Gujarati Special Undhiyu

We made Undhiyu for the first time, the triune of sweet, spicy and tangy gave their appearance in the most welcoming and cherished form, most of the veggies were used to excel the homemade undhiyu and Hashim was busy boiling water with fresh lemongrass to gusto tisane, our rabbit nanu has a penchant for greens and he too feasted on the fresh brought greens before the actual makings, despite of all this, the greens kept giving, It's our Gujarati's affinity and memories from the virtual world informed, it is simplest of meal and that was regular at paterfamilias table, my food philosophy is to eat seasonal and maintain a moderate portion control, and this one is what I mean, I truly mean! One bite will take you to the valley of felicity and you'll want to make it all long. It's LOADED with veggies in every bite and finished with much craved muthiya's meaning fenugreek fritters and amazing touch of banana's. Hell yes! twisting combo of garden fresh veggies, delicate fritters and BANANAs, so good and picky husband approved.

Undhiyu recipe demands your time, but it's simply worth it, as you make the basic to end by yourself, the first time I tested, I started my preparation in an afternoon and it turned out perfect! Always prepare the coconut, green chilies and cilantro paste in advance and this green paste is one of the easy and essential base of the dish, if you have done this right then nothing can go wrong! Later wash, slit or chop veggies as per the instructions that I'll be providing you shortly in the ingredient section and eureka a great combination of flavors vivify unbelievable impact on the table. Keep digging!

Undhiyu

Preparation Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes, I'm lazy in this one hence took me long

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Serves: 4-5 persons

Ingredients:

For Muthiya (Fenugreek fritters)

1 cup cooking oil, for frying

¹⁄₂ cup gram flour & ¹⁄₂ cup wheat flour

1 cup fenugreek leaves, finely chopped

¹⁄₂ teaspoon ginger paste

¹⁄₂ teaspoon green chili paste

¹⁄₂ teaspoon red chili powder

¹⁄4 teaspoon turmeric powder

A pinch of baking soda

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Salt to taste

Green Paste For Stuffing Veggies:

1 cup fresh or dry, grated coconut 

¹⁄₂ teaspoon sesame seeds

1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves

2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste

1 tablespoon green chili paste, depends on your liking's

1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

Final Undhiyu ingredients: For curry

4 brinjals, slit

1 cup baby potatoes, peeled and slit

¹⁄₂ cup raw banana, cut into cubes

1 cup surti papdi (beans), stringed and cut into halves

¹⁄₂ purple yam, peeled and cut into cubes, optional

¹⁄₂ cup fresh toovar or green peas, depends on your liking's

1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes

¹⁄₂ teaspoon turmeric powder

¹⁄4 teaspoon asafoetida

¹⁄₂ cup finely chopped cilantro 

Salt to taste

Method:

• Make fresh and smooth green paste by merely grinding 1 cup fresh grated coconut, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon sesame seeds, 1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste, 1 tablespoon green chilies paste, 1 and a half tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and add salt as per taste.
• Right away remove half quantity of homemade green paste for two reasons! stuffing and other half for curry purpose. 
• In a big bowl, add surti papdi, green peas, cube size sweet potatoes, yam and mingle all together by adding generous amount of green paste, allow the chopped veggies to marinate for 30 minutes or so. In another bowl mix chopped raw banana with 2 tablespoons of green paste. 
• Also, don't forget to stuff the same green paste inside slit brinjals and slit baby potatoes.
• Meanwhile, as the veggie are sucking all the goodness from the paste, prepare the fenugreek fritters i.e. muthiyas to add spark of liveliness in this veg dish.
• Lets start! In a bowl, add gram flour, wheat flour, ginger-green chilli paste, turmeric, sesame seeds, red chili powder, 2-3 tablespoons oil and salt as per taste. move all the excess water from the fenugreek leaves by squeezing in between hands and mix it all together to form a stiff dough.
• Make a rectangular shape oval dumplings and deep fry them in a heavy bottom pan until crisp and golden brown in finish.
• Final makings of Undhiyu!
• In a large bottom pan or pressure cooker, add 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil, add 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste each and add 1-2 tablespoons of our homemade green paste,  add chopped veggies marinated mixture and mix well, now layer up with brinjals, baby potatoes and raw banana's, top it with the last portion of remaining green paste. 
• Lastly, gently place all the muthiya's and add a splash of water over muthiya's, this will make fritters spongy. Cover and cook for around 15-25 minutes until all the veggies turned soft and delicious. I bet you''ll definitely love the aroma of greens and coconut while it's being cooked!
• Finally, adjust the salt, dish out and sprinkle chopped cilantro and drizzle some lemon juice. Enjoy eating with Indian flat bread or chapati's.

Always NOTE: Green paste is the hero of the recipe as it has spice, tang and sweet elements hidden in it, make generous portion of it so that you can stuff the veggies nicely. As the coconut releases its oil during the cooking process the curry will turn out enjoyable and satisfying!