Aloo bhindi , potatoes with okra

I always want to make restaurant quality side dishes at home. The catch is I cannot bring myself to use the requisite amount of oil. But after making mediocre okra repeatedly, I decided to just surrender to the fat.

I decided to go all out and make a North Indian Style Okra Potato Curry for  mooli parathas.  Aloo is the bacon of India, add it to anything to improve the desirability quotient; Frankly though, Okra is perfect, doesn't need any further gilding.

1. 20 Okras, trimmed, halved and cut into about 2" pieces
2. 4-5 smallish potatoes thinly sliced.
3. 2 medium sized onions chopped
4. 3 green chillies
5. 6 pods garlic
6. 3 tomatoes chopped
7. 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
8. 2 cloves
9. 1 inch piece of cinnamon
10. 1 teaspoon fennel
11. 1 teaspoon cumin
12. 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
13. 3 tablespoons oil divided
14. 1 teaspoon turmeric
15. 1 teaspoon chili powder
16. salt to taste
17. coriander leaves for garnish

Heat 1 tbspoon oil, fry the okra and transfer to a plate
Add 1 tbspoon oil to the pan and fry the potato slices and transfer to a plate.
Grind items 3 - 12 to a fine paste.
Add the remaining oil to the pan, pour the ground mix and fry until well browned and raw smell disappears.
Add salt, turmeric and chili powder, fry.
Finally add the fried potatoes and okra and a cup of water.
Simmer 10 minutes on  a medium low heat.

Garnish with coriander and serve.

I ate the leftovers with rice later that night