Undhiyu is a quintessential winter delicacy hailing from the vibrant culinary landscape of Surat, Gujarat. Deeply rooted in local tradition, this hearty vegetable medley holds a special place in Gujarati households, especially during the festive celebration of Makar Sankranti. Known for its rich blend of seasonal vegetables, aromatic spices, and a hint of sweetness, Undhiyu is more than just a dish—it’s a celebration of seasonal abundance and cultural heritage.
Traditionally, Undhiyu was prepared in an inverted clay pot buried underground, slow-cooked to perfection with a smoky aroma that enhanced its rustic charm. However, in today’s fast-paced world, modern home cooks have embraced a more time-efficient method. We now prepare this scrumptious Surti Undhiyu using the Instant Pot or pressure cooker, significantly reducing cooking time without compromising on its authentic flavors. This quick and convenient method allows more families to enjoy this festive specialty with ease, bringing the warmth of tradition into the modern kitchen.
Whether you’re a native Gujarati or someone discovering this culinary gem for the first time, Undhiyu offers a delightful journey through textures and tastes—spicy, sweet, and savory all at once.
❤️ About This Undhiyu Recipe
The meaning of the dish name ‘Undhiyu’: It is determined from the Gujarati dialect word ‘Undhu’ implies upside down. Customarily, the masala-coated veggies are included into the earthen pot (matlu or matka). At that point, it is fixed appropriately and set upside down in the fire pit burrowed into the ground. Furthermore, hot coal is moreover included on beat. All the veggies in an earthen pot are slow-cooked, which gives interesting flavor and smell.
This conventional strategy of making undhiyu is still lively in a few towns. But these days in the cutting edge domestic kitchen, individuals utilize huge kadai or pressure cooker. In eateries, they profound sear the root vegetables and the rest of the veggies are cooked in a huge vessel and afterward blended all together.
The root vegetables and other veggies utilized in making undhiyu recipe are regularly accessible amid winter months as it were.
Because it is a blend of distinctive veggies and it has numerous diverse components, undhiyu is ordinarily arranged in huge amounts. The parcel I have made is sufficient for 6 individuals.
Texture
Traditionally undhiyu is a dry veggie arrangement where marginally damp masala is coated to the veggies. All the veggies hold their shape (they are cooked and delicate, but not overcooked that they get soft).
But a few individuals like it if it has small sauce, in this case, include a small more water and increment the cooking time for a miniature or two.
There is another comparable dish called ubadiyu (or umbadiyu) and it is from Valsad, Gujarat. The method is the same but few fixings contrast like the utilize of wild beans (locally developed) and curry clears out stalks. Additionally, it is decorated with sev whereas serving.
The method of undhiyu looks long, but it is exceptionally simple to make. Let’s partition the entirety method into 3 steps:
- Make muthia: You can get ready a day some time recently. I usually make a big group (in discuss fryer) and solidify them. It comes in convenient to make a speedy undhiyu.
- Make undhiyu masala: It’s straightforward, fair include fixings into the nourishment processor and beat, masala is ready.
- Prep veggies and Cook undhiyu in moment pot.
👩🍳 Making Muthia For Undhiyu Recipe
Here are all the fixings you’ll require to make muthia. Customarily these are deep-fried. But to cut down oil and calories, I have air-fried them. Here instep of new methi takes off, you can utilize solidified one. See the sum detail underneath in the recipe card.
1) Take wheat flour, besan, flavors (turmeric, red chili powder), salt, sugar, heating pop, ginger paste, green chilies in a bowl. Blend well.
2) Include oil and lemon juice. Blend well by rubbing between your fingers and thumb.
3) Include methi clears out and mix.
4) Presently include small water at a time and manipulate into a smooth and delicate batter. Don’t make it as well delicate something else, it gets to be as well sticky.
TIP: You may require more or less sum of water. It depends on how much water particles are cleared out in your methi takes off after washing. It too depends on you’re utilizing new or solidified leaves.
5) Oil your palm with oil and take around 2 teaspoons of parcel, shape into little oval-shaped dumplings. Amid the half-way through of forming prepare, the batter may begin to adhere. Wash the hands, oil once more and shape.
6) Whereas you’re forming, preheat your discuss fryer to 400°F (200°C) for 5 minutes. Orchestrate the formed methi muthia into the discuss fryer plate. Splash it gently with cooking oil spray.
7) Discuss sear for 10 minutes. Midway through open and deliver it a shake for indeed browning all the sides. This time may shift depending on the measure of your muthiya.
8) You can plan them a day some time recently. Or you can solidify once cool and utilize afterward.
👩🍳 Making Undhiyu Masala
Here are all the fixings you’ll require to make undhiyu masala. All of them are essential and effortlessly accessible. I have utilized parched coconut. But a few incline toward to utilize new, ground coconut.
1) Begin by gathering all the dry ingredients—grated dry coconut, roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, salt, sugar, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and coriander powder. Transfer these ingredients into a food processor or mixer jar.
2) Pulse the mixture a few times until it forms a semi-coarse powder. The goal is to achieve a texture that’s not too fine, maintaining a bit of crunch and consistency in the blend.
3) Next, add in the fresh aromatics: peeled ginger, garlic cloves, chopped green chilies, freshly chopped cilantro (coriander leaves), and a generous squeeze of lemon or lime juice for a tangy kick.
4) Blend everything again for a few seconds until the ingredients combine into a slightly coarse and grainy mixture. Avoid over-blending, as the mix should remain dry and textured, not smooth or paste-like.
5) “Once the mixture thickens to your liking, pour it into a mixing bowl, ready to take center stage in your culinary creation.. The final masala should be moist enough to hold its shape slightly when pressed, yet still dry
👩🍳 Making Undhiyu Recipe In Instant Pot
Here are all the veggies and treating fixings you’ll require to make undhiyu. Here in the USA, I do not get a few veggies new indeed in the winter season. So I have utilized solidified, you can see in the underneath pic.
Apart from these appeared veggies, you can utilize other vegetables like suran (elephant foot yam), crude banana, valor papdi, etc.
1) To prep my veggies, I have gently cleaned the skin of the child potatoes instep of peeling. As they were unused potatoes and have exceptionally lean skin. Too, peeled and cubed the sweet potato.
Make a cross ‘+’ sign at the bottom of the infant eggplant (cautious not to cut into pieces) and stuff the center with arranged masala. At that point include remaining masala into the veggies and mix.
2) Warm the oil in moment pot on saute mode. Once hot include cumin seeds and ajwain. Let them sizzle a bit. At that point include hing.
3) Promptly include masala coated veggies, stuffed eggplants and air-fried methi muthia. Additionally, include water and gently blend.
4) Cover the moment pot with a cover, keep the vent to fixing. Cook on manual (tall pressure) for 6 minutes. After 5 minutes, do QPR. Once the stick drops, open the top and surti undhiyu is prepared to enjoy.
💭 Expert Tips For Best Undhiyu
- Stovetop Pressure Cooker: Cook for 2 shrieks on medium-high heat.
- Use your choice of veggies. If you don’t like purple yam at that point don’t include. Increment or diminish the sum of the veggie as per your enjoying. E.g. I do not like eggplant, so I have included as it were 4 fair for hubby.
- Do not skip or diminish the sum of methi muthia. It is the heart of the undhiyu.
- If green garlic is accessible in the season, at that point include whereas making green masala. It includes a truly pleasant flavor.
- Adjust the green chilies as per your enjoying flavor level. The sum said gives a medium hot taste.
🥣 Storage Instructions
- Because undhiyu recipe is made in huge amounts, I solidify the remains in freezer-safe holders in the parcels. It remains great for around 2 months.
- Undhiyu remains great for 2 days in the fridge.
🍽 When & How To Serve Undhiyu?
Undhiyu, a traditional Gujarati delicacy, is generally enjoyed with a variety of Indian viands. While it’s most generally served with puris — deep- fried, puffed viands that impeccably round the rich and racy flavors of the dish it also dyads wonderfully with bajra bhakri, a rustic flatbread made from plum millet flour that adds a wholesome, earthy note to the mess. also, numerous people delight undhiyu with soft phulka rotis, making it a protean incident suitable for different tastes and preferences.
During the gleeful occasion of Makar Sankranti, undhiyu holds a special place in Gujarati homes. The celebratory regale traditionally features a luxurious spread that includes undhiyu, crisp puris, pungent and scrumptious chutneys, and the important- favored sweet, jalebi. This gleeful supper is nearly a ritual in numerous homes, bringing families together to enjoy the seasonal bounty and the joy of the crop jubilee. In some homes, shrikhand — a delicate, saffron- invested yogurt cate is preferred over jalebi, offering a rich yet stimulating end to the mess. This pleasurable combination of sweet and savory dishes captures the substance of Gujarati hospitality and culinary tradition during Makar Sankranti.
