UNDHIYU

UNDHIYU

Every thing about UNDHIYU | Vahrehvah :

Undhiyu is a popular Gujarati vegetarian curry generally served as a main course dish consisting of a variety of vegetables cooked with fresh herbs, spices, ginger and garlic, having a sweet and spicy flavor to taste. Traditionally the key element is the preparation method of this dish which is cooked on low heat for a longer time to impart most of the flavors in the dish. No Gujrati house without undhiyu, in the festive meal can be found on the day of Uttarayan, The Gujrati kite flying festival. Traditionally it is made in clay pot aka “matka” or matlu. The masala and vegetables are added in the in the matki. Matki is sealed in a proper way and then placed upside down in the fire pit dug into the ground. The name of this dish comes from the Gujarati words "matlu" meaning earthen pot and "undhu" meaning upside down. Even Today this procedure is alive in Gujrati villages. We can even have a faster version using a pressure cooker that also uses less oil. To save on time further, you can buy readymade dry muthias. However, ensure you add them along with the vegetables so that they turn soft on cooking.  

The dish is a seasonal one, comprising the vegetables that are available on the South Gujarat coastline during the winter season, including green beans or new peas, small eggplants, muthia (dumplings/fritters made with fenugreek leaves and spiced chickpea flour) potatoes, purple yam, and sometimes plantain. These are spiced with a dry curry powder. There are two types of Undhiyu. From Surat to Ahmedabad, it is made in a green masala and the Saurashtra side prepares it with red masala.

Surti undhiyu is a variant that is served with puri at weddings and banquets. Again, it is a mixed vegetable casserole, made with red lentils and seasoned with spices, grated coconut, and palm sugar in a mild sauce. It is garnished with chopped peanuts and toasted grated coconut. Undhiyu with puri and shrikhand is often eaten in Gujarati houses during winter season.

In everyday usage, a vegetable is any part of a plant that is consumed by humans as food as part of a savory meal. Originally, vegetables were collected from the wild by hunter-gatherers and entered cultivation in several parts of the world, probably during the period 10,000 BC to 7,000 BC, when a new agricultural way of life developed. At first, plants which grew locally would have been cultivated, but as time went on, trade brought exotic crops from elsewhere to add to domestic types. Nowadays, most vegetables are grown all over the world as climate permits, and crops may be cultivated in protected environments in less suitable locations. China is the largest producer of vegetables and global trade in agricultural products allows consumers to purchase vegetables grown in faraway countries. Starting from salad to main course and then finally desert, vegetables have their active presence everywhere.

Preparation Tips:

• Ensure that you are adding readymade dry muthias along with the vegetables. so, that they turn soft on cooking.
• Go easier on the oil if you're trying to cut down on the calories.

Health Tips:       

• Undhiyu has an assortment of vegetables, which make for a nutritious bite.
• Most vegetables are low in fat and calories but are filling.
• Vegetables supply dietary fiber and are important sources of essential vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Particularly important are the antioxidant vitaminsA, C, and E.
• When vegetables are included in the diet, there is found to be a reduction in the incidence of cancer, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic ailments.
• This recipe is very rich source of potassium.

This is an amazing dish from Surat, Gujarat state. This dish looks very similar to the popular dish of Kerala and Tamil Nadu namely Avial which is also make combined with a variety of vegetables, spices, herbs and coconut. 

Take the previllage of having traditional gujarati dish!!