Zucchini Muthiya: Gujarati Indian Steamed Snack

Raise your hand if like me you cant eat roti subji every day! With less visits to supermarkets and due to lock down I am constantly thinking about variations and ideas that I can imply and make new dishes at home without using too many ingredients. So with the same prospective in mind Zucchini Muthiya happened one Friday.To think about it, Muthiya uses same ingredients that you would do in any normal indian meal-aata, massale and subji. Okay, so those of you dont know, Muthia is a Gujarati snack or farsaan (as we say in Gujarati) and is steamed dumpling that is made with whole wheat flour, a bit of besan (chickpeas flour), vegetables and basic masale (spices).The most popular variety of Muthia is made from lauki or doodhi (bottle gourd) but people use leftover rice, carrots, cabbage, tinda, methi, palak or any juicy vegetable to make muthiya. But hey, don't you think zucchini is like bottle gourd (luaki) in taste and texture? I do, and that is why this version of Zucchini Muthiya happened. In Hindi zucchini is called as taroi, tori, turai or galka and if you are thinking about a modification on how to use those zucchini in the fridge, then this recipe is for you.You can check my recipe for Dudhi Muthiya here, where in I have used makki ka atta (corn maize flour) and suji (semolina), yougurt (dahi) too in the recipe, however today’s recipe for Zucchini Muthiya is very simple using very basic ingredients that you should have in your kitchen even during this isolation time.Ingredients:For Dough1 cup whole wheat flour (atta)1 medium sized zucchini5 tablespoons chickpea flour (besan)Salt to taste¼ teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)¼ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)½ teaspoon lemon juice (nimbo ka ras)½ teaspoon red chilli powder (lal mirchi)½ teaspoon sugar (shakkar/chini)4 tablespoons oilFor Tempering2 tablespoon oil½ teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)½ teaspoon white sesame seeds (til)10-12 curry leaves (kadi patta)5-6 green chillies slitted (hari mirchi)Handful of coriander leaves chopped (dhaniya patta)
Method:Prepare the steamer. Add about 5 cups of water and bring to boil. Then apply some oil on steamer tray and grease it well.Grate the zuchini and leave it aside for 2-3 minutes.In a mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients in dough section (expect zucchini).Squeeze out all the water from the zucchini really well and throw the zucchini in the dough. The dough should be medium hard. Use extra water only if needed.Apply some oil on your palms and divide the dough in to four equal portions. Shape each portion in to cylindrical log. Arrange on grease tray and steam it for 25-30 minutes.You can check if Muthia is cooked by inserting a toothpick or a knife in the center of the log and it should come out clean.Let it cool down for 5 minutes then cut into half inch slices.Heat the oil in a pan for tempering.Once hot add mustard seeds and sesame seeds, curry leaves, green chillies. Let them splutter. Then add sliced muthia.Mix gently so muthia do not break and cook it till you get little brown and crispy muthia. Turn off the heat. Serve hot!Notes:Any other grated vegetables like cabbage, bottle gourd/lauki, onions, methi leaves, spring onions, beetroot, carrots can also be added instead of spinach. Or you can make mixed vegetable muthiya.If do not like tampering then even plain steamed muthiya tastes good.This will be a sweet and sour snack (khata meetha) like most Gujarati snacks, so feel free to ditch sugar if you do not prefer sweet snacks.x