Name: Dharosh sorshe (Okra in mustard sauce)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 500 g okra (dharosh/bhindi); 3 tbsp brown mustard seeds (soaked in water for 30 minutes); 1 tbsp poppy seeds (soaked in water for 30 minutes); 1 tsp onion/nigella seeds (kalo jeere); 1 dried red chilli; 1 tsp turmeric powder; 1 small tomato (finely chopped); 2-3 fresh chilis (or to taste); ¼ cup mustard oil; salt to taste; 1 tbsp mustard oil; 1 fresh chili

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The dharosh sorshe or okra in mustard sauce is a vegan recipe combining the deliciousness of tender okras with a spicy, pungent yet sweet tasting sorshe bata in a simple under 30 minute recipe

Anything made in mustard sauce in Bengali cuisine is a always a winner – much loved and relished by most people. In fact, even our non-Bengali friends are a fan of dishes made with it. Be it vegetables, paneer (chaena) or fish, the delicious pungency of sorshe bata or mustard paste just elevates their flavors. Moreover, the sweetness that cooking with mustard oil adds to these recipes makes them even more tasty. Furthermore, when cooking with sorshe banta the Bengali way, the recipes are always very simple and made with minimal ingredients. This is so that the flavor of mustard can shine through them. In fact, even onion or garlic are hardly used in these recipes. And one such gem in that list is the dharosh sorshe or okra in mustard sauce.

This vegan recipe combines the deliciousness of tender okras with a spicy, pungent yet sweet tasting sorshe banta in a simple under 30 minute recipe. This dharosh sorshe is a family recipe that I absolutely don’t make any changes to. That’s because it is just perfect the way it already is. We love keeping the consistency of this side dish to thick, non-gravy texture, just the way you see it here. This consistency makes it a perfect side dish with rice as well as rutis. However, it is not just the mustard seeds that lends this recipe a velvety, smooth sauce. There’s a bit of poppy seeds (posto) in there too. The posto makes the sauce more creamy and also imparts a sweetness to it.

Things to remember

This amazing simple and quick recipe is something that you could also make on a weekday. However, there are a few things to remember while prepping for the dharosh sorshe:

Never wash the dharosh/bhindi (okra) after you’ve cut them. Wash them first, wipe each of them dry using kitchen towels and only then cut them. This step ensures that the okras won’t turn slimy when you cut and cook them
For this recipe, when you cut the vegetable, keep them long – half an inch in length – that is how it is usually cut for this mustard okra recipe. If your okras are long, cut them in three parts otherwise you could just halve them. Also, make sure to remove the crown and bottom narrow parts of it
When making the mustard paste, sorshe banta, grind a chili along with the mustard seeds. This helps in reducing the bitter taste of the seeds when grinding

Serving suggestions

You could serve your yummy dharosh sorshe with both steamed rice as well as rotis/parathas. I especially enjoy it with rice and some dal on the side. On the other hand, the husband prefers it with rotis. However, both make for a superb combination and you could therefore, devour it any way you like it. If you are an okra fan, just like we are, I promise you will love this recipe too! So, do add this to your to do list. And when you make it, do share a picture with me, I’d love to know your feedback. You can share your food pictures with me over on Instagram, too. Happy cooking!

Eat hearty!