Muthiyaમુઠિયા
Muthiya are steamed dumplings shaped in your fist (muthi), made with bottle gourd or fenugreek and a mix of flours, then sliced and tossed in a sesame tempering. Because they are steamed rather than fried, they are one of the lighter Gujarati snacks.
Ingredients
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- 1 cup wheat flour
- ½ cup gram flour
- ¼ cup semolina
- 1½ cups grated bottle gourd
- 1 tsp ginger-chilli paste
- ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp sugar, salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice, ¼ tsp baking soda
- For the tempering: oil, mustard seeds, sesame seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves
Method
- Mix all the ingredients with the grated bottle gourd into a soft dough. Use the gourd's own moisture and add extra water only if you must.
- Shape into long rolls.
- Steam on a greased plate or sieve for about 20 minutes.
- Cool, then cut into half-inch slices.
- Crackle mustard seeds, sesame seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves in oil, add the slices and toss for 5 minutes.
- Finish with coriander and coconut, and serve with tea.
Tips
- A knife inserted in the roll should come out clean when they are steamed through.
- Be generous with the sesame seeds in the tempering.
- Leftovers pan-fry beautifully for the next morning's breakfast.
Storing and reheating
Keep the steamed rolls uncut in the fridge, where they stay moist for three days. Cut slices dry out at the edges. They freeze well for a month. Do not store tempered muthiya; by the next day they are soft and oily. Temper only as many as you will eat and keep the rest as whole rolls.
What you can swap
- Grated cabbage, carrot or fresh fenugreek leaves can replace bottle gourd. With fenugreek, salt it, rest it ten minutes and squeeze the water out, or the dough goes slack.
- Half the wheat flour can be jowar or bajra flour. The muthiya turn more crumbly, so shape slightly thicker rolls to stop them breaking.
- No semolina? Increase the gram flour, but accept a slightly denser result. The semolina is what gives muthiya their faint bite.
- Quarter teaspoon of Eno can stand in for the baking soda, but add it as the last thing before shaping and get the rolls into the steamer immediately.
What to serve with it
This is an old-fashioned Gujarati tea-time snack, served with green chutney or salted curd. Methi muthiya also go into undhiyu, the big winter dish. They travel well too, since they are still good once cool.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not squeeze the bottle gourd dry and then add plain water. The flavour is in that liquid. Mix the grated gourd straight into the flour and add water only drop by drop if you must.
- Do not knead this like roti dough. Bring the ingredients together with a light hand. Over-working makes the muthiya hard and chewy.
- Do not let the rolls touch in the steamer. Leave a finger's width between them, or the steam cannot reach where they meet and the dough stays raw there.
- Never cut the rolls hot. Let them cool completely, otherwise they crumble and the slices come out ragged.
Questions people ask
Why are my muthiya hard?
The dough was over-worked, there was too much semolina, or they steamed too long. Twenty minutes is enough, and beyond that they dry out and firm up. The dough should also be softer and stickier than roti dough, not stiffer.
Why do they crumble when I cut them?
Either the rolls are still warm, or the dough was short of binding. Cool them fully and use a sharp knife. If they keep falling apart, add two extra tablespoons of gram flour next time, which is what holds the mixture together.
Can I fry muthiya instead of steaming them?
Yes, that is a separate version. Shape the same dough into small balls and fry on medium heat for muthiya that are crisp outside and soft within, which suits tea nicely. Use less baking soda for the fried kind, or they drink up oil.
