298. Steamed muthias

July 11, 2013

healthy gujarati snack

I simply love all gujarati snacks. Whenever my grandfather brought loads of doodhi (lauki) from his friend's farm or some grew in our garden, my mum would make either handvo or muthias. Muthias taste lovely with a cup of hot spicy tea or milk. I love dunking muthias in milk. The reason I love making muthias is because number one they are healthy as I add a lot of vegetables to it and secondly I can prepare them way ahead and just heat them up again before eating. We usually make muthias as a light dinner option. The proportions of different flours used varies from recipe to recipe and so does the amount of vegetables. I find this recipe works best for me. Its an ideal tiffin meal, carry it for lunches and picnics. Yes picnics. If mum didn't carry handvo to the drive in cinema it would be either muthias or dhebras. Yes, such a typical gujju feast, but who is complaining.
There are to types of muthias, one steamed and the other fried. The fried one is usually added to vegetables or shaaks and steamed ones are usually eaten as a snack. You can either have them with just a bit of oil or temper them and make them slightly crunchy. The best part of the dish are the crumbs.Yummy.

my steaming device

STEAMED MUTHIAS
Serves 4

For the muthias:

½ cup besan flour (chana or chickpea flour)
½ cup wholewheat flour (atta)
¼ cup sooji (semolina, rava)
3 tbsp finger millet flour (bajra flour)
1 tbsp oil
1 cup fresh chopped fenugreek (methi)
1 cup lightly packed grated doodhi (lauki, bottle gourd)
1 cup cooked rice (or leftover rice, khichdi, pulao etc)
1 to 2 tsp green chilli paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1½ tsp salt
3 tsp sugar
4 tbsp sour yogurt
½ tsp haldi (turmeric powder)
½ tsp carom seeds (ajwain, ajmo)
¼ tsp hing (asafoetida)
1 tsp lemon juice (if the yogurt is not too sour)
½ tsp soda bicarbonate (baking soda)

For the vaghar (tempering):

3 to 4 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tbsp sesame seeds (tal)
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)
3 to 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped (optional)

To serve:
lemon wedges

To prepare the muthias:

Keep your steaming device ready. There are a lot of steaming devices available in the market. The dokhra steamer, electrical steamer or just use a pan filled quarter of the way with water. Using a ring or steaming tray and a steel or aluminium plate. Oil the plate.
Add the 1 tbsp oil to the wheat flour and rub it in well.
Add the other flours and mix it up well.
Add the rest of the ingredients for the muthia and mix it well.
The batter will be pretty soft.
Boil the water in the pan. When it begins to simmer, add the batter to the oiled plate and put it into the pan on top of the ring or steaming tray.
Cover the pan and let the muthias cook for 25 to 30 minutes over medium heat.
The muthias are cooked if the batter is no longer soft and if a knife pierced into the middle comes out pretty clean.
At this stage let the muthias cool down completely. If you try to cut them while they are hot you will get a whole goey mess.
When the muthia is completely cold, cut it into cubes. Remove from the plate. The size depends on how big or small you like the muthias to be.

Tempering :

Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
Add methi to it. When it begins to sizzle, add the mustard, cumin and sesame seeds.
Add the garlic and saute for a few seconds till they appear soft.
Add the muthias. Mix well.
Cover the pan and on low heat let the muthias become hot.
Serve immediately with lemon wedges, a cup of hot masala tea or milk.

Tips:

Use handvo flour instead of chana flour and sooji.
If you do not have cooked rice, then just add 1 more cup of grated doodhi.
Use grated cabbage instead of doodhi.
Use finely chopped spinach instead of fresh methi.
If you like crunchy muthias add a bit more oil during the tempering stage and let the muthias cook a bit more over low heat.
Adjust the spices according to your taste.

Try this version also: