Image is from the Internet

A very popular dish'[ from Surat especially made during winter. Generally preparing this dish takes a lot of time. It was invented in Surat roughly so it is also known as Surati Undhiyu. It is the preparation of vegetables and fenugreek muthias cooked in different spices.

The name “Undhiyu” comes from the Gujarati word “Undhu” which means upside down. Traditionally,undhiyu was made in the pot by keeping it upside down on the ground in the earthen pots and fired from above. It consists of vegetables available on the South Gujarat Coastline. You need a lot of patience to prepare this dish.

Here we are sharing the recipe of Undhiyu in surat style. We are sharing a very easy recipe from one of our readers. Normally, people don’t try it because the process seems very lengthy and time-consuming. I am sure after going through this recipe you will find it easy and fast too.

Ingredients for Making Muthias:

• 250 gms of Fenugreek leaves (a.k.a Methi)
• Salt
• 200gms Wheat flour
• 2 tablespoon of Gram flour
• Garlic (preferably green garlic)
• 3 tbsp of Ginger – green chili paste
• Sugar
• Coriander – Cumin Powder (Dhanajeeru)
• Turmeric powder
• Red-chili powder
• 2 spn of oil
• Oil for frying
• pinch of baking soda (optional)

Other Ingredients :

• 1 kg of Surati Papdi
• 250 gms of Tuvar dana (also you can use Green Peas easily available)
• 500 gms of Potatoes (preferably baby potatoes if you want to do stuffing)
• 500gms of Purple Yam (Kand in Gujarati)
• 500 gms of Sweet potato (Suran )
• 250 gms of Brinjal ( baby brinjal preferably )
• salt
• oil to fry
• Asafoetida(Hing)

Ingredients for Coriander – Coconut Mix

• 750 gms of Coriander
• freshly grated coconut
• green garlic
• salt
• gram flour
• sugar
• ginger-chili paste
• sesame seeds(Til)
• coriander-cumin powder

How To cook Undhiyu

Method to prepare Muthias

1. Take a Big Bowl so you can mix everything very well take Fenugreek leaves in it. Add salt in it and put it on the side for 10 minutes. Squeeze all the water from it.
2. Mix all the ingredients for Making muthias, Make a soft dough and add water only if requires.
3. Apply oil to your palm and make small balls by rolling them with the help of your palms and fingers, don’t forget to divide them into equal portion first
4. Heat oil in a big Kadhai and deep fry it. Keep it on the side to mix it later on.

Preparation for cooking Undhiyu

Vegetables Preparation

1. First Make Papdi ready and peel Green Peas or Toovar Dana
2. Also, chop Coriander and keep it on the side
3. Chop big pieces of other vegetables – Potato, Yam , Brinjal, Sweet potato.
4. Take a Big Kadhai to fry all the veggies. Put oil in it and allow it to heat. Fry all the vegetables one by one.
   • First Purple yam and sweet potato
   • Baby potato (optional you can also boil it )
   • Lastly also brinjals
   • Keep all these on the side

Coriander and Coconut mixer

1. Take a big bowl. Add chopped and cleaned coriander and chopped green garlic in it.Mix well
2. Mix Gram flour, Sugar, salt, ginger – chili paste, sesame seeds, Coriander – cumin powder, Freshly grated coconut, mix well.

How to Assemble everything

1. Take a big Kadhai, put some oil in it, and add asafoetida(hing) and a pinch of soda in it. Add Surati Papdi and Tuvar Dana/green peas in it(properly cleaned with water and drained ).
2. Add salt ,ginger – chili paste ,mix it .Now add a little bit of water and cover it. Allow it to cook on a slow flame for 5-7 minutes. Check if it’s cooked well
3. Add the fried vegetables to it, mix it properly and gently. Be careful you don’t break the vegetables while mixing them
4. Allow all the vegetables in the Kadhai to cook properly and keep checking them and mixing them, but be careful it’s not overcooked or broke.
5. After making sure it’s cooked well, add the coriander and coconut mixer into the kadhai. Mix it gently
6. Now add prepared Muthias in the Undhiyu and mix it gently. After adding this all the Undhiyu is almost ready. Now it will look a little dry, add a little bit of Water (only according to the requirement in the Undhiyu).
7. Lastly, allow it to cook for 5-7 minutes. Allow the aroma of all the spices to be soaked in the Undhiyu.
8. Well, it’s ready to serve.

It is very famous for Gujarati weddings. The most popular combination is Undhiyu +Puri and Shrikhand. You can check our link for Shrikhand which is very easy just like our recipe of Undhiyu.

Tips :

• Be Patient
• Mix everything very gently
• Try to use Tuvar Dana and green garlic
• Try to use fresh vegetables

Recipe by :

Jagruti Shroff

She is an amazing cook and very good at making traditional food. She is also making Ayurvedic medicines. You can click the link above attached with her name and DM her.