Undhiyu Recipe

It is Gujarati dish that originated from Surat, the city of south Gujarat. It is cooked in winter season as this weather offers variety of vegetables. This recipe is prepared with many vegetables like muthias, small brinjals, banana, sweet potato, vaalor-paapadi and yam. Many spices and herbs are also the part of its ingredients like garlic, coconut and ginger that creates spicy taste and sweet flavor.

The old method of this recipe cooking is very interesting. In old times, all the ingredients were put in earthen pot and buried inside the earth and gave heat from the top. Due to its cooking style, it is called undhu that gives the meaning of upside down. In present time, the way of cooking is totally different as it is prepared at stove in the pressure cooker.

Ingredients

• Surtipapdi (100 grams, stringed)
• Raw banana chunks (100 grams, unpeeled)
• Yam chunks (peeled, 100 grams)
• Sweet potato chunks (100 grams)
• Small brinjals (100 gram, slit into two)
• Green chilies (five in number, crushed)
• Ginger grated (one teaspoon, grated)
• Garlic crushed (half teaspoon, crushed)
• Coriander leaves (one tablespoon, finely chopped)
• Wheat flour (one teaspoon)
• Oil (four teaspoon)
• Asafetida (quarter teaspoon)
• Turmeric powder (half teaspoon)
• Ajwain (one teaspoon)
• Salt (according to taste)
• Sugar(half tablespoon)
• Lemon(for taste)

Ingredients for Muthiya

• Methi leaves (100 grams, finely cut)
• Gram flour (half cup)
• Red chili powder (one teaspoon)
• Fresh ground coconut (one tablespoon)
• Salt (according to taste)
• Oil (one tablespoon)

Method for Muthiya
Take a big bowl with sufficient capacity, put all the things that you have for muthiya and blend them well. You need to make hard dough from all these ingredients. However, this dough must not be too hard or else you would not be able to shape it. Make dumplings from the dough and give them oval shape.

Pour quarter tablespoon of oil in frying pan, heat it and fry muthias for two or three minutes. Turn off the flame, drain them in some dish and put them aside.

Directions

1. Mix garlic, green chilies, coriander and ginger in some large bowl to form a fine paste of them. Form a paste of green chilli, ginger, garlic and coriander. Take all the chunky vegetables like sweet potatoes, yam, brinjals and raw banana. Apply chili masla paste and oil over them. Let them marinate for 30-35 minutes.
   
   
2. Pour four tablespoons of oil in deep frying panand heat it. Add all the marinated veggies in this oil and stir them. As you add the vegetables, slow down the flame or else they may stick with bottom of the pan. You are not going to use water for cooking so keep the flame slow. Put the lid over the pan and give it five cooking minutes. Add salt, gram flour, turmeric, papdi, ajwain and stir them well. Cover them with lid, let them cook with steam and do not remove the lid until they become tender or completely done.
   
   
3. Now add lemon, sugar and coriander in the vegetables. Give this mixture more 10 cooking minutes. If you need water, just sprinkle few tablespoons over it.
   
   
4. Serve this dish hot with homemade bread.