South Indian Style Okra Rice with fresh spices! An easy vegetarian lunchbox recipe to use okra in. Tastes so good with simple Potato fry or Papad.
It is also known as Vendakkai Sadham in Tamil.
I am a huge fan of Rice Varieties! I can have rice for all 3 meals in a day. While even a simple rasam rice is enough to make my day better, I often try a variety of rice recipes to keep it interesting. When I saw few okras lying in my refrigerator, I wanted to try making something different from my usual recipes and that’s how I landed up with this one. If you are an okra fan like me, do try out my Bhindi Masala recipe as well. I am sure you will love it!
Mixed rice varieties are pretty popular in South India. Back when I was in school, I remember my mom packing different rice recipes in my lunchbox. With no fancy ingredients, the rice would consist of just a vegetable cooked with some freshly made spice powder for flavour and taste.
Easy to make on a busy day, keeps the stomach full and tastes so good!
That’s exactly how this Okra Rice is. Makes a great meal or lunch with not much effort!
Why I love this Okra Rice
A beginner-friendly rice recipe. Can be made in less than 30 minutes.
Perfect for the lunchbox, a quick weekday meal, or as travel food.
Kid-friendly recipe. The perfect way to sneak in those okras if your kids are not a great fan of the vegetable.
A flavourful recipe made using simple spices from the pantry!
For this recipe, I first cooked the rice and seasoned it with okra and fresh spices. You can make this rice with leftover rice as well. Great way to use leftover rice & saves time.
Step by Step Instructions
Cook rice and keep it ready.
On a medium flame, dry roast coriander seeds, chana dal, peppercorn, red chillies, dry/desiccated coconut until the spices turn fragrant & become golden brown in colour. Switch off and let it cool. Grind to a fine powder.
Chop okras into medium size pieces and keep them ready.
In a pan, add oil. Once hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, a handful of curry leaves. Once it splutters, add the okras and fry till they turn crisp. Add the freshly ground spice powder & the required amount of salt. Let it combine well with the okras.
Add the cooked rice. Mix well without breaking the rice or okra pieces. Switch off the flame.
In another pan, add ghee/oil. Once hot, add some cashews. Once it turns golden brown, switch off and add it on top of the rice. Serve with your choice of side dish.
Serving Suggestions
This time, I served this Okra Rice with Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes. This rice tastes amazing with some simple Potato fry, Chips or Papad.
The rice is flavourful on its own and doesn’t need any fancy side dish!
Other Rice Recipes you may like
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Okra Rice | Vendakkai Rice
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Raw Rice
- 2 cups Okra chopped to medium size pieces
- Salt as needed
For the spice powder
- 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
- 1 tbsp Chana Dal
- 1/4 tsp Peppercorn
- 3 Red Chillies
- 1 tbsp Dry / Desiccated Coconut
For tempering
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 tsp Chana Dal
- 1 tsp Urad Dal
- Curry Leaves handful
- 10 Cashew Nuts
Instructions
- Rinse 3/4 cup raw rice in water. Transfer to a pressure cooker and add 1&1/2 cups of water. Cook on a medium flame for 3 whistles.
- Once the rice is cooked, ensure it cools down completely to room temperature before using it in the recipe.
- On a medium flame, dry roast 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tbsp chana dal, 1/4 tsp peppercorn, 3 red chillies, 1 tbsp dry/desiccated coconut until the spices turn fragrant & become golden brown in colour.
- Switch off and let it cool. Grind to a fine powder.
- Chop okras into medium size pieces and keep them ready.
- In a pan, add oil. Once hot, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp chana dal, a handful of curry leaves.
- Once it splutters, add the okras and fry till they turn crisp. Add the freshly ground spice powder & the required amount of salt. Let it combine well with the okras.
- Add the cooked rice. Mix well without breaking the rice or okra pieces. Switch off the flame.
- In another pan, add ghee/oil. Once hot, add some cashews. Once it turns golden brown, switch off and add it on top of the rice. Serve with your choice of side dish.
Notes
rice : water ratio and requires 3 whistles to cook. Please adjust according to the type of rice you use. The rice must turn out fluffy. Ensure the rice is at room temperature before using it. Otherwise, the rice may turn mushy or it may break when added to the okra. Adjust the amount of peppercorn, red chillies according to your taste and spice level.
