Instant Pot Undhiyu Recipe | Gujarati Mixed Vegetables

Undhiyu is a delicious Gujarati dish that is packed with seasonal veggies and flavored with peanuts and coconut. This is a delicious meal served with puri.

In my quest to try different Indian cuisines, I have a traditional Gujarati mixed vegetable dish called Undhiyu or Oondhiya today. I ate it for the very first time at one of our Gujju friends and it was absolutely amazing. It is packed with flavor and veggies. They served it with puri and shrikhand for a wholesome meal.

'Undhu' in Gujarati means 'upside down'. Traditionally undhiyu is cooked in earthen clay pots that are turned upside down onto the open fire. There are quite a few different recipes to make this dish, I followed Tarla Dalal's recipe.

Ingredients:

This undhiyu recipe needs a pretty long list of ingredients for the spice mix and the vegetables. So it needs a little bit of pre planning and a little patience. There are quite a few different vegetables that are used but they can be substituted or omitted based on the availability.

I did a big grocery shopping at the local Indian store and stocked up frozen yam (regular & purple), surti lilva (pods & seeds) and methi leaves. All the other veggies are easily available in local stores as well.

• Nuts & Seeds: Peanuts, sesame seeds, dry grated coconut
• Spices: Ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, chili powder
• Seasoning: Sugar, salt, lemon juice, green chilies
• Veggies:
  • Baby Eggplant
  • Baby Potatoes
  • Purple Yam - available in the frozen section in Indian grocery
  • Sweet potato
  • Surti papdi and seeds - also available in frozen section

Instructions:

The oondhiyu I ate at my friend's house had deep fried veggies which makes the dish taste amazing, but also high in calories. But I use the Instant pot to cook mine and I think it tastes just as good with lower calories. This dish is definitely worth every minute spent on it. All the different flavors just explode in your mouth.

This is not a quick dish as there are quite a few components to make. So I have laid out a roadmap on how to go about making this dish. Using the Instant pot or pressure cooker makes this dish so much more easier.

I follow this process at home to make this dish and it takes about 1~1½ hour of hands on time to make the whole meal.

Recipe:

• First make the Methi Muthiya (takes about 30 minutes)
• If you can multitask, great then make the masala while the muthiya are frying up -
  • In a small skillet, roast sesame seeds until golden. Add coconut and cook until golden. Cool slightly.
  • Coarsely grind peanuts, roasted sesame seeds and coconut.
  • Combine the ground peanuts mixture with all the other masala ingredients. Mix well and set aside.
• Make the Dish (15 minutes hands on time):
  • First stuff the slit eggplants with little masala.
  • Turn the Instant Pot on 'Saute' mode. Heat oil and add the carom seeds; cook for a few seconds. Next add hing and cook again for few seconds.
  • Add all the vegetables except for the stuffed eggplant.
  • Stir in the masala and ½ cup water. Stir in salt, turmeric and stir well. Place the stuffed stuffed eggplant on the top.
  • Turn off the instant pot and turn on the Manual mode for 5 minutes.
  • Wait for the pressure to release naturally.
  • Open the lid and add the muthiya. Stir well and close the lid for 5 minutes.
• Make Puri (about 30 minutes hands on time).

To serve:

Traditionally Undhiyu is served with poori and shrikhand at weddings and on special occasions. But you can make it any day and serve with roti.

Instant Pot Undhiyu

Undhiyu is a delicious Gujarati dish that is packed with seasonal veggies and flavored with peanuts and coconut. This is a delicious meal served with puri and shrikhand

Author: Pavani

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Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: gujarati

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

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For Undhiyu Masala:

• ¼ cup Roasted Peanuts
• 3 tbsps Sesame seeds
• ¼ cup Dry grated Coconut
• ½ cup Fresh Cilantro, Chopped
• 1 ~ 2 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Ground Coriander
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Red Chili powder
• 1 tsp Lemon juice
• 2 Green Chilies, finely chopped
• To taste Salt

For the Veggies:

• 5 ~ 6 Baby Eggplant, cut a '+' on the bottom
• 2 tbsp Oil
• ½ tsp Carom seeds (Ajwain)
• ¼ tsp Asafoetida (Hing)
• 1 cup Surti Lilva
• 1 Small Sweet potato, peeled and cut into big pieces
• 4 ~ 6 ½ Baby Potatoes, peeled and cut into long pieces
• ¼ cup Surti papdi seeds
• 1 cup Purple Yam, peeled and chopped (I used frozen purple yam)
• ¼ tsp Turmeric
• ½ tsp Ground Coriander
• ½ tsp Ground Cumin
• ½ tsp Sugar
• 6~8 Methi Muthiyas*

Instructions

Make Undhiyu Masala:

• In a small skillet, roast sesame seeds until golden. Add coconut and cook until golden. Cool slightly.
• Coarsely grind peanuts, roasted sesame seeds and coconut.
• Combine the ground peanuts mixture with all the other masala ingredients. Mix well and set aside.

Prep the Veggies:

• Stuff the slit eggplants with little masala.

Make Undhiyu in Instant Pot:

• Turn the Instant Pot on 'Saute' mode. Heat oil and add the carom seeds; cook for a few seconds. Next add hing and cook again for few seconds.
• Add all the vegetables except for the stuffed eggplant.
• Stir in the masala and ½ cup water. Stir in salt, turmeric and stir well. Place the stuffed stuffed eggplant on the top.
• Turn off the instant pot and turn on the Manual mode for 5 minutes.
• Wait for the pressure to release naturally.
• Open the lid and add the muthiya. Stir well and close the lid for 5 minutes.
• Serve hot with pooris and shrikhand.

Notes

• Make the Methi Muthiyas: Here's the recipe to make methi muthiyas. Keep ready.
• If using medium size potatoes, chop them into 1½" cubes.
• I used frozen purple yam, surti lilva and surti lilva seeds.
• If using Pressure Cooker:
• Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add the carom seeds and cook for a few seconds. Next add hing and cook again for few seconds.
• Add all the vegetables except for stuffed eggplant. Add the masala and ¼ cup water to the pan. Stir in turmeric and stir well.
• Place the eggplant on top of the veggies and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
• Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid.
• Add the Methi muthiyas. Cover and cook for 5~7 minutes for the flavors to mingle.

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