Undhiyu

Though I have been born and brought up in Bombay, I somehow did not have many Gujarati friends and so I did not get to taste this special Gujarati dish made in the winters. I have tasted it once at a wedding and have wanted to try it for a long time.

This winter I had quite made up my mind to make this so I planted some garlic in a pot in my balcony so I could get the green garlic which is needed for this dish (as it is not available here). I did a lot of net surfing for this recipe and even called one of my husband’s friends home for dinner, as the judge he being from Ahmedabad. The verdict was good except it needed to be a little more sweeter and have a little more gravy. I have made appropriate changes to the recipe so I get it right the next time round.

Ingredients

4 small brinjals,

3-4 small potatoes,

100 grams sweet potato,

100 grams suran,

1 raw plantain,

50 grams fresh tuvar,

50 grams lilva beans,

6-8 blades of green garlic,

25-30 papdi,

2 – 3 tbsps sugar,

2 tbsp tamarind pulp,

5 tbsp oil,

2 tbsp coconut,

4 green chillies,

A pinch of asafoetida,

1 tsp of turmeric powder,

1 packed cup of coriander leaves,

2 inch piece of ginger,

1 tsp mustard seeds,

1 tsp cumin seeds,

1 tsp ajwain seeds,

Salt to taste

For the muthiya

½ cup besan,

1 cup wheat flour,

Salt to taste,

½ cup of chopped fenugreek leaves,

¾ tsp of ginger paste,

1-2 chopped green chillies,

½ tsp coriander seeds,

½ tsp cumin seeds,

Water as required,

Oil to deep fry

Method

Mix all the muthiya ingredients except the oil and knead it into a soft dough. Take small portions of the dough and shape into elongated oval shapes. Heat oil and deep fry the muthiyas in batches and keep aside.

Dice the sweet potato, suran and raw plantain into one inch cubes. String the papdi and split it to ensure they are no worms. Halve them.

Make a fine paste using the green garlic, ginger and green chillies. Mix the chopped coriander leaves, coconut, salt and tamarind paste with the green garlic paste.

Peel the potatoes and make a cross slit on them ensuring they stay whole. Similarly make a cross slit on the brinjals. Stuff the brinjal and the potato with the paste.

Heat oil in a deep vessel and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain and asafoetida. When they crackle, add the left over paste, turmeric powder and all the vegetables. Add the salt and stir fry for five minutes. Add 2 cups of water and cover and cook till the vegetables are almost done.

Now add the muthia and the sugar and cook through for another 15 minutes. Goes well with normal rotis or bajra rotis.