Undhiyu – Step-by-Step Recipe

Please enjoy step-by-step traditional Undhiyu Recipe in this article. The article discusses different ways of making Undhiyu, different styles of Undhiyu, and most importantly it shows the easiest recipe of making delicious Undhiyu! This is my Mother’s Recipe of Undhiyu! It is tried, tasted, and loved in our family for years. Believe me it will satisfy your taste buds and stay in your mind forever!

What is Undhiyu?

Undhiyu is a traditional Gujarati mixed vegetable delicacy cooked during special occasions. Undhiyu is made with variety of fresh vegetables and muthiya / muthia (vegan Gujarati dish). This delicacy is enjoyed during special occasions like weddings, grand parties, festivals like Diwali, and especially during festival called Uttarayan. This delicious delicacy “Undhiyu” is enjoyed in Gujarat (India). It is mostly made during winters because it requires special winter variety of vegetables like fenugreek leaves (Methi), Surti Papdi (Indian Flat Beans), Tuvar Lilva (Pegion Peas), Valor Papdi (Shelled Lima Beans), Green Garlic, Purple Yam (Ratalu), and Brown Yam (Suran). These vegetables mostly grow in winter. People prefer to make Undhiyu during winter so that they can use fresh vegetables instead of the frozen vegetables that are available round the year.

Different types of Undhiyus

Undhiyu is cooked in different ways in different parts of Gujarat. Undhiyu is prepared in Surti style, Kathiyawadi style, Matla (Clay pot) Undhiyu, Green Undhiyu, Vaishnav / Swaminarayan Undhiyu, Jain Undhiyu, etc.. Incase of Surti Undhiyu we stuff the vegetables like mini eggplants (brinjal), mini potatoes, raw banana (plantain), etc.. with special kind of stuffing. In Kathiyawadi Undhiyu, vegetables are not stuffed and is made with spicier masala. In case of Matla Undhiyu, vegetables are steam cooked in traditional earthen pot or clay pot also known as Matla instead of pressure cooking them. Incase of Swaminarayan or Vaishnav Undhiyu, you follow the whole recipe given below just skip adding onion and garlic. In case of Jain Undhiyu follow the recipe given below just skip adding all the root vegetables, onion, and garlic. Regardless of what style Undhiyu you decide to make, it tastes delicious no matter what. The recipe given in this article is a traditional Undhiyu recipe made with comparatively less oil and lot of green stuffing / masala.

Mother’s Recipe 

I think all of us have that one special dish ingrained in our mind that reminds us of our childhood. I am sure we all have at least one dish or a delicacy that we like to eat just the way our mom makes it! For me that dish is Undhiyu! When I think of Undhiyu, it brings me memory of my Mom waking up early in the morning before sunrise especially on the day of Uttarayan (Kite Flying Indian Festival) and making Undhiyu for the whole family. My mom still makes it for the whole family, but just because she is in India and I am in U.S.A., I miss eating this amazing Undhiyu made by her hardworking hands every Uttarayan. So I made sure to learn the traditional Undhiyu recipe from her. So please follow the recipe given below and enjoy this delicious Undhiyu with your family and friends!

How to make Undhiyu?

Note: The most important thing to understand before making Undhiyu is that you can never make Undhiyu for just one or two people, if you are going to make it in a traditional way! If you are allergic to certain ingredient mentioned below or if you do not have any of the ingredients mentioned below you can skip adding that ingredient and it will taste just delicious.

To make Undhiyu we need to lot of vegetables, we need Muthias (Muthiyas), and we need green stuffing / masala.

Preparation Time for Undhiyu – 1-2 hours depending on the quantity you are making

Cooking Time – 30 – 60 minutes depending the quantity you are making

Below Recipe serves – 6-8 people

How to make Muthias / Muthiyas for Undhiyu?

Necessary Ingredients

• 2 cups of wheat flour (regular roti flour)
• 1/2 cup of besan (gram flour)
• 1 or 2 teaspoon of red  chili powder (or more depending on how spicy you want)
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 1 and 1/2 cup of washed and chopped fenugreek leaves (Methi leaves)
• Salt according to taste
• 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon of grated garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 2 teaspoon of sugar (sugar is optional)
• cooking oil of your choice
• Water

Muthia / Muthiya Recipe

• In a deep bowl take wheat flour and besan (gram flour), add chopped fenugreek (Methi) leaves, turmeric, salt, chili powder, grated ginger, grated garlic, sugar (optional), lemon juice, and 1 table spoon of cooking oil.
• Now mix all the ingredients together thoroughly.

• Start adding water little by little to the mixture and make a semi tight dough.

• Now roll the small lump of dough between your palms and press with your fingers and make it oval shaped as shown in the picture.
• Heat the cooking oil in the frying pan on a medium flame.

• Once the oil is ready, deep fry the Muthia /Muthiya 4-5 at a time in your frying pan until they turn golden brown in color.

• Transfer the fried Muthia on a dish or a plate lined with tissue paper, so the extra oil will be soaked by the tissue paper.

• Once the Muthias / Muthiyas are ready, let them cool down a bit and store them in the air tight container.
• You can prepare the fried Muthiyas in advance and store them in the refrigerator for 5-6 days.

How to make Green Stuffing / Masala for Undhiyu?

Note: This recipe of Undhiyu requires the use of lot of green stuffing / Masala.

Necessary Ingredients

• 6 cups of washed and finely chopped cilantro / coriander leaves
• 2 cups of washed and finely chopped fenugreek / methi leaves
• 1 cup of finely chopped green garlic
• 1 cup of finely chopped green onions
• 1 cup of fresh or dry grated coconut
• 2-3 tablespoons of roasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup of roasted peanut powder (optional)
• Salt according to taste
• 1 – 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon of grated garlic
• 1 teaspoon of green chili paste  or 2 teaspoon of red chili powder (decide the spiciness according to your taste)
• 2 – 3 teaspoons of Undhiyu masala powder or garam masala powder (Undhiyu garam masala is combination of coriander powder + chili powder + cardamom powder + bay leaf powder + stone flower powder + cinnamon powder + black pepper powder + powdered fennel seeds + big cardamom powder + Nut meg powder)

Recipe of green stuffing / green masala

• In a deep bowl, please add all the above ingredients.
• Mix them well.
• Taste it and check if the spices, salt, and lemon juice are according to your taste.

• Green stuffing / masala is ready to use for Undhiyu.

Step-by-Step Undhiyu Recipe

Necessary Ingredients

• 10 – 12 peices of fried Muthias / Muthiyas
• Green stuffing / Masala
• 5-6 small or mini eggplants / brinjals – washed 
• 8-10 washed and peeled baby potatoes (or big pieces of regular potatoes)
• 1 cup of Surti Papdi (Shelled Indian Flat Beans) – washed, side strings removed, split open, and cut in half
• 1 cup of Valor Papdi (Shelled Lima Beans)- washed, side strings removed, split open, and cut in half
• 1 cup of Tuvar Lilva ( pigeon peas)
• 1 cup of washed, peeled, and chopped (1 inch size pieces) -purple yam (Ratalu)
• 1 cup of washed, peeled, and chopped (1 inch size pieces) -brown yam (Suran)
• 1 big raw banana or plantain (1 inch size pieces) – optional
• 1 cup of washed, peeled, and chopped (1 inch size pieces)carrots
• 1/2 cup of chopped sweet potato (adding sweet potato is optional it makes your Undhiyu a little bit sweet)
• 2 washed and long sliced tomatoes (tomatoes are optional)
• 1 pinch of hing (asafoetida powder) – optional
• Red chili powder (according to your taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 2-3 teaspoons of Undhiyu masala powder or garam masala powder (Undhiyu garam masala is combination of coriander powder + chili powder + cardamom powder + bay leaf powder + stone flower powder + cinnamon powder + black pepper powder + powdered fennel seeds + big cardamom powder + Nut meg powder)
• Salt according to taste
• 1 cup of cooking oil
• 2 cups of water

Recipe

• Take a mini eggplants / brinjals, mini potatoes / big pieces of regular sized potatoes, pieces of plantains / raw bananas, and and all the vegetables (from the list of ingredients) that are big enough to be stuffed.

• Now put two big cuts on the top of the vegetables as shown in the picture and stuff them with the green stuffing / masala.
• Once the vegetables are stuffed, take pressure cooker or Instant pot that you are going to use to cook the Undhiyu.
• Keep you pressure cooker / Instant pot on low heat.

• Add about 1/2 or 3/4 cup of cooking oil to the pressure cooker / instant pot and prepare the tempering.
• To prepare the tempering add; asafoetida powder (hing), turmeric powder, red chili powder, and about 2 teaspoons of Undhiyu garam masala powder. 
• Heat it in the pressure cooker on low-medium heat and in instant pot on the sauté mode.
• Once the oil is sizzling, start adding the vegetables.
• Do not add all the vegetables at once! You have to add vegetables in the layer forms alternatively with green stuffing. 
• Keep the heat low of your pressure cooker and Instant pot.
• First add of Surti papdi (Indian flat beans), Valor papdi (Lima beans), and pigeon peas (tuvar lilva). Spread them evenly on the tempering. This is the first layer of vegetables.

• Now add 2-3 big spoons green stuffing / masala and layer it on the first layer of the vegetables. Spread the stuffing / masala evenly.
• Now add, brown yam (suran), purple yam (ratalu), and sweet potato (optional). Spread them evenly and this will be our second layer of the vegetables.

• Now add 2-3 big spoons green stuffing / masala and layer it on the second layer of the vegetables. Spread the stuffing / masala evenly.
• Next add layer of stuffed plantain/raw banana and carrots. Spread them evenly. This will be our third layer of our vegetables.
• Now add 2-3 big spoons green stuffing / masala and layer it on the third layer of the vegetables. Spread the stuffing / masala evenly.

• Next add, stuffed potatoes and stuffed eggplants / brinjals. Spread them evenly. This will be our fourth layer of vegetables.
• Now add 2-3 big spoons green stuffing / masala and layer it on the fourth layer of the vegetables. Spread the stuffing / masala evenly.

• Now add, muthiyas and sliced tomatoes and spread them evenly.
• Sprinkle some of the green stuffing / masala on top of it.
• Putting the vegetables in layered manner and putting green stuffing/ masala on each layer makes sure that each and every piece of vegetable in Undhiyu is evenly and rightly flavored.
• Once you have added the vegetables, take a big ladle or spatula  and with a thin end of ladle or spatula dig small hole on the top of vegetable layers right in the center. 
• In this hole, add 1 or 1and 1/2 cup of water. 
• Now close the lid of the pressure cooker / Instant pot.
• Cook in the pressure cooker on a medium flame up to 2-3 whistles. Cook in the instant pot for 20 minutes.
• Once the cooking is done let your equipment cool down.

• Once the steam is released open the lid.
• Now take a big deep pan and add 2 – 4 tablespoons of oil and let it sizzle.

• Now carefully transfer your cooked and layered Undhiyu to the big deep pan.
• Add salt to taste, 1 -2 teaspoon of Undhiyu garam masala, extra chili powder as per your taste, and 2-3 big spoons (or whatever is left) of green stuffing masala.
• With the help of flat spatula mix the Undhiyu well. Do it gently so that you do not break the cooked vegetables. 
• Let it cook in the pan for another 10 – 15 minutes on a low-medium flame.
• Taste it and see if you need to add any of the extra salt or spices to make it according to your taste.

• Garnish it with cilantro / coriander leaves and shredded coconut.

• Delicious Undhiyu is ready!

• Eat/ Serve it with roti or puri.

Tips

• You can store the extra Undhiyu in the refrigerator and use it for 3-4 days.
• You can skip adding tomatoes if you want to store Undhiyu for the longer time.
• Prepare Undhiyu at least 2-3 hours in advance. This will enhance the flavor of the dish.

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