Stuffed And Baked Okra Bharwa Bhindi

Do you love savory baking like me, especially vegetables? Then this is a perfect recipe for you. I am so happy to share my low-calorie stuffed okra recipe. No flours and thanks to my oven, I used 1 tsp of oil to make this curry. I love roasting and baking veggies in the oven. You don’t need to supervise, and also the oil consumption is comparatively less. Making this in stove-top might take 15 to 20 minutes, but you need to flip frequently and check. But with oven, you don’t need to worry about the constant flipping. Like stuffed brinjal, I want to try stuffed okra but decided to bake instead of cooking it on the stove-top. I just went with my set spice mix, and when I mentioned it to my friend, she said its bharwa bhindi. Bharwa means stuffed, and bhindi means okra in Hindi. I don’t know if mine is the traditional or the authentic one, but I can assure you that it’s simple and delicious.

Spices used for the stuffing-

I did not use any flour or dry coconut/kobbari. All you need is some ground coriander, cumin, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and salt. Garam masala is optional even. You can use your favorite spices for the stuffing. You can add more garam masala and reduce the other spices. Try even add South Indian spice mixes like sambar powder, rasam powder, or vaangi bath powder. Play with the spices and have fun preparing the filling. VVK Tip – Always prepare a little extra stuffing. Use a generous amount of stuffing for the okra. If you are making this on the stove-top, you can drizzle them on top of the okra. Store the excess stuffing in an air-tight container and use it for other dry curries. Check the recipe notes section for more tips.

How to serve this baked okra-

The baked okra pairs well with roti, rice – dal or rice – kadhi combination. I love to serve this with rice and avial and rice and rasam also. Ok, it pairs well with rice and roti. Period. :-) Guess what, you can serve it as an appetizer also. My husband and my son love to relish it as is. :-)

How to make bharwa bhindi-

Clean and prep the okra-

Wash the okra and wipe them dry. You can use a kitchen towel or paper towel and wipe it all dry. Now cut both the edges, i.e., the top cap and the thin bottom part. Slit them lengthwise, ie, make a vertical slit.

And make sure the okra is still intact. We don’t need to cut the okra into two.

Mix the stuffing-

In a plate, all the dry masalas – coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, garam masala, and turmeric powder. Mix them thoroughly.

Now add the salt.

And remix. The stuffing is ready.

Preheat the oven-

Line a baking tray with a parchment paper or aluminum foil and spread some oil. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Fill the okra with the stuffing-

Take one okra at a time, and open the slit and fill about ½ to 1 tsp of the stuffing. You can add up to 1.5 tsp also. Then place it in the baking tray lined with the foil.

Similarly, stuff the masala inside all the slit okras.

Bake the okra-

Bake the stuffed okra for 15 minutes at 375 deg F. Here is the okra after 15 minutes.

Now carefully flip them and drizzle 1 tsp of oil on top.

Bake again for 15 minutes at 375 deg F. The total baking time is 30 minutes.

That’s it stuffed, and baked okra is ready. Serve hot with roti or with rice and rasam or dal.

Tips & Recipe Notes-

Tender okra (small or lengthy) works well for this recipe. Make sure your okra is completely dry. I usually bake it on my center rack. Every oven is different. So keep an eye after 25 minutes. You can bake up to 35 to 40 minutes for crispy okra. But 30 minutes of baking time is more than sufficient. There is no set measure for the stuffing. You can adjust according to your preference. Also, you can add some chaat masala if you are serving this as an appetizer. Try stuffing it with sambar or rasam powder too. As always, adjust the salt and red chili powder according to your preference. I did not include any flour and oil in the stuffing. You can add a 1tbsp of chickpeas flour or 1 tbsp of dried grated coconut or both. In that case, add a little extra chili powder. I love my stuffing dry, and don’t worry, the filling stays intact. Thanks to the slimy nature of the okra. Store the excess stuffing masala in an air-tight container and use it for other dry curries.

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