Surat Style Surti Undhiyu Recipe

Surti Undhiyu is not just a dish; it’s an emotion, a winter celebration that brings families together in Gujarat. It is the culinary heartbeat of Surat during the cold months.

This traditional Surti Undhiyu recipe captures the authentic ‘upside-down’ cooking technique that steams the vegetables in their own juices, creating unparalleled depth of flavor [1]. The dish balances earthy root vegetables with light, crispy fenugreek dumplings (muthiyas) and a secret green garlic paste that makes it truly special. It is a hearty, wholesome feast best enjoyed hot with fresh puris.

Though Undhiyu is from Gujarat, every part of the state has their own version. From addition of red chili and turmeric to the one with stuffed vegetables, there are a lot of variations.

This version is the one that we have had for years. It is an heirloom recipe passed down from my grandmother to my mother and me. I have made it numerous times with her and now make it for my friends and family.

Why this recipe works

• This Surti Undhiyu is a mix of vegetables, greens, seasonal beans and spices.
• It is a naturally Vegan recipe.
• We make this in a layered fashion, layering the ingredients based on cooking time.
• It makes a great main dish for any occasion, get together or family meal.
• It is perfect with hot puris, Shrikhand and Kadhi
• Undhiyu is also a great recipe to enjoy by itself.
• The recipe can be made with all the fresh vegetables, a mix of fresh and frozen or just frozen ones.
• This sabzi is a great make ahead recipe.
• This is wonderful for meal prep.
• Surti Undhiyu freezes beautifully too.

Ingredients :

• Green Masala: The heart of the vegetable is this green masala. Garlic, ginger, green chili and cilantro make the masala green and full of flavor. Adding green garlic makes the masala great, however; use regular garlic if that is unavailable. Plus, we also grind some spices with the greens.
• Methi Muthiya: Methi Muthiya AKA dumplings made with fenugreek leaves, wheat flour, besan and some spices. This is the key ingredient for this traditionally Undhiyu. I would recommend do not skip this. Muthiyas are traditionally fried but you can airfry them as well.
• Vegetables: Surti Undhiyu uses a blend of root vegetables. Potatoes, purple yam, sweet potatoes and yam are great for the recipe. Clean and peel the root vegetables before using. They also add texture to the recipe with taste.
• Beans: Surti Papdi is the key ingredient for this surti undhiyu. Many people like to add tuver dana as well. As i mentioned before you can add as per your preference.
• Spices: The recipe calls for whole spices like cumin seeds, mustard seeds, sesame seeds and carom seeds. Plus, a fat pinch of asafetida. Together these are great to make the undhiyu full of flavor. I also add sugar and salt to the recipe for taste. Additionally, a pinch of baking soda is used to make sure all the vegetables cook well.
• Other ingredients: Along with all these we add baby eggplants, coconut and banana. The banana is great to get some natural sweetness. However, skip it if you do not like it.

How to Make The Recipe

1. In blender take peanuts and grind coarse. Keep it aside. In a food processor take ginger, garlic, green chili and blend them. Chopped cilantro finely and shredded the coconut.
2. Prepare the Muthiya: For muthiya take 1 cup gram flour, 1/2 cup wheat flour and 2 tbsp of sooji. Add spices like salt, turmeric, garlic chili paste, red chili powder, sugar, yogurt, oil and methi leaves. Knead a soft medium dough. Make small medium size dumplings. Fry them and keep it aside.
3. Preapre the masala. In a mixing bowl, add crushed peanuts, ginger, garlic and chili paste which we prepared. Add lots of chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, coconut, raisin and cashews. In spices add salt, sugar, turmeric, cumin coriander powder. I like to add undhiyu masala if you don’t have it you can add garam masala. Add oil and mix all together and your green masala is ready.
4. In a pan add some oil and carom seeds and add asafetida. Add surti papdi. (i would like to cook the papdi first for few minutes before i add other vegetables)
5. When the papdi is cooking, cut the veggies from middle like eggplant and potatoes or banana. Some people like to stuff masala in all veggies i only like to stuff baby eggplant. I cut them in middle half way and stuff the prepared masala.
6. Now add the rest of the green masala in papdi along with all veggies. Add 1/3 cup of water. Do not add too much water. Only add little bit. Add prepared dumplings and cover it. Let them cook for 10 minutes. We don’t want the vegetables too much cooked like gravy.
7. Keep checking in between and do not stir too much. When you see all vegetables cooked and the oil separated your undhiyu is ready. Make sure there shouldn’t be any water.
8. Garnish with lot of cilantro green garlic if available and coconut.
9. Serve with Puris, shrikhand and pulav kadhi.

Tips and Tricks:

• The muthiya and vegetables can be deep fried before adding them to the mix. To do so, fry them separately and set aside. Continue with the recipe as described.
• The recipe is naturally Vegan. To make it gluten-free replace the wheat flour dumplings with gram flour ones. Besides, pick asafetida that does not have flour mixed in.
• If you cannot find all the vegetables, pick the ones you can find. Moreover, using frozen beans, yam etc is a great option too.
• Do not mix the vegetables and masalas a lot, as that will yield to the vegetables and muthiya getting mashed. Mix them with a spatula with a lot of care.
• While fresh undhiyu tastes amazing, it is best to let it stand for a couple hours before enjoying it. This time lets all the flavors blend together.
• Undhiyu is great to freeze. To do so, completely cool it and transfer to freezer bags or containers. Freeze covered. To enjoy, defrost it for a few minutes and then heat thoroughly.
• Undhiyu tastes best with puri. However, it is also great with roti, rice or by itself.

Different Types of Undhiyu

While the word Undhiyu is more like a dish from Gujarat; there are variations within Gujarat too. Based on which region the undhiyu is from or based on the cooking style, undhiyu can be classified into these types.

• Surti Undhiyu: As the name suggests, this one is from Surat, a city in Gujarat. Made with green masala and no red chili or tomatoes, this is often called Leelu Undhiyu meaning ‘green undhiyu’. This is the recipe we have here.
• Kathiyawadi Undhiyu: A different kind of undhiyu from the Surati version, this is deep red in color and far spicier. Popular in the Kathiyawad region. Made with fried chunks of vegetables, it is often served with roti or bajri rotla.
• Umbadiyu: Similar to undhiyu, umbadiyu is also a mix of vegetables and spices from Valsad. It is made in an earthen pot using twigs to cook it under the ground. A rustic recipe, this is quite aromatic and flavorful.
• Jain Undhiyu: As the name suggests, we do not use garlic and potatoes in this recipe. Instead I like to use raw bananas, bottle gourd and green peas to make up for the lack of tubers.

Surat Style Surti Undhiyu Recipe

Recipe by Shruti Naik Course: Uncategorized

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Surti Undhiyu is not just a dish; it’s an emotion, a winter celebration that brings families together in Gujarat. It is the culinary heartbeat of Surat during the cold months.

Ingredients

• 1 cup crushed peanuts

• 1 cup shredded coconut

• 1 cup fresh chopped cilantro (use green garlic if available)

• 1 tbps garlic paste

• 1 tbps ginger paste

• 2 tbsp salt

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 2 tbps raisin and cashews

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 1 tbsp green chili paste

• 2 tbsp undhiya masala

• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

• 2 tbsp cumin coriander powder

• 2 tbsp oil

• 2 cups surti papdi

• 1 big potato

• 1 small sweet potato

• 1 small purple yam

• 1 medium ripe banana or raw

• 4 baby eggplant

• Methi Muthiya

• 1 Cup whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup besan

• 2 tbso sooji

• 1/2 cup chopped methi leaves

• 1 tbsp ginger chili paste

• 1 tbsp salt or as per taste

• 2 tbsp sugar

• 3 tbsp oil

• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

• 1/4 cup yogurt

Directions

• First Prepare Green Masala for Undhiyu Masala
• In a bowl add all dry ingredients mention in Ingredients list. Add crushed peanuts, coconut, sesame seeds and chopped cilantro. You can add green garlic as that’s the main ingredients but we don’t get here so i skipped.
• Add salt to taste, turmeric, cumin coriander powder, sugar, undhiyu masala, green chili paste, raisin, cashews, garlic ginger paste and oil.
• Mix all together and keep it aside.
• Wash the baby egg plant. Cut from the middle, Fill the prepared masala and keep it aside.
• Note: if you are using raw banana, you can cut them and fill with masala as well.
• Prepare Muthiya:
• In a bowl add all flours listed in ingredients like whole wheat flour, besan and sooji.
• Add all spices like salt, sesame seeds, turmeric, garlic paste, ginger chili paste, red chili powder, sugar.
• Add chopped fenugreek leaves, yogurt and oil. Mix it well and prepared medium soft dough.
• Make muthiya and deep fried them.
• You can prepare muthiya ahead of time too.
• Prepare Undhiyu:
• In blender take peanuts and grind coarse. Keep it aside. In a food processor take ginger, garlic, green chili and blend them. Chopped cilantro finely and shredded the coconut.
• Prepare the Muthiya: For muthiya take 1 cup gram flour, 1/2 cup wheat flour and 2 tbsp of sooji. Add spices like salt, turmeric, garlic chili paste, red chili powder, sugar, yogurt, oil and methi leaves. Knead a soft medium dough. Make small medium size dumplings. Fry them and keep it aside.
• Preapre the masala. In a mixing bowl, add crushed peanuts, ginger, garlic and chili paste which we prepared. Add lots of chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, coconut, raisin and cashews. In spices add salt, sugar, turmeric, cumin coriander powder. I like to add undhiyu masala if you don’t have it you can add garam masala. Add oil and mix all together and your green masala is ready.
• In a pan add some oil and carom seeds and add asafetida. Add surti papdi. (i would like to cook the papdi first for few minutes before i add other vegetables)
• When the papdi is cooking, cut the veggies from middle like eggplant and potatoes or banana. Some people like to stuff masala in all veggies i only like to stuff baby eggplant. I cut them in middle half way and stuff the prepared masala.
• Now add the rest of the green masala in papdi along with all veggies. Add 1/3 cup of water. Do not add too much water. Only add little bit. Add prepared dumplings and cover it. Let them cook for 10 minutes. We don’t want the vegetables too much cooked like gravy.
• Keep checking in between and do not stir too much. When you see all vegetables cooked and the oil separated your undhiyu is ready. Make sure there shouldn’t be any water.
• Garnish with lot of cilantro green garlic if available and coconut.
• Serve with Puris, shrikhand and pulav kadhi.

Recipe Video

Notes

• Surti Undhiyu is tasted so better when you have green garlic added. IF you can get green garlic, do add that into undhiyu masala.
• You can add Banana either when undhiyu is about to cooked or if you are using raw banana add them with veggies.
• Always prepare muthiyas ahead of time so it can save your lot of time.