Rupali Agarwal, founder of Enhance your Palate, is a vegetarian recipe developer living in southeast Louisiana. She finds great pleasure in teaching and sharing her family recipes, which she refers to as culinary experiences, from northern India. I have taken two of Rupali’s classes in the last year. I am always impressed with her vast knowledge of her healthy cuisine, ease in the kitchen, and the pure passion and excitement that she communicates through the lovingly prepared vegetarian dishes from her homeland.
This colorful and flavorful Okra Bell Pepper Stir Fry is aromatic and exploding with flavors of turmeric, thyme (substituted for carom seeds), and chili powder, coriander, and garam masala made in Rupali’s kitchen from a passed down family recipe.
I modified this recipe and used spices that I had available or were accessible to me at local Indian markets. Many of the recipes that Rupali has shared with us include asafetida. Asafetida or “hing” is used in vegetarian cuisine from northern India. It can smell like onions and is said to aid in digestion.
To create a truly authentic version of the okra and bell pepper stir fry and other vegetarian dishes from northern India, you should order some asafetida. However, you will probably not perceive too much of a difference in flavor if you leave it out.
The original recipe also calls for carom seeds. I substituted dried thyme for the seeds.
I did not have ready access to mango powder so I left it out. I encourage you to try and find it before you make this recipe. Finally, Rupali explained to us that the vegetables are typically sautéed in mustard seed oil. She expressed that mustard seed oil is generally not well tolerated by Americans. I chose to sauté the veggies in ghee. You could also substitute another vegetable oil such as avocado oil or whatever type of oil you may have in your pantry.
Thank you Rupali and Enhance your Palate for sharing your healthy recipes from Northern India for the okra bell pepper stir fry.
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