Ode to the Bhindi ! भेंडीची गोष्ट

Times have changed. Folks actually are going back to old tried and tested , simple recipes .

Like simple Bhindi(Okra) sabji, made in stirfry fashion , sometimes with onions and/or potatoes, , with sprinklings of salt, chilly powder, maybe cumin powder.

My blogger friend Shruti Nargundkar, of Melbourne,  posted a delicious capture of Bhindi sabji in her FB group Sikandalous Cuisine. As she mentions "For some, this is the only vegetable they eat apart from potato (is potato a vegetable?)  ....  Others hate it with a passion!   Goes well with rice or rotis, with dal, sambar, rasam or kadhi!"

This vegetable is sold at $12 a kilo in Melbourne!

I thought it deserved an Ode . In  Marathi and English.....

(photo by Shruti Nargundkar)

बाळबोध, साध्या, दोन्ही खांद्या वरून व खोपा घातलेल्या डोक्यावरून हिरव्या साडीचा पदर लपेटून, बायकांच्या गोतावळ्यात फिरणार्या , एक खूप हळव्या आजी . कधी मनात छोटे विचार येतात कधी लंबे लंबे विचार तंग करतात , पण आयुष्यात कढइवाले गरमीचे दिवस आले कि खरच मसाला भरभरून रडू येत . बिया सुद्धा जवळ रहात नाहीत , आणि चक्क साडीभर बुट्ट्यानसारख्या सैर भैर होतात . थोडा आंबट जवळ काही असलं तर बरं वाटतं, रडारड कमी होते .... समाधान एव्हडेच , कि कठीण दिवसात कांदा भौजी , आणि बटाटा भौजी नेहमीच साथ देतात, आणि हल्डीबाई, हिंगोबा, मिर्चीमाव्शी आणि नारळरावांनी आजपर्यंत तरी नेहमीच साथ दिली आहे . शेवटी, आपलं आयुष्य भाकरीच्या तुकड्यावर अवलंबून असतं न ?

An innocent softhearted green grandma, hair in a simple khopa bun, wraps her green saree majorly around her head and shoulders, as she hangs out with her folks thinking of her life. Sometimes small thoughts, and sometimes, some long worrying ones; the trouble is, that she weeps into the masala in the heat of a kadhai moment, and even the seeds go haywire like the design dots on her green sari.... Of course, having someone sour and strong around always works at controlling the tears; And she is grateful, to Monsieurs Onion and Potato, not to mention, the loyal ladies, Turmerica, Asofoetida, and Jalapena, who with the Coconut chaps have always stood by in support. At the end of the day, you are only good, till the Bhakri piece wraps you up and goes away, isnt it!