FOODIE SPECIAL.... Time for undhiyu, the winter delicacy

FOODIE SPECIAL  Time for undhiyu,    the winter delicacy   Imagine an explosion of so many delicious tastes in your mouth at one go -soft brinjals, browned potato, crunchy muthiyas, sweet yam, crunchy beans and spices! That's undhiya for you, the traditional Gujarati winter specialty that's made overnight and slowcooked to perfection. This is also the right time to eat it -for undhiyu  is served at restaurants across the city -from mid-November  to the end of February .Here's what goes into its making... A DELICIOUS IMPORT Undhiyu is a dish that doesn't really find it's origin in the city. It has a melange of ingredients -Surti papdi (beans that are brought in on the Flying Rani train from Katargam, Surat each morning), arya kakdi (a zucchini-like cucumber that comes from Gujarat), kand (purple yam), sakariya (sweet potatoes), lilwa dana, rajgiri kela (banana), ringanna (brinjal). The methi muthiyas (steamed and fried wheat balls)  are added to it. The special winter green garlic that is now making an appearance in markets, is also added. Everything is painstakingly slow-cooked overnight in layers with green chillies, coriander and grated coconut.  Says Bakul Shah of an 80-yearold eatery at CP Tank, “The ingredients are crucial to it; the tenderness and sweetness of the vegetables make all the difference.“ SLOW-COOKED, MINUS ANY WATER The dish was originally prepared in the ground in an earthen  pot. Today , we eat a more practical version, which is made  in large vessels or a cooker. And there are actually two types of Undhiyu. “From Surat to Ahmedabad, it is made in a green masala and the Saurashtra side prepares it with with red masala,“ informs Shah. He makes it traditional style, cooked in groundnut oil without any water, and using a certain process. “The vegetables are first layered in a vessel -papdi is used in the first layer as it's a tough vegetable so cooking it takes time,“ he explains. This is followed by potatoes and brinjals (slit and stuffed  with masala) as well as kand and kela. Only once it is cooked, the muthiyas are added so they don't break. The final topping is coriander and coconut masala. The vessel is then covered with a thali. “This is cooked a little dumstyle where a little water is poured on the cover  so the heat is generated by the water ensures the contents are cooked,“ adds Shah. The contents are given a stir at the end. BEST HAD WITH The delicacy is had on its own or with plain white rice and salty buttermilk seasoned with zeera. “Bajra rotla is another  option, but you can also have undhiyu with wheat phulkas,“  informs foodie Rumi Ranji. HOW IT GOT ITS NAME The word Undhiyu comes from `undhu' which means upside a down in Gujarati. The story goes that earlier, farmers used  to cook this dish in an earthen pot and bury it in the ground  and set fire from above to cook it. PONKH IS IN SEASON TOO This is also the best time to eat ponkh a tender, green jowar, which lends warmth to the body. It is imported from Surat and available only from November to February. Ponkh is healthy; it has dietary fiber, iron, phos phorus and helps stabilise blood sugars. Traditionally, it is had raw with limbu sev and green chutney. One can also make ponkh patties and ponkh barfi from it. IT'S HEALTHY This is one-pot dish of undhiyu has an assortment of vegetables, which make for a nutritious bite. Go easier on the oil if you're trying to cut down on the calories. You can also use extra virgin olive oil as a replacement. Try it on a multi-grain bread or have it in a wheat or bajra roti, which makes for a light and filling wrap. TRY THIS SURTI UNDHIYU (SERVES 6) Procedure: Cut the potatoes and brinjals into segments taking care not  to separate them at the base. Take half the quantity of the  masala mix and fill the masala in the segments. Keep it aside. In a thick and broad based vessel add mustard  seeds and when crackles add the Surti papdi pods along with the lilva and tuver dana. Add a pinch of soda bicarb to it. Add salt, ajwain, ginger and green chillies crushed, dhania jeera, half the green garlic and the remaining half masala. Mix the papdi when the contents start simmering. Arrange the brinjals, potatoes, purple yam, sweet potatoes  dices, green peas all around the simmering papdi. Add the remaining masala and cover it with a little water on top. Be careful as not to stir the veggies rigorously as the sections tend to break. Cook this on a slow fire. When it is done add the diced bananas and the dhania-jeera powder and cook for five more minutes. Add the fried methi na muthiyas. Enjoy it hot.

Ismat Tahseen

TNN24NOV15