Muthiya

I had always eaten muthiya in undhiyu - till I ate muthiya as a snack at Pritiben's place, and realized here was a healthy snack I actually loved.

Muthiya is basically steamed dumplings made of a flour mix - aataa (whole wheat flour), sooji (cream of wheat) and besan (chick pea flour). Any grated or finely chopped vegetable can be added to the flour mix to form the dough - chopped spinach, grated squash, grated zuchhini, grated cabbage, finely chopped methi (fenugreek leaves).

Chopped green onions and grated garlic can be added to the dough, but I prefer to add them instead to the chatni (sauce). The sauce gets tangier and can be used for dipping for other deep-fried food as well.


Makes 6 cups of muthiya.

Ingredients

• 1 cup aata (whole wheat flour) 
• 1 cup besan (chick pea flour)
• 1/3 cup sooji (wheat semolina)
• 1 tbspn rai (mustard seeds) 
• 1 tbspn til (sesame seeds) 
• 2 packed cups finely chopped (spinach, fenugreek) or grated (cabbage, squash, zucchini)
• 1 tbspn finely chopped green peppers
• 1 tspn jeera powder (cumin powder) 
• 1 tspn dhania powder (coriander powder)
• 1 tbspn lemon juice
• 1 tspn sugar
• salt to taste
• oil for dough  

 Seasoning

• 1 tspn rai (mustard seeds)
• 1 tspn til (sesame seeds)
• 2 tbspn vegetable oil

Preparation (10 minutes)

1. Mix the ingredients with water to make a medium hard dough. It should take about 1-1/2 cups of water.
2. Cover with a damp cloth, and leave aside for 5 minutes.

Instructions (25 minutes)

1. Make 6 inch logs of about 1-1/2 inch diameter. 
2. Steam for 20 minutes.  
3. Heat the oil, pop rai and til and sprinkle over the muthiya.

Serving

1. Warm before serving.
2. Serve with a tangy, hot sauce. Tomato sauces go well with muthiya.

Sheero / Sooji-ka-Halwa

Makes 4 cups of sheero, or sooji ka halwa.

This is a popular dessert, warm or cold, and is made as prasad for Satyanarayan pooja.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sooji (cream of wheat)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tbspn cardamom, crushed
• 1 tbspn almonds, finely sliced - optional
• 1/2 tspn saffron - optional

Preparation (15 minutes)

1. Finely slice the almonds and crush cardamom.
2. Mix the saffron in 2 tbspn milk.   
3. In a non-stick pan, roast the sooji on Medium heat for 10 minutes till it is fragrant, stirring constantly.

Cooking (20 minutes)

1. In a non-stick pan, heat the ghee for a minute.
2. Add sooji and cardamom, and stir for 10 minutes.
3. Add sugar and stir for 5 minutes.
4. Add milk and stir for 5 minutes. 
5. Take off the heat and set aside. 

Serving

1. Place in a serving bowl, and sprinkle sliced almonds and pour the milk with saffron on top.
2. Serve hot, or refrigerate and serve cold.