This ultra-simple dish is a signature recipe of the western ghats of Karnataka, South India. Being the gravy kind, it sits in style by the side of rotis but you can easily shift sides and team it with steaming hot white rice. Using vegetables for making saasve is optional but ground raw mustard is mandatory. In this recipe, we have used Lady’s Finger, selecting the tender ones, a humble vegetable that is low in calories, high on fibre and dense with nutrients.

Dish Type:  Side Dish

Preparation Time:  10 min

Cooking time:  15 min

Serves:  4 persons

Ingredients

For seasoning:

Oil                   2 tsp

Black gram      1 tsp

Mustard seeds            ½ tsp

Curry leaves    3 sprigs

For sautéing:

Lady’s finger   500 gms

Salt to taste     ½ tsp (approx..)

For grinding:

Raw coconut grated    ¼ of a coconut (240 ml cup)

Green chillies              4 nos.

Mustard seeds                        ¼ tsp

Jeera                           Little less than ¼ tsp

Directions

Wash lady’s finger. Drain the water, let the vegetables dry.

Chop them into fine round slits and keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai. When hot, start putting ingredients listed under seasoning, one after another at few seconds intervals (in that order). Now put the chopped vegetable, saute it at intervals. Cover it partly with a lid retaining the ladle for sauting in the kadai itself. Remove the lid only when you have to saute. Cook till the bhindi (lady’s finger) turns soft. When done, allow it to cool.

(If bhindi is cooked by keeping the kadai open, vegetable will be crisp, but doesn’t suit for making saasve)

While the vegetable is getting cooked:

Finish grinding using ingredients listed under “For grinding”. Transfer the ground mixture to a bowl. To this ground mixture, add ½ litre curds and 1 tsp salt.

Now add the cooked and cooled bhindi to the above and mix well.

Lady’s finger saasve is now ready.

Note: Lady’s finger is also known as Bhindi, Bhendi, Okra, Bamia, Ochro or Gumbo