Indian kitchens are a treasure trove of some of the best culinary enigmas. Winters bring a whole lot of green vegetables with its amazing nutritional value. Some of the winter vegetables have the ability to keep you warm. Being brought up in a traditional Gujarati family, we would wait for winters to relish the fresh winter delicacies like Surati Undhiya, Ghoograas , Aadadiya, Methi ladoos, dates barfi etc .
Undhiya is an assortment of vegetables which make for a nutritious bite. Most of the vegetables used are seasonal and low in fat and hence can be enjoyed to your heart’s content if your undhiya is made with less oil.
It’s a classic authentic dish of Surat thus the name Surati Undhiyu. It is an elaborate preparation but once you learn it, it’s not difficult. And what’s goes best with it on a weekend lunch is green peas Ghooghras with coriander chutney. Green peas are in abundance in winters, fresh and reasonably priced too.
So we decided to share these 2 traditional Gujarati recipes with you. Tell us how they turned out!
Undhiyaa
Ingredients
- 100g Green Peas
- 2-3 small Eggplant
- 250g Sweet Potato
- 250g Purple Yam
- 250g Potatoes
- 1 fresh Coconut
- 200g Surti Papdi/Broad Beans
- 100g Elephant Yam/Suran
- 2 Bananas
- 1 bunch Coriander
- 100 gms fresh Toovar dana
- 1 Cup Besan
- 2 small bunches Green Garlic
- 3 – 4 Green Chilli
- 2 -3 Tbsp Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Lime juice
- Pinch of Ajwain
- 1 small Turmeric piece
- 2-3 Tsp Coriander Powder
- 2-3 Tsp Cumin Powder
- 1-2 Tsp Garam masala
For Muthiya
- 1 Cup Besan
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1/4 Tsp Turmeric
- 1/2 Tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Sugar
- Fenugreek/Methi leaves
Method
- All the vegetables are washed, cleaned and cut into desired size pieces.
To make Muthiya:
- Finely chop the fenugreek leaves.
- Take the besan, salt to taste, red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, sugar and fenugreek leaves.
- Give it a good mix with 1 tsp oil. Then add 1-2 spoons of water and mix it well to make oval or round shaped muthiyas.
- Muthiya must be deep-fried and kept aside to cool down.
- Typically we make the muthiya a day in advance so Undhiya preparation becomes easy.
To make Undhiya
- Heat 5-7 tbsp of oil in a big deep pan.
- Add the chopped yam, sweet potato and purple yam first. Allow it to cook for 5-7 mins.
- Prepare the Undhiya masala. Add the finely chopped green garlic, green chillies, fresh coriander, fresh turmeric, salt and freshly grated coconut to a mixer grinder. Coarsely grind it for 15-20 secs. Add some garam masala powder to it and keep aside.
- Mix in the remaining vegetables like chopped potatoes, eggplant, green peas, tuvaar dana , papdi etc into the hot pan with yam. Allow it to cook with 2 cups of water.
- Add the undhiya masala and allow it to simmer and cook with all vegetables for 8-10 mins.
- If you like the undhiya a little rich, you can also cook the undhiya masala in 2-3 spoons of oil and then add it to the vegetable pan.
- Once you see the vegetables are almost cooked add the muthiya to it and allow it to mix well. Add 1-2 tsp of lime juice.
- Check for salt, sugar and spice and add as per your taste.
- Finally add some more of the freshly grated coconut, finely chopped green garlic and finely chopped coriander to the aromatic undhiya.
- Serve it with hot rotis or puris.
Green Peas Ghooghras
- Ingredients
- 1/2 kg Green Peas
- 2 Cups Wheat Flour
- 1 Cup Refined Flour
- 1 Tsp Ginger – Green chillies paste
- Fresh grated Coconut
- Finely chopped Coriander
- Salt & sugar to taste
- 1/2 Tsp Amchur Powder
- Dry fruits like cashews and raisins (a fistful )
- Oil for deep frying
Method
- Make a soft dough with refined flour and whole wheat flour in equal proportions. Ensure you add some salt and about 1 tablespoon of oil to the soft dough. The dough will be similar to the puri dough consistency not as soft as roti dough.
Ghoogra masala
- Coarse grind some green peas in a mixer grinder.
- Now in a pan add 2 tablespoons of oil and add the green peas, ginger-green chillies paste, salt, sugar ( optional ), green garlic ( optional ), amchur powder and cook for about 5 mins. Add the dry fruits, fresh coconut and chopped coriander to it.
- Cook this mixture for 2 mins and then turn off the gas and allow it to come to room temperature.
- Then start making small puris from the dough and fill about 1 spoonful of mixture in the dough. Make a semi-circular shape and then fold it tightly from sides to give it desired shape.
- Heat oil in a deep pan. Deep fry the ghooghras on a slow flame for 5-6 mins by flipping on both sides.
- Serve hot with coriander mint chutney and/or tomato ketchup.
Note: You can also make the entire dough with only refined flour. Ghooghras will be even more crispy then. But only whole wheat dough will not give you very crispy Ghooghras. They become soft after a while so we usually do half and half.
Parul Gupta
KSP Team
