Bhindi do pyaza is a restaurant style North Indian dish made with okra, spices, herbs & lots of onions. Caramelized onions and a tempering made with red chilies are the key essentials that impart a unique smoky flavor to this bhindi do pyaza. This gluten-free and vegan dish is for sure going to please your tummy! It tastes simply delicious, is easy to make and goes well as a side in a meal, with rice, roti, paratha, naan, turmeric rice or jeera rice.

About bhindi do pyaza

Bhindi do pyaza translates to okra cooked with twice the amount of onions or onions added at 2 different stages of cooking. “Bhindi” is the Hindi word for ‘okra’ and “Do” means “twice” & “pyaz” refers to “onions”. So as the name says bhindi do pyaza is a dish consisting of okra that has been cooked with twice the amount of onions.

There are different notions about the term “Do pyaza”. Some say it is twice the amount of onions, some say it is 2 kinds of onions and according to many others it is adding onions twice at 2 different stages in 2 different forms.

Whatever be the meaning, bhindi do pyaza tastes great and has very unique flavors that come from caramelizing the onions at the first stage and then frying more diced onions on a high heat at the second stage.

Do pyaza was originally from the Mughal cuisine & is usually cooked with meat. It became so much popular in the restaurants that even vegetarian versions were innovated. Paneer do pyaza is another vegetarian version.

There are many different ways a do pyaza recipe is made. Usually a sour ingredient like yogurt, raw mango or tomatoes are used to balance the sweet flavors of onions.

This recipe will yield you bhindi do pyaza that has a consistency similar to the one served in the restaurants. It is neither too dry nor has a lot of gravy. But it is in between them. If you prefer more gravy/sauce in the dish, increase all the ingredients proportionately except bhindi.

If you are bored with the regular bhindi masala then give this a try!!

Here is how to make it.

How to make bhindi do pyaza

Preparation

1. Rinse bhindi under running water well and drain them. Wipe them dry with a clean kitchen cloth. Chop them to ¾ to 1 inch pieces. You can keep them longer too as served in restaurants.

2. Pour 1 tablespoon oil to a hot non-stick pan. Fry the okra on a medium high flame stirring often until they are half cooked.

3. Keep stirring to fry them evenly. Reduce the flame if needed in between. Fry them until they are no more slimy and partially cooked. We don’t need fully cooked okra. It took me exactly 6 minutes to cook down to this stage. Transfer to a plate.

4. Pour 2 tablespoons oil to the same pan. Turn down the flame to low. Then add cumin and carom seeds.

Caramelize onions

5. When the seeds sizzle in oil, add fine chopped onions.

6. Saute them on a medium flame until golden stirring constantly. We need golden onions here. Add ginger and garlic. Saute for 40 to 60 seconds until a nice aroma comes out.

adding ginger garlic to make bhindi do pyaza

7. Then add tomato puree. Saute them until most of the moisture in the tomatoes evaporate.

8. Then add garam masala, red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt.

9. Mix and saute this masala very well until a nice aroma comes out. This takes about 3 to 4 minutes.

10. Pour ½ to ¾ cup water. I poured ¾ cup water. Cover and cook on a medium heat until the masala cooks well & turns thick.

11. Add bhindi, amchur powder and kasuri methi. Mix well. Crush kasuri methi in your hands before adding.

12. Pour another 4 to 6 tbsps water to bring it to a curry consistency. Mix well. Cover and cook until bhindi turns tender & fully cooked. Ensure the curry has reached a thick consistency before proceeding to the next step. I forgot to take a picture here. (for consistency check pic in step 15). Turn off the stove. Taste test and add more salt if needed.

Tempering

13. When you are done cooking the bhindi, make the tempering in a different pan. Pour 1 tablespoon oil to another small pan. Keep the flame to high and add the onion layers. Don’t get confused here. I have used a different pan for tempering, both the pans look same.

14. Fry them for 2 minutes until a nice aroma comes out. The onions must become transparent yet remain crunchy. Then add 2 dried red chilies and fry until a nice smoky and pungent aroma comes out. Do not over fry as they will burn and taste bitter.

15. Quickly pour this (onions & red chilies along with oil) to the bhindi do pyaza. Also add ginger juliennes and coriander leaves. Give a gentle mix from the sides leaving the red chilies & some onions on top. Cover and turn off the stove.