Crispy, spiced nuggets of okra served with a hot and spicy vegan mayo. Put the natural stickiness of okra to work by creating a "glue" for crunchy panko breadcrumbs and coconut. Fry or bake for a delicious, golden snack. Once you start, you won't be able to stop eating. Dip them in my Atomic Red Chilli Mayo for addictive heat!
Prep Time35 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time50 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American, Indian
Keyword: bhindi, okra
Servings: 6
Author: Sanjana Feasts
Ingredients
375gokra
Oil sprayIf baking
Oil for deep fryingIf frying (any oil with a high smoke point)
For the wet mix:
400mloat milk(or any milk of your choice)
140gvegan mayo
1tbspgarlic powder
1tbsponion powder
2tspchilli flakes
1/2tspground turmeric
1 1/2tspsalt
For the dry mix:
325gpanko breadcrumbs
100gdesiccated coconut
For the atomic red chilli mayo:
100ggvegan mayo
50gatomic red chilli chutneyrecipe card below
Instructions
Wash and thoroughly dry the okra. Cut off the stems and slice into 2-3cm rings.
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, vegan mayo, garlic powder, onion powder, chilli flakes, turmeric and salt.
Combine the panko breadcrumbs and coconut in a large tray.
Add the okra to the wet mix and fold everything together with a spoon or spatula to coat each ring. Allow to stand for 15 minutes. The okra will become thick and sticky.
Lift the okra out of the wet mix and toss in the dry breadcrumbs and coconut to coat each piece as evenly as you can.
Once all the pieces are covered, dip each one in the remaining wet mix again and coat in the breadcrumbs again to create a double coating. Try to keep one hand for the wet mix and the other for the dry mix to avoid a sticky mess on your hands.
When you've coated all the okra pieces, refrigerate the nuggets for 30 minutes.
Instructions for oven baking:
To oven bake the Popcorn Bhindi, arrange all the nuggets on a large tray. Spray liberally with your favourite oil spray.
Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C/320°F for 30-35 minutes or until crispy and golden.
Instructions for deep frying:
To deep fry the Popcorn Bhindi, heat around 8-10cm oil in a pan suitable for deep frying. The oil temperature should register 160°C/320°F. Deep fry in small batches, around 4-5 minutes per batch or until crispy on the outside and cooked all the way through.
Drain the Popcorn Bhindi on a plate or tray lined with absorbent kitchen paper. Serve hot with Atomic Red Chilli Mayo.
For the Atomic Red Chilli Mayo:
Mix together the vegan mayo with red chilli chutney. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Be careful not to cook the Popcorn Bhindi at too high a temperature or they will brown too quickly on the outside and the okra itself will remain raw inside.
How to freeze the Bhindi for cooking later: Once all the okra nuggets have been coated in a double layer of breadcrumbs, freeze the entire tray, with all the nuggets in a single layer. Once completely frozen, pack into freezer-safe bags or containers to cook later.
To cook the Bhindi from frozen: Deep fry or bake according to recipe instructions. Add 5 minutes onto bake time for frozen Popcorn Bhindi and 90 seconds on to fry time.