Undhiyu, a traditional Gujarati curry prepared with many fresh vegetables and dhokli muthiya, is a must have item on festivals like Uttarayan (kite flying festival), Diwali, etc. and special occasions like marriage parties. This deliciously rich curry is usually enjoyed in winter as veggies like fenugreek leaves, surti papadi and tuvar lilva are required to prepare this curry and they are easily available only during winter. 


In different parts of Gujarat, it is prepared in different way; Surti style, Kathiyawadi style and Matla Undhiyu are three popular variations of it. In Surti Undhiyu, vegetables like brinjal, potato, raw banana etc, are stuffed with the masala made of coconut, peanut, etc. In Kathiyawadi Undhiyu, vegetables are not stuffed but its masala is little spicier than other styles. In Matla Undhiyu which is very popular in South Gujarat, vegetables are steam cooked in traditional Matla (clay pot) instead of pressure cooker and is known as Umbadiyu. Regardless of which way you prepare it, its delicious and tastes yummy. This step by step photo recipe explains how to make this authentic Gujarati dish in both Surti and Kathiavadi style at home.

Ingredients for Muthiya (dhokli):

1 cup Gram Flour (besan)
1½ cups chopped 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
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon Oil + for deep frying

For Masala:

1/4 cup grated Coconut (fresh or dry)
1/3 cup Roasted Peanut Powder
1/2 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
1/4 cup finely chopped Coriander Leaves
1/2 tablespoon Green Chilli Ginger Garlic Paste
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
Salt to taste

For Curry:

3-4 small Brinjal
6-7 Baby Potatoes (or large pieces of potato)
1/2 cup Surti Papdi, strings removed
1/2 cup Valor Papdi, strings removed
1/2 cup Tuvar Lilva
1/2 cup chopped Yam or Sweet Potato, optional (cut into 1½-inch pieces)
1/2 cup Green Peas
A pinch of Asafoetida (hing), optional
1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cumin-Coriander Powder
1/3 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder, optional
Salt to taste
1/2 cup Cooking Oil (or less*)
1 cup Water

Note:

You can prepare the undhiyu in two different ways at home – 1) Kathiyawadi or Saurashtra style and 2) Surati style. In Surti style, vegetables are stuffed with coconut-peanut masala whereas in Kathiyawadi style, it is prepared without stuffing the vegetables. It tastes delicious either way.
Authentic Undhiyu is rich and heavy as it requires cooking vegetables in oil. If you are health conscious, you can choose to reduce the quantity of oil used in this recipe. However, if you want authentic taste, we recommend you to not to reduce its quantity.

Method to Make Muthiya (Dhokli):

(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(5)Remove them using slotted spoon and transfer over paper napkin to a plate. Methi Muthiyas are ready.

 Method to Make Masala:

(1) 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.
(2) 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.

Method to Make Curry:

(1) Take all vegetables required to make the undhiyu.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) Add 1-teaspoon red chilli powder, 1/3 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin-coriander powder and 1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder.
(5) Mix well and cook for 3 minutes.
(6) Add stuffed brinjal and potato. Sprinkle some salt over it.Add 1½ cups water. Add fried dhokli methi muthiya over it.
(7) 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).
(8) 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

Tips and Variations:

To make Kathiavadi style undhiyu, skip all steps of “Method to Make Masala” and in step-2 of “Method to Make Curry”, cut brinjal and potato into large pieces and add them with other vegetables in step-4. Follow rest of the steps as is.
Add cluster beans, raw banana and cauliflower along with other vegetables in step-3 of “Method to Make Curry” for variation.
Papdi is one of the required veggies to prepare Undhiyu. Make sure that you have at-least one type of papdi available.
Methi Muthiya give this curry its unique taste and texture. Don’t skip adding it.
Prepare this curry 2-3 hours in advance. This would allow veggies to properly absorb the flavor of masala and help enhance the taste of the curry.