Undhiyu Recipes

UNDHIYU RECIPE

Steps:

• Take 1 cup gram flour, 1¼ cup fenugreek leaves, 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, a pinch of baking soda, 1½ teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon oil and salt in a medium bowl.
• Mix all ingredients with a spoon, add water as needed and make soft dough as shown in the photo. If the dough turns sticky, don't worry. If it is too sticky then add few teaspoons of gram flour and mix well.
• Grease your hands with oil and carefully make around 10-12 small oval shaped muthiyas from it. Heat the oil over medium flame to deep fry the muthiyas.
• Deep fry muthiyas (3-4 at a time depending on the size of a pan) over low-medium flame until they turn light golden brown and outer layer turns crispy. Don't deep fry them over high flame as they may remain uncooked from inside.
• Remove them using slotted spoon and transfer over paper napkin to a plate. Methi Muthiyas are ready.
• Prepare stuffing masala; take all masala ingredients (1/4 cup grated coconut, 1/3 cup roasted peanut powder, 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, 1/2 tablespoon green chilli ginger garlic paste, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice and salt ) in a medium bowl.
• Mix them well using a spoon and taste it. It should have strong spicy, mild sweet, mild sour and salty taste. If required, add more seasonings.
• Take all vegetables required to make the undhiyu.
• Peel the potatoes and remove stems from brinjal. Make a criss-cross cut on brinjal and potato from the topside until 3/4th length. Make sure not to separate the segments. Stuff the veggies with prepared masala (as shown in the photo).
• Heat 1/2 cup oil in a 3-liter or 5-liter steel/aluminum pressure cooker over medium flame. Add a pinch of asafoetida and sauté for 10-seconds. Add surti papadi, valor papdi, tuvar lilva, green peas, yam and salt. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add 1-teaspoon red chilli powder, 1/3 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin-coriander powder and 1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder.
• Mix well and cook for 3 minutes.
• Add stuffed brinjal and potato. Sprinkle some salt over it.
• Add 1½ cups water. Add fried dhokli methi muthiya over it.
• Close the lid and cook over medium flame for 3 whistles. Turn off the flame. Open the lid after pressure releases naturally (10-15 minutes).
• Gently mix the curry with a spatula. Do not over mix as the veggies and muthiya may break. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with poori and shrikhand in lunch.

EASY UNDHIYU RECIPE

Steps:

• String and pod the surti papdi beans. I used half-half of surti papdi (hyacinth beans) and valor papdi (fava beans).
• After stringing them and halving them, rinse very well. Strain and keep aside. I used 150 grams of beans which yielded 2 cups stringed and podded beans.
• In a bowl of water, peel, rinse and place the other veggies - 10 to 12 baby potatoes, 1 medium sweet potato, 2 cups chopped purple yam. Also keep 8 to 10 small brinjals.
• Note that the only the upper stalk of the brinjals have been removed and they have not been slit. You can also just rinse and keep the brinjals aside.
• Take 1 cup tightly packed methi leaves, finely chopped and 1 cup besan or gram flour in a mixing bowl.
• Add a pinch of baking soda, ¼ tsp turmeric powder, ¼ tsp red chili powder, ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp coriander powder, ½ tbsp oil, ¾ to 1 tsp sugar or add as required, ½ tsp salt or add as required and 1 tbsp lemon juice.
• Just mix everything and keep aside covered for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Then add 1 to 1.5 tbsp water and mix really well. Keep the mixture slightly sticky, so that the methi muthia remains soft after cooking.
• Apply some oil in your palms and shape the muthias. Keep aside covered with a bowl or lid. If you want you can also deep fry methi muthia. If fried then add lastly once the undhiyu is done and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
• Take ½ cup tightly packed grated coconut and 3 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves or ¼ cup finely chopped coriander leaves in another mixing bowl.
• In a mortar-pestle crush to a paste, 1 to 1.5 inch ginger, 8 to 10 garlic cloves and 2 to 3 green chilies. You can also grind all three of them together. If using ready paste then add ½ tbsp ginger paste, ½ tbsp garlic paste, ½ tbsp green chili paste. You can also garlic chives instead of garlic.
• Add 2 tbsp sesame seeds, ½ tbsp ginger paste, ½ tbsp garlic paste or green garlic chives paste, ½ tbsp green chili paste, ¼ to ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp red chili powder, 3 tsp coriander powder, 2 tsp cumin powder, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp sugar ¾ to 1 tsp salt.
• Mix very well and then check the taste. Add more lemon juice, salt or sugar if required.
• From the base, give a criss cross slit to the brinjals and stuff the masala in it. In the same way also, stuff the masala in the potatoes. If you want you can stuff the masala in the raw bananas also. Keep the stuffed veggies aside. Some stuffing masala will be left. Keep this aside.
• Heat 4 to 5 tbsp sesame oil or peanut oil in a pressure cooker. Add ½ tsp ajwain or carom seeds & ½ tsp cumin seeds. Stir and fry the ajwain and cumin seeds till they change their color. A few seconds. You can also use sunflower oil or safflower oil.
• Then add ⅛ tsp asafoetida/hing. Stir.
• Now add the stringed and podded beans. If you are using fresh pigeon peas, you can add them at this step.
• Stir well. To preserve the green color of the beans you can add a pinch of soda. I did not add.
• Now add half a portion of the leftover coconut masala.
• Again stir very well and saute for 3 minutes on a low to medium flame. Then make a neat layer of the beans at the bottom.
• Then place the chopped purple yam in a neat layer.
• Then make another layer of chopped raw bananas and sweet potato.
• Now sprinkle ¼ of the coconut masala evenly. Don't stir.
• Make a next layer of stuffed brinjals and potatoes.
• Add ½ cup water from the sides. Don't stir.
• Now gently place the prepared methi muthia in a layer. Sprinkle 2 to 3 pinches of salt all over.
• Cover the pressure cooker with its lid and pressure cook on a medium to high flame for 2 whistles or for 8 to 10 minutes.
• When the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid and gently mix everything without breaking the stuffed veggies.
• While serving if you want, you can garnish surti undhiyu with chopped coriander leaves or some grated coconut. Serve undhiyu with pooris.