Bendakaya — My Mother’s Recipe Definitely Works!

• After months of fear and hesitation, I finally tried making my mother's bendakaya (Indian okra dish).  And I am happy to report that it turned out wonderfully well!  You can get the recipe here:  http://madhuknitsandcooks.typepad.com/madhu_knits_and_cooks/2007/04/dont_like_okra_.html

The two things I learned from making this dish:

• It will probably take more than 15 minutes to cook — more like 20-25 minutes.  But the good thing is that it requires little effort while cooking (just stirring every several minutes or so).
• Don't be afraid to really salt it up toward the ending of cooking.  Even if you think it seems probably salted about 5 minutes before it's done, check before you are completely done to see if there really is enough salt because salt REALLY brings out the other flavors of the dish.