Muthiya

Muthiya (spiced vegetable dumplings) is a very famous gujarati appetizer. The procedure I've described below may seem lengthy but trust me - it is super easy to make, most of it is just me trying to explain the process in a detailed way so it is easy for you all :).

I hope you give this a try and let me know your feedback in the comments section below. Happy cooking!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Coarse Wheat Flour (also known as Laddu Flour)
• 1 ¹/₂ cups grated Indian Squash (cabbage/fenugreek leaves/onion can also be used as a substitution)
• 1 tsp Green Chillies Paste
• 1 tsp grated Ginger
• 1 ¹/₂ tsp grated Garlic
• 2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• ¹/₄ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Achaar Masala/Pickle Spice Mix
• 1 ¹/₂ tbsp crushed Jaggary
• 2 tbsp oil
• Water - as needed
• Salt to taste

Tempering:

• 4 tbsp Oil
• 1 ¹/₂ tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1 ¹/₂ tsp Sesame Seeds
• 8-10 Curry Leaves
• ¹/₂ tsp Asafoetida/Hing
• 1 tbsp Cilantro

Garnishing:

• 1 tsp finely chopped cilantro/green coriander/dhaniya

Method:

• This recipe requires to be steam-cooked. Now, those of you who are not familiar with steam-cooking, it is a process of cooking with the heat from the steam wherein the food being cooked gets direct contact of ONLY the steam and not the boiling water. This is very important. To know more about this process, this article in wikipedia gives a decent description. Now, if you don't have a steam-cooker like I do, there is no need to worry, we can always improvise! What you'd basically need is a big pot with a lid and a steamer rack like this one that is smaller in diameter than the pot so that it can be placed into the pot. Make sure the water level is below the steamer rack that you are using so that the bottom of the steamer rack comes in contact only with the steam. I have always used all stainless-steel utensils for the steamer so I wouldn't be able to vouch for other materials like glass/bamboo... But if you do, please leave me the details in a comment below!
• In your pot, place the steamer rack with enough water so that it stays below the level of your steamer rack. Put this pot on high heat and make sure to cover it
• Now, in a large bowl, add coarse wheat flour, grated indian squash, green chillies paste, grated ginger, grated garlic, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, achaar powder, jaggary (make sure it it crushed well or else you'll have lumps of sweetness in your muthiya and trust me - you don't want that to happen!) and oil; mix well (I find mixing using my hands works the best but you can use a big spoon as well).
• Now, add water, little at a time. I'm not mentioning the quantity of water as it depends on the quality of flour, the moisture content in your squash, etc. The mixture should be of very thick consistency - you should be able to roll them into cylindrical rolls by taking some mixture in your hands and making an open/close movement of your fist. If it doesn't stay in shape, you need more water. The consistency, by no means, should be watery. Once you have your mixture ready, set it aside.
• Once the water in your pot is boiling, open the lid and reduce the heat to low (this is to avoid getting burnt by the steam). Now, take a fistful of mixture in your hand and roll it into cylindrical log shape using an open & close movement of your fist; once done, immediately put it on the steamer rack in your pot. I find it easier to work my way from the peripheral to the center. Make only one layer do not stack one on top of other. Cover the pot, increase the heat to high and cook for 8-12 minutes. 
• To check the doneness, insert a knife/toothpick into the center, it should come out clean. 
• Once done, turn off the heat and carefully remove the steamer rack out of the pan and let it cool down.
• Separate each of the logs and slice them approx. 1/4 inch thick. I like to cut them into smaller pieces as it helps incorporating more crispiness (our family likes it that way)!

• Tempering:

• In a pan, heat the oil. Add mustard seeds; once they start crackling, add sesame seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida; give it a quick stir and add the cut muthiya/dumplings and stir to coat them well.
• Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring every now and then. If you like crispiness in your dumplings, cook for additional 3-5 minutes.
• Mix in the cilantro and stir one last time.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve hot 
• Enjoy!!

Gujarati Daal Vada (Split Moong Bean Fritters)

Daal vadas are very famous in Gujarat and if you've been to any railway station in Gujarat - I'm sure you'd have tasted this delicacy.. It is very easy to make these vadas at home and in this post, I'm going to show you how. Do give this a try and let me know your feedback in the comment section below... Happy cooking!! 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Moong Daal/Split Moong Beans; I prefer using the one with its green covering on
• ¹/₄ cup Chana Daal/Split Bengal Gram
• 2 Green Chillies
• 1 ¹/₂ tsp Ginger - grated
• 2 tbsp Cilantro/Corriander/Dhaniya
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - for frying

Method:

• Soak the moong daal and chana daal (separately) in hot water for 1-2 hours
• In a medium food-processor bowl, add the green chillies, cilantro and make a fine paste.
• Drain as much water as possible from both the daals and reserve 1 1/2 tbsp chana daal and add the remaining daal mixture and grated ginger to the same food-processor's bowl and grind coarse. This will also ensure the chillies and cilantro get mixed evenly with the daal mixture.
• Now, add the whole chana daal and salt to the prepared mixture and stir to combine.
• In a pan, heat the oil.
• Now, when the oil is hot, form small balls and fry on medium heat until they are golden brown. 

Serving Suggestions:

Daal vadas are traditionally served with thinly sliced onions and optionally with fried green chillies as well (depending on the amount of heat you prefer in your food). They can also be served with Cilantro Peanut Chutney or Tamarind/Date Chutney.

Enjoy!!

Gujarati Daal

I'm Gujarati and this daal has been staple in my house for generations now. It is very simple to cook; it is one of the initial dishes I learnt from my mom and this is her recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Toor Daal/Arhar Daal/Split Pigeon Peas
• 1 tsp Oil
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¹/₂ tsp Fenugreek Seeds
• Pinch (¹/₈ tsp) of Asafetida
• 10-12 Curry Leaves
• 2 Dried Red Chillies
• 1 tsp Ginger Paste
• 1¹/₂ tbsp Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp Aachaar Masala/Pickle Spice Mix (Ready made pickle can be used if you don't have pickle spice mix)
• 2 tsp Coriander-Cumin Powder/Dhaniya-Jeera Powder
• ¹/₄ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1¹/₂ tsp Jaggery/Gud
• 1 cup Tomatoes - Diced
• Salt - to taste
• Water - to boil and while cooking
• 2 tbsp Cilantro - Finely Chopped

Method:

• Wash the daal thoroughly (you'll need to wash it multiple times if you have oil-coated daal). 
• Now, in a pressure cooker, add the washed daal and water at-least an inch above the daal layer. Pressure cook it for 3-4 whistles. 
• When the pressure goes off, open the lid and using an immersion blender or a hand churner, blend it smooth. 
• In a big sauce pan, add oil, mustard & fenugreek seeds allow them to crackle. When they crackle, add the curry leaves, dried red chili, asafetida and ginger paste; give it a quick stir and add the blended daal mixture. Also add water enough to make it a thin soup-like consistency. 
• Add all the masala, viz. salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, pickle powder, coriander-cumin powder and jaggery and mix. Let it come to a boil on a high flame. 
• Lower the flame to medium and add the diced tomatoes. Let it cook covered for 10 minutes.
• Add the lime juice and cilantro and simmer for 30 minutes (at-least) - this is the most important step as the daal developed the flavor from all the spices as it simmers. Of course, if you are in a hurry, you may take it off the flame sooner but trust me, you will notice the difference in the taste. 
• Stir and see if you need to add more water to adjust the consistency (while simmering, quite some water would evaporate). If you've added more water, cook it for 5 more minutes.
• Enjoy!!

Serving Suggestions:

Gujarati daal is popularly served with rice/roti. I also like to relish it piping hot as a soup :). The possibilities are endless!

Thin Poha Chivda (Flattened Rice Snack Mix)

Thin Poha Chivda (or Flattened Rice Snack Mix) is a gujarati snack very near and dear to my heart. I love it since my childhood days. Here is my mom's recipe that I'd like to share with you all today! Do give it a try.. It is addictive and you'd always want more!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups Thin Flattened Rice/Thin Poha
• ¹/₂ cup Oil
• 1 cup Peanuts
• 1 cup Roasted Split Bengal Gram/Daliya
• 2-4 green chillies - chopped into small pieces.
• 18-20 curry leaves
• 1 ¹/₂ tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1 ¹/₂ tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 tsp Powdered Sugar/Granulated Sugar
• ¹/₂ tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt - to taste

Method:

• Dry roast the Poha until they are crispy. You can do this over cooktop or in the oven. If you choose the cooktop method, make sure you keep stirring the poha to avoid burning the bottom layer. For the oven method - pre-heat the oven to 300 F; lay the poha on a cookie sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes. They are done when you feel the crispness upon tasting. Empty the poha into a mixing bowl (big enough to stir them later on) and set it aside.
• Now in a medium skillet, over medium heat, add the oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chillies and peanuts. Keep stirring constantly. Here we are shallow frying the peanuts and the serrano peppers while the mustard and cumin seeds crackle. If you like your chillies to retain its heat in the chivda, add them in the next step instead of now.
• When the peanuts are nearing completion, about 3 minutes, add the roasted split bengal gram and curry leaves; stir for another minute. 
• Now switch off the flame and quickly add the curry leaves, salt, sugar, turmeric powder and asafoetida and after giving it one last mix, add it to the poha and mix well until all the poha turns yellowish green in color. It's important to ensure this step is completed as quickly as possible.
• Let it cool and come to room temperature and then store it in a clean, dry air-tight container.

Enjoy this with tea/coffee or just by itself!!

Potato Onion Poha

Potato-onion poha is a traditional gujarati dish - relished as an appetizer or a main meal too (yes I love it so much!). It is made from flattened rice - the thicker kind. It is very quick easy to make this poha... Go into your kitchen and give it a try!

 

Ingredients:

• 4 cup thick poha/thick flattened rice
• 2 medium potatoes - finely diced
• 2 medium onions - finely diced
• 1 medium tomato - finely diced
• ¹/₂ tsp ginger paste
• ¹/₂ tsp garlic paste
• 2 tsp serrano pepper - finely chopped
• 4 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• ¹/₄ tsp asafoetida
• 6-7 curry leaves
• 2 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts - coarsely crushed
• ¹/₄ tsp cinnamon powder
• 2 tsp lime juice
• ¹/₄ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• Salt - to taste
• Garnishing
• 1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro 
• Fine sev

Method

•  Wash the poha in a colander and set it aside. The poha will puff soaking the water that it has retained in the colander while you washed it. Remember, do not soak the poha in water - this will make your end product very mushy.
• In a pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat and add mustard seeds; allow them to crackle. When the mustard seeds start crackling, add sesame seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. Add serrano pepper, ginger paste and garlic paste and saute on medium-low heat for 30 seconds.
• Add the diced onion and potatoes and season them with salt (salt helps reduce cook time), cook covered until onion and potatoes are cooked thru (you can check by splitting a piece of onion and a potato using a saute spoon - it is done if you can feel a soft split). Sprinkle little water if needed.
• Add the poha, turmeric powder, cinnamon powder, peanuts, sugar, salt for the poha's portion; mix well. Let it cook covered for 2-3 minutes. 
• Add diced tomatoes, lime juice and cilantro; mix well one last time and cook for about a minute.
• take it off the heat

Serving suggestion:
Poha can be relished by itself or served with fine sev sprinkled on top.
Enjoy!!

Gujarati Kadhi

Gujarati Kadhi is a very light gravy-based sweet n sour dish popularly served with Khichadi

Ingredients:

• ¹/₃ cup yogurt (curd/dahi)
• 1¹/₃ cup water
• 5 tsp besan (chickpea flour)
• ¹/₂ tsp grated ginger
• ³/₄ tsp finely chopped serrano pepper 
• 1 tsp ghee/butter
• ¹/₂ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 6-8 curry leaves
• ¹/₄ tsp asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• 3 whole cloves
• 3-4 small pieces of cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp cilantro

Method:

• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the yogurt and water. 
• Add the besan and whisk again - ensure no lumps remain
• Add ginger, serrano pepper, sugar and salt; set it aside.
• In a tadka-pan, at a medium heat, add the ghee (or butter) and cumin seeds; wait until they crack. While the cumin seeds are cracking, add the cloves and cinnamon stick pieces. This will help your cloves crack as well before you add the tadka to the yogurt mixture.
• Switch off the heat and add  curry leaves and asafoetida; add this tadka immediately to the prepared yogurt mixture.
• Cook the mixture on a medium-high heat for a few minutes. Take the pan off the heat when the mixture comes to a boil. Cover with a lid.
• After a couple of minutes, mix in the cilantro and cover the lid back again.

Serving Suggestions:

Kadhi is traditionally served with Khichadi
Can also be served with rice/roti/pulav/etc.

Enjoy!

Cooked Moong Sprouts

Cooked moong sprouts is a very quick and healthy recipe that can be eaten as breakfast/side dish

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sprouted moong
• 1 cup water
• ¹/₂ tsp oil
• ¹/₂ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp finely chopped serrano pepper (~1 medium serrano pepper)
• ¹/₈ tsp asafetida (hing)
• ¹/₄ tsp turmeric (haldi)
• Salt to taste
• ¹/₂ tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp chopped cilantro for garnishing

Method:

• In a pan, add oil, cumin seeds and cook on medium high heat until the cumin seeds crack; reduce the heat to low and add asafetida, ginger garlic paste and serrano pepper, mix together
• Add the sprouted moong and water. Mix together and increase the heat to medium high and cook covered for about 5-7 minutes stirring intermittently. You need to cook until your sprouts are tender. If they are not cooked, and all the water has evaporated, add some more water and continue to cook them covered. If your sprouts have cooked and you still have surplus water in the pan, remove the lid and cook on high heat to allow the water to evaporate quickly. 
• Switch off the heat and add the lime juice and cilantro. Mix well.

Serving Suggestions:

If serving for breakfast, it goes well with Khakhra
If serving as a side dish, can be served with any curry+roti combination

Enjoy!!

Instant Khaman

Khaman is a quick and easy healthy Gujarati (the western state of India) dish which can be served as an appetizer or as a side dish to the main course.

Ingredients:

• ¹/₂ cup Besan (chickpea flour)
• ³/₄ tbsp Semolina/Sooji/Rawa
• ¹/₄ tsp Citric acid (nimbu ka phool)
• ³/₄ tbsp Sugar
• ¹/₂ tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Oil
• ¹/₂ cup Water
• 1 tsp Ginger+green chilli (I use serrano pepper) paste
• ¹/₈ tsp Haldi (turmeric powder)
• ³/₄ tsp Fruit salt (I use eno-lemon flavor; you can get this at any Indian grocery stores)
• For the glaze:
• ¹/₂ tsp Sesame seeds
• ¹/₂ tsp Mustard seeds
• 1¹/₂ tsp Oil
• ¹/₃ cup Water
• 1 Serrano pepper - cut horizontally into ¹/₂ inch thick pieces
• Finely chopped cilantro
• Grated coconut

Method:

• This recipe requires to be steam-cooked. Now, those of you who are not familiar with steam-cooking, it is a process of cooking with the heat from the steam wherein the food being cooked gets direct contact of ONLY the steam and not the boiling water. This is very important. To know more about this process, this article in wikipedia gives a decent description. Now, if you don't have a steam-cooker like I do, there is no need to worry, we can always improvise! What you'd basically need is a big pot with a lid, a plate with at least 1/2 inch wall (something like this) that is smaller in diameter than the pot so that it can be placed into the pot and a steamer rack like this one or a bowl of sorts which will elevate the plate above the boiling water so that the bottom of the plate comes in contact only with the steam. I have always used all stainless-steel utensils for the steamer so I wouldn't be able to vouch for other materials like glass/bamboo... But if you do, please leave me the details in a comment below!  
• Please note, my ingredients are for a plate that is 6¹/₂ inches in diameter and about ¹/₂ an inch deep; so if the size of your plate varies drastically, alter the quantities proportionately!
• In your pot, place the steamer rack with enough water so that it stays below the level of your steamer rack. Put this pot on high heat and make sure to cover it
• In a bowl, mix besan, sooji, nimbu ka phool, sugar and salt together (sift the besan if it has lumps)
• Add oil & water and whisk it until you get smooth consistency (make sure you don't have any lumps in the mixture)
• Stir in the ginger+green chilli paste and haldi
• Spray your plate with some non-stick cooking spray or just coat it with a few drops of oil
• Once your water has started to boil, add the fruit salt to your mixture and mix well. You will notice that the mixture rises.
• Pour the mixture in your plate and place it in the pot. Be careful not to get burnt by the steam.. Reduce the heat while placing the plate in your pot, cover the lid and increase the heat back to high again
• Cook for 10-12 minutes. To check, you can reduce the heat, remove the lid (ensure you don't tilt the lid while removing or else you'll have water droplets in your khaman!) and insert a knife in the middle of the khaman. If it comes out clean, your khaman has cooked completely. Take the plate out of the pot.
• For the glaze:
• In a small saucepan, heat the sesame seeds until they crack; take them out into a bowl
• In the same saucepan, heat the mustard seeds until they crack; take them out in a bowl
• Again, in the same saucepan, heat the oil. Once the oil is hot, turn off the heat and add water and serrano pepper
• Cut the khaman in the plate horizontally and vertically to form square pieces of your desired size (I prefer them to be of 1 to 1¹/₂ inch in length)
• Sprinkle the cracked sesame and mustard seeds. Using a spoon or a shallow ladle, pour the oil+pepper+water combination to cover all the pieces 
• Garnish with cilantro and grated coconut
• To remove the khaman pieces from the plate, use a stainless steel spatula and insert it where you've formed cuts and push it forward so you have a few pieces on your spatula. Once you've removed the first couple of pieces, it is fairly simple to remove the others; follow the same process

Serving suggestion:

Serve with cilantro peanut dip

Enjoy!!