Many of the ingredients and techniques in this recipe seem a little unusual. I mean, what the heck is a hyacinth bean? And what! You want me to use a pressure cooker? And, yes I’ll admit this does take a little time to make.
But I know if you make it, you won’t be sorry!
![Undhiyu (Mixed Vegetable and Dumpling Casserole) Undhiyu (Mixed Vegetable and Dumpling Casserole)](https://indiaphile.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/undhiyu-6-740x493.jpg)
This mixed vegetable casserole, known as Undhiyu, is a much loved Gujarati dish that was traditionally baked in a clay pot buried upside down with a charcoal fire above. My mom just cooks it in a pressure cooker but it can also be baked in the oven.
My mom packed a giant tupperware container full of undhiyu for Steve and I when we drove across country from LA to DC. We ate it folded into slices of bread. Best road food ever!
![Undhiyu (Mixed Vegetable and Dumpling Casserole) Undhiyu (Mixed Vegetable and Dumpling Casserole)](https://indiaphile.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/undhiyu-5-740x493.jpg)
![Undhiyu (Mixed Vegetable and Dumpling Casserole) with Paratha](https://indiaphile.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/undhiyu-2-250x250.jpg)
Mixed Veggie Casserole with Dumplings (Undhiyu)
There are 100 ways to make Undhiyu, this is how my mother makes it
Ingredients
The Dumplings (Muthiya):
- ½ cup semolina rava
- ½ cup gram bean flour besan / garbanzo bean flour
- 3 tbsp fresh or dried fenugreek leaves methi {Substitute cilantro if you can’t find fenugreek leaves}
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp oil
- ¼ water or as needed – may need a little less or more
Undhiyu Masala
- 3 tbsp whole cumin seeds jeeru
- 2 tbsp whole coriander seeds dhana
- 1 tbsp whole carom seeds ajmo or ajwain
- 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 8 cloves fresh garlic roughly chopped
The Veggies:
- 8 baby eggplant
- 2 large sweet potatoes the ones with a tan skin and white inside or red skin and white inside
- 1 lb hyacinth beans seeds and skins (val papdi) — these can be hard to find. Look for them in the frozen section at an Indian grocery store. {If you don’t have an Indian grocer nearby, you can substitute 1/2 lb soy beans and 1/2 pound green beans cut into 1 inch pieces.}
- Plantain optional
- Potato optional — I don’t like to put any potato in mine. It was always a disappointment to me and the rest of my family when we got a potato instead of a sweet potato. So now my mom only uses the sweet potato. Makes for more yumminess all around!
The Vaghaar (Tadka):
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 ½ tbsp carom seeds
Instructions
The Dumplings (Muthiya):
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium size bowl, add oil to the semolina and rub in. Toss in all the other dry ingredients and then add water a little at a time until a wet dough is formed. (It needs to be wetter than the dough I make in the pictures)
- Make 1 tbsp sized ovals and place them on a greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with oil and bake in the oven for 15- 20 minutes, turning once. Until golden brown.
Undhiyu Masala:
- Roast the whole seeds on a pan until fragrant. Grind them into a powder in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.
- Toss all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until chopped small and mixed well.
The Veggies
- Cut the stem ends of the baby eggplant off and then cut two cross slits about 3/4 of the way down. Set aside.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 2 inch thick slices. Toss the pieces into a bowl of cold water while you work to prevent browning.
- Cut two cross slits about 3/4 way down into each segment of the sweet potato.
- Gently stuff as much of the masala mixture into the eggplants and sweet potato as you can. The Sweet potato is a little harder to stuff and it’s okay if they break into segments while you stuff. Do the same with the potato, if using.
- Peel and slice the plantain into 1 inch segments, if using.
- Undhiyu (Mixed Vegetable and Dumpling Casserole)
The Vaghaar (Tadka) and Assembly
- Heat oil in a pan that is big enough to hold all the veggies and will fit inside your pressure cooker.
- When the oil is hot, toss in the carom seeds. Let cook for about 20 seconds and turn off the heat.
- Toss in a layer of veggies. Sprinkle some masala over them add some the dumplings. Then sprinkle a tablespoon of water. Repeat the layers until all the veggies, masala and dumplings are added. Stir.
- Place a ring at the bottom of the pressure cooker. Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the bottom. Place the pan into the pressure cooker on top of the ring.
- Close and cook for 20 – 25 minutes after the pressure is up.
- Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro. Serve with any kind of flat bread or puri. I also like it as an open faced sandwich on thick buttered slices of fresh french or sourdough bread.
Nutrition
Calories: 271kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 10gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 549mgPotassium: 933mgFiber: 14gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 4843IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 84mgIron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
![Undhiyu (Mixed Vegetable and Dumpling Casserole) with Paratha Undhiyu (Mixed Vegetable and Dumpling Casserole) with Paratha](https://indiaphile.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/undhiyu-2-1024x682.jpg)
![Undhiyu (Mixed Vegetable and Dumpling Casserole) with Paratha Undhiyu (Mixed Vegetable and Dumpling Casserole) with Paratha](https://indiaphile.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/undhiyu-2-1024x682.jpg)