reason is… since cooking can be time consuming, you think of the hassle of cooking up different dishes and end up cooking the dish that's preferred by your family.
So now you know what you should do when you feel cranky… cook something that you miss eating because it's not enjoyed by your partner/kids. Next time you do grocery/veggie shopping buy that special ingredient and cook up a storm with it and enjoy. It's ok to love yourself at times ;)
Btw, if you are newly married or at the beginning stage of your relationship, the above said things are not applicable for you. Because, for you “love is blind” now and you are in the “love and love” only stage :) Though the romantic dreamer in me wants to say that it will be like that forever, the realist in me says that sooner or later the day will come when you want to cook something just for yourself (it's not an everyday thing, but it happens). Till then cook something which your family loves and make yourself rich with the most precious gift…. happy and smiling faces of your loved ones :)
OMG, I wrote this much and not a word about the okra curry, hhmmm… If you like Okra, you will enjoy this. It's creamy with mildly spiced flavours and it's a great side dish for roti's/chappathi/appams etc. Give it a try and see for yourself…
Hi. Your recipes are mouth watering. I’m looking to try the okra recipe soon and wanted to ask if i can replace coconut milk with yoghurt instead?
Thanks Deborah :) I havent tried this recipe with coconut, so I’m not sure about the exact taste. However I’ll feel the taste will be very different from this curry :)
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria,
I like you recipes but it takes so long for the website to load and for the recipes as well which makes it a bit tiresome and sometimes just makes me go to some other sites. is there anything you can do to speed it up?
Hi Smitha,
Thanks! I checked it from my end many times and it’s loading without much delay. We do speed tests for the site on a regular basis and it shows good results. So I’m not sure what more we can do from our end.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria, your cooking recipes are awesome and yummy.thank you so much:). Is there any alternate for coconut milk used in this recipe. My husband doesn’t like that taste. Can I use water instead?
Hi Vidhya,
You are welcome :) Good to know that you like the recipes here, thanks!
Yes you can use water instead, to make it thick or creamy, you can add some cashew paste. soak a handful of cashews in 2-3 tbsp hot water for 10-15 mins and grind to a smooth paste. Add it towards the end of cooking.
Cheers
Maria
Thanks for your reply. I will surely try this recipe. I m new to cooking just started to cook. Love your recipes. Thanks and continue doing the same. Looking forward for more and more yummy dishes.
You are welcome Vidhya :)
You can see the earlier recipes of MM here: https://mariasmenu.wpcomstaging.com/#browse
Please go through it. I do hope you find something interesting!
Cheers
Maria
a very tasty & easily made curry
Thanks Sophie :)
Hi Maria,
How u duing? I tried this recipe of urs yest with brinjals and it turned out really nice.. My hubby loved it too but it was a lil spicy as I guess the qty of chilli powder tht I added was slightly more than ur suggested amount.. :) But was really yummy and easy recipe too.. Thanks for sharing this n keep up the good work.. :)
Hi Resmi,
I’m doing good dear, thanks.
Thanks a lot for the comment dear. I havent tried it with brinjal, it’s a nice idea :)
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria,
Thanks for great recipes. My wife tried few and they were real good.
This is a dish similar to my mom’s. She never used cashews but after simmering coconut milk she would break few eggs directly into the vendakaya curry. Wait for 2 minutes and turn off the fire. We loved her egg and vendakaya curry very much. Missing it these days.
Hi Joby,
Thanks a lot for your comment! Please do say my thanks to your wife also :)
Adding egg to Vendakka curry is new to me, may be I can try it sometime :)
Cheers
Maria
Thank u soo much for ur chicken biryani recipe.. I tried that .. it came out very tasty.
You are welcome Veena! Glad you liked it :)
Cheers
Maria
I luv all ur recipes. Thanku so much
You are welcome dear! Nice to know that you like the recipes :)
Cheers
Maria
the way present ur recipes is really and they are worth it. thanks a ton
Thanks Divya for the sweet comment :)
maria im a new reader.. Pls pls watermark your images.. whole blogs are being started only by copying your recipes… you must be the only person who has not watermarked yet.. it doesn’t affect photo quality in any way.. u can also report to google or wordpress about the fake blogs. they will delete it.. take care… u have an awesome site..
Hi Chinnu,
Thank you so much for your concern dear, appreciate it very much!
Yeah, I’ve seen some blogs with recipes copied from this space. We’ve reported it to the concerned authorities, some of them have been removed, but I think some is still there :(
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria, I recently came across yr post. I love cooking n trying out different recipes. I made yr Okra curry, it turned out very tasty everyone at home enjoyed it. Thanks n keep it up.
Hi Sunita,
Nice to know that you enjoy cooking and I’m glad you found this space :) Thanks a lot for trying the recipe and also for posting a comment here..
Cheers
Maria
Dear Maria… Love your posts, especially what you write before the recipe :) I had been in Bahrain for more than half of my life, reading your blog somehow brings be a bit of Bahrain and I love it too.. Keep going!(read it in Vendakka Aksharam :)
Hi Maria, I liked the write-up and I totally agree with it. After marriage we always end up making what our husbands prefer and slowly in the process we forget ourselves, our likes and dislikes etc etc.. I was always on the look out for an okra dish and this one looks really good. Will try it out and let you know. Take care, Regards,Mary
hii maria…i tried vendaka curry today for my lunch….mmmm yummy.it was awesomee..my hubby enjoyed it a lott.thanks maria..
I loved reading the prelude to the recipe…esp the “love yourself” part…cheap thrills on days when you are irritated si to do something stubbornly for yourself. Loved the recipe too…will try it soon. :)
Thank you Smita :) Hope you get to try this soon and like it too..
Cheers
Maria
hahahha.. interesting read maria… i did this recently .. not mak vendakka curry.. but i went for vendakka pachadi.. u wont believe navin took a serving and hwen he knew it was vendakka , the poor thing got dumped… i love vendakka and i have again bought some more.. and he was like..why bhindi??i said” i want it .. i am going to make vendakka pachadi”..eveil grin.. 6 years of marriage.. can take that risk…!!! next tiem i want to have vendakka will try this…
Hi Renu,
Good to know that I’ve company ;) Btw, vendakka pachadi is something that I wanna try. Will try it sometime when I’m in a mood to bug Jose ;)
Cheers
Maria
haha I so enjoy your writing Maria! it’s so true that we end up not cooking what our hubs/kids dislike! I haven’t make okra in ages must write that in vendakka aksharam on my list too :)
Thanks Rose dear :) Hope vendakka found a place in your list ;)
hi maria… iv been searching for meat ball curry recipe and ended up reading vendekya…. hope u doing good.. great job wid the blog.. keep it going. luv merin
Thanks Merin, I’m doing good :) I havent tried meat ball curry yet…
Cheers
Maria
Maria, dunno if my previous comment went thru or no.. hence typing again… ente Mariachi, the last few posts had me ROFL… this one made me laugh on “vendakka aksharam” vendakka paalu curry is my fav.. I saute okra, shallots, n green chillies.. then add salt, turmeric powder, ginger, n garlic. once sauted well, add meat masala n tomato… cook in thin coconut milk till done n then add thick coconut milk n freshly pounded pepper (chathacha pepper).. Will try ur version n let u know, n okra is not loved by hubby too along with bringal though he likes the chaaru of this curry.
Thanks Twinsy dear :) Hope you are doing great. Yeah, I like Vendakka paalu curry, we make a similar version at home, but I think we call it Vendakka mappas or pappas…
Cheers
Maria
Haha,loved reading through the post.Ajay is not very fond of vegetarian biryani/pulao even though he doesn’t mind eating it.I sometimes make it only to see the smirk on his face*wicked me*:)).I am sure it happens to all,all the time we cook food which is a favorite to them,so once in a while it is absolutely fine cooking for oneself.
That said,I dislike Okra so you know what NOT to cook for me if I am around:)
what all things we do just to bug them na ;) I’ll keep in mind that you dont like Okra.. btw, that reminds me our meeting is long pending :(
Cheers
Maria