Roast a tablespoon of gram flour (besan) on a tava or skillet for 2 mins or till it begins to turn golden and give off a roasted aroma. Keep aside.

Peel and chop the stick of ginger. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the ginger along with black peppercorns.

Bring yogurt to room temperature – keep it outside the fridge for a couple of hours. Whisk it well with a pinch of salt and roasted cumin powder.

Wash and wipe the moisture off the okra before cutting. Snip off the head, then cut into 1.5-inch long sticks.

In a pan or kadhai, heat a tablepoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and once they splutter, add broken dry red chilies. As soon as the red chilies turn color, add asafoetida, turmeric powder and okra in quick succession. Stir the contents of the pan and cook covered for 8-10 minutes on medium heat, turning the okra around every other minute. The okra should have taken on golden edges at places by now. At this stage uncover the pan and move on to adding the remaining spices.

Add ginger-pepper paste and salt to the pan, and cook uncovered till the okra is nearly done. Stir in roasted besan (gram flour) and continue to cook for 2 minutes, turning the okra pieces around so that they get coated with the besan evenly.

Set the heat to low and gently fold in the yogurt. Another minute of uncovered cooking, 5 mins of covered rest – and dahi bhindi is ready to serve!