Undhiyu - South Asian Recipe

Undhiyu

🌍 South Asian, Gujarat Difficulty: ●●●○○

Undhiyu means "upside down" — it was traditionally cooked in clay pots inverted over a wood fire in a pit.

Ingredients

• 200 g small eggplants
• 200 g raw banana, peeled and cubed
• 200 g yam, peeled and cubed
• 200 g purple yam
• 150 g green chickpeas (fresh or frozen)
• 100 g surti papdi (flat beans)
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Muthiya (dumplings): 100 g fenugreek leaves, 150 g whole wheat flour, 1 tsp sugar, spices, oil, salt

Method

1. Making — Make muthiya: mix all ingredients into dough, shape into 2 cm cylinders. Steam 15 min, then shallow fry until golden.
2. Blending — Blend masala paste ingredients. Stuff some into slit eggplants.
3. Heating — Heat oil; add ajwain, cumin. Add yam, cook 5 min.
4. Layering — Layer all vegetables and masala. Cover, cook on very low heat 40 min, stirring gently occasionally.
5. Adding — Add green chickpeas and muthiya last 10 min.
6. Step 6 — Traditionally cooked inverted (ultu) underground; the slow cook is key.

Tags: small eggplants, raw banana, yam, purple yam, green chickpeas · Source: Brittani's Almanac