Dudhi Muthia

I had a dudhi sitting in my fridge since two days staring at me, pleading with me to rescue it from the freezing temperature inside. I looked at it and shut the refrigerator door each time. It is such a boring vegetable!

What could I do with it?

Dudhi-chana dal shaak? ruled out..(hubby likes it..not me)

Dudhi-kofta curry? ruled out..(Hubby won’t like it…requires deep-frying..and too much mehnat)

Dudhi theplas? ruled out..(Done it too many times..my kid is bored with them)

Muthias?…Yeah..why not?..I love them..Kido may eat them..Hubby won’t mind..Bingo!..my mind was made..So the dudhi got finally rescued (*chuckle*) from the fridge and devoured..and it tasted oh so damn nice that my mom actually called me up for maybe the first time to let me know how much she liked it.

Ok..so muthia actually means fist in Gujarati..I guess the name is derived from the fact that these things are shaped with your fist..But I don’t like looking at huge, bulky,shaped-by-fist muthias..so I try to shape them to look like small biscuits or cookies.

Muthias are generally made by adding besan flour. I also like adding rice flour along with besan to make them a bit crisper. In this recipe, I tried adding jowar flour instead of rice flour and the result was quite amazing. So here’s what you will need to make these muthias –

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized dudhi or doodhi or bottlegourd or lauki (or whatever you call that long thing)

1 cup besan

2 cups jowar flour (or as required)

2 green chillies (finely chopped)

2 tbsp red chilli powder (I usually use the Kashmiri lal mirch. You can add as per your taste)

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp ajwain seeds (I always add this when using besan in any recipe)

1 tsp hing powder/asafoetida (I always add this when using besan in any recipe)

1 tsp ginger paste or a small piece of ginger(grated)

1 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

Oil as required

Method:

1) Wash, peel and grate the dudhi. Keep aside.

2) Add salt , besan and jowar flour. Mix well. (After adding salt, the dudhi juices are easily released and this helps in binding the ingredients. Do not add water at any stage in this recipe)

3) You will have to adjust the amount of flours to be added as per the liquid content in the doodhi.

4) Add the chillies,ajwain,hing,chilli powder,dhania powder,turmeric,sugar,ginger paste and 1 tbsp of oil and mix well till you have a dough like consistency.

5) Take some part of this dough and shape into cylindrical rolls which are palm-sized in length. The thickness or breadth of the roll should be as per your liking (Tip: Think of a sausage roll).

6) Add some water to a steamer (i.e an idli/dhokla steamer) and steam the rolls for about 10-12 minutes (Stick a knife in the middle of each roll to check if they are done. The pierced knife should come out clean. If not, steam them for another 5 minutes or so and check again).

7) Cut each roll into smaller bite sized pieces.  (You can do a basic tadka with jeera,mustard and sesame seeds and add these pieces to the tadka and eat them straight away – healthier version..)

OR  you can proceed to step 8..which is what I like to do

8) Take a pan and add about 3 tbsps oil and shallow fry these pieces. Turn them and ensure both sides are light brown and evenly colored)

Serve these as a side dish with dinner or as a tea time snack.

You can try out this same recipe with grated cabbage..and maybe I should see how this tastes with grated pumpkin..What say?…Any other ideas..let me know..

If you know any other simple and interesting recipes with this boring vegetable..do share.

Methi & Doodhi Thepla/Paratha

I have been struggling these days to get my 16 month old son to eat some veggies instead of his favourite plain rotis with ghee. I had some methi and doodhi in the fridge and decided to make this dish for him. This dish can be served as breakfast or also a light dinner. It combines the health benefits of methi and doodhi with the goodness of whole wheat flour.

The recipe is simple & quick and very handy if you are looking for a quick meal. Here’s the recipe-

Ingredients:
1 bunch methi leaves (washed and chopped fine)
1 medium doodhi/lauki (peeled and grated)
3 cups wheat flour
3-4 tbsp besan/chickpea flour
red chilli powder
turmeric
salt
Oil
Jaggery (2 tsp)
Handful of Sesame seeds
Ajwain (1/2 tsp)

(The last three ingredients are optional and depends on personal preference. I personally love adding sesame seeds to theplas)

Method:
1) In a bowl place all the above mentioned ingredients and knead to a semi soft dough. Add water only as required(Since the grated doodhi will have water content).
3) Roll out the theplas and bake on a tava/gridle till it turns golden brown in colour on both sides.

Indian Breakfast – Thalipeeth

Thalipeeth is a savoury dish – something like savoury pancakes – made with a special flour called ‘Bhajani’ which is essentially a mixture of different types of flours made from roasted grains and cereals such as jowar , Bengal gram etc. This dish is generally popular in Maharashtrian households as a snack and is usually served with a dollop of white butter. I usually buy a readymade pack (K-Pra Thalipeeth Bhajani) of the Bhajani flour for this recipe and serve the thalipeeth as a breakfast meal with some pickle or coriander/mint chutney.

Ingredients:

Thalipeeth bhajani flour (200 gms)
2 medium sized onions or 2-3 green onions & stalks finely chopped
2 green chillies finely chopped
4-5 stalks of coriander leaves finely chopped
Handful of Chopped fenugreek leaves (Optional  – as a taste variation and adding nutritive value)
1-2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
Oil for shallow frying
Water for dough
Salt to taste

Method:
I) Mix the bhajani flour with the rest of the ingredients and some water to form a dough. The dough should not be too soft or sticky. It should be possible to divide the dough into smaller smooth balls.
II) Patting the dough to form thalipeeth : Traditionally a small ball of dough would be placed directly on the pan and flattened out with moist fingers. Another way is to flatten the ball on a plastic sheet which is greased with some oil or water.
You can also try to do it straight on a chakla or any flat surface –
On the chakla, sprinkle some rice flour and place the dough ball. Grease your palm and fingers with some oil and press your palm to flatten the ball. Using your fingers, pat in a circular direction to flatten out the sides. Dust some rice flour to prevent sticking and to help moulding the shape. In the middle of the thalipeeth, create a hole using your finger. (You can create few more holes and add oil in these while cooking to help cook the thalipeeth evenly).
While cooking, add oil around the thalipeeth. Flip over when one side is lightly golden brown and then cook the other side.