Oondhiyon

Every state and community has its own version of mixed vegetables. In Uttar Pradesh, I once ate a dish with 24 vegetables, excluding onions, cooked on a festival. The Sindhis have their own version of mixed vegetables known as Saibhaji. Oondhiyon is typically cooked during the winter months with ringan (eggplant), kand (purple yam), baby potatoes, shakadia ( sweet potatoes), surati papdi ( no English name that I am aware of), raw bananas, and muthiya (fenugreek fritters). Most of the vegetables are rather elusive, however with a large Gujarati diaspora well settled in the United States, frozen and canned version of some of the vegetables are available. You can buy frozen or canned papdi, however, not finding any of those, I just used fresh snow peas. I used frozen fenugreek for the fritters and did not find purple yam at all.
Oondhiyon is a rustic preparation; make sure the vegetables are chunky and hearty so they can withstand the slow heat and do not disintegrate. Traditionally oondhiyon is cooked in earthen pots on a low flame, with layers of vegetables and spices.
I started off with ½ cup of besan to which I added 1 tspn of ajwain and ¼ cup of fenugreek leaves. This was frozen fenugreek which had been thawed and wringed off excessive water. I made a dough adding water, shaped it into a thin log, cut off pieces, and deep fried them. Meanwhile I chopped my vegetables - thick chunks of 2 raw banana with the peel on and made small slits, slits into 5 baby eggplants, slits into 5 baby potatoes, large chunks of the sweet potatoes with slits. I kept aside 1 ½ cups of snow peas.
And then I blend the following – 5 cloves of garlic, 2” piece ginger, 4 green chilies, 3 tbspn sesame seeds, ½ cup coriander leaves, 2 tspns coriander powder, 1 tspn cumin powder, 2 tbspns oil. I hate peanuts so I used sesame seeds instead. This was the only time I used oil in the recipe and I did not add any jaggery to the blend which an authentic Gujarati will definitely not refrain from.
I inserted some of the spice mixture into the slits I had made in the vegetables, keeping the rest aside. Then take a heavy bottomed pan and layer the vegetables carefully. Add the reserve spice mixture and 1 cup of water. Cook on low heat.
When the vegetables were nearly done, I tasted the veggies and added 1 tspn aamchoor powder ( I was missing the tanginess) and 1 tspn garam masala (I was missing the kick)…making my recipe a departure form tradition. I then garnished the recipe with the muthiya and chopped coriander leaves.

Paneer in Tomato Almond Gravy

10 oz paneer

2 large tomatoes

1/4 cup almonds

1 thai chilly

2 cloves garlic

1" ginger piece

1 tspn coriander powder

1 1/2 tspn salt

1 tspn chilly powder

1 tspn cumin seeds

1 tspn garam masala

2 bay leaves

2 tbspn yoghurt

2 tbspn chopped coriander leaves

1. Saute the paneer in a little oil till it is golden.

2. Grind the tomatoes, almond, ginger, garlic and chilly.

3. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the bay leaf and cumin till it splutters.

4. Add the tomato mixture. Reduce till it sweats. Add yoghurt. Be careful because almond tends to burn and sticks to the bottom of the pan.

5. Add the spices - coriander powder, red chilly powder and salt.

6. Add 1 cup of water.

7. When done add garam masala and paneer.

8. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Magaj

This recipe comes from my Aunt or Maasi in Mumbai. Maasi is a beautiful woman in her seventies, graceful, slim, and petite with porcelain skin and a soft voice. Dressed beautifully in perfectly draped cotton sarees, light diamond jewelry, she walks gracefully around her house, making sure each table is spotless, the food is impeccable, and people around her are warm and cared in her benign presence. I talked with her on the phone the other day. I always loved her magaj so much and asked her how to make it. She patiently explained it all painstakingly going over every little detail. I couldn’t wait to make her magaj her way, and as I put the first piece in my mouth, I felt like she was there in front of me comforting me, soothing me, and listening to me. I miss her. Cooking is joyful; it can recreate the presence of those you love, even if they are far away from you.

1 cup besan
3/4 cup ghee
1/4 cup milk
1 cup almonds
1 cup fine sugar
4 pods cardomom

1. Grind the almonds and the sugar together. Reserve.
2. Heat the ghee in a pan. Fry the besan till it turns golden brown. Add the hot milk.
3. MAke sure the mixture is light and the besan is brown.
4. Turn off the flame.
5. Add the sugar almond mixture and the cardomom.
6. Lay out in a tray and cut into squares.

Methi Thepla

Guajaratis travelling any where in the world will carry the thepla along with pickles with them, as the British carry their tea and marmite. Thepla is the perfect travel food since it stays good for a week. I am guilty of throwing away a day old thepla, somewhere during a Road Trip on the Garden Route in South Africa, dismissing it as stale bread. Back where I grew up, we did not have the concept of storing bread, we made fresh paranthas, ate them and never kept them for later. The Gujarati wrath I had to endure after this transgression only made me comprehend the Gujarati passion for food. The person in question, confronted with the possibility of missing his thepla for breakfast, hollered hideously. I could comprehend the passion for food but I could never understand how the absence of a particular food item could drive a person so insane. Later I witnessed someone else's temper tantrums following the overdose or under dose of a particular spice in a dish and I am pretty sure I would hate to cook for that fussy an eater.

Guajaratis travel around the world, to the extent where touristy attractions in a city are called ‘Patel Points’, but the adventure lust does extend to food. This is where they resort to the familiar and carry their own - theplas, pickles, snacks etc. Of course I am guilty of generalizing here and this may not be true for all people, however this accurately represents my own observations.

However, that said, I love methi theplas. They go very well with a sweet mango pickle known as ‘chundo’. I could not find fresh fenugreek so I used frozen fenugreek. I used too much besan in the recipe, which made my dough slightly sticky. I have adjusted for that in the recipe.

3/4 cup methi leaves finely chopped
1 3/4 cup wheat flour
1/4 cup besan
1 clove of garlic
2 thai chillies
1/2 " piece ginger
1 1/2 tspn salt
2 tbspn oil
Yoghurt - around 2 Tbspn
Oil to fry

1. Make a dough of the above ingredients and let it rest for 10 minutes.
2. Make paranthas..

Tehri- Vegetable Pulao

My Dad would make this vegetarian pulao every Sunday. I am not sure what the difference between vegetable pulao and tehri is; I use the two terms interchangeably. The pulao is characterized by the delicate taste and aroma of spices. The whole spices are sautéed gently in oil, imparting their aroma to the oil. When I was younger, I used to hate whole spices, but now I appreciate them. Rice being a very delicate medium takes on the flavors and fragrances of the spices very well and is a wonderful showcase to the magic of spices. Dad’s final touch of adding a tablespoonful of ghee to the end gave the tehri a wonderful aroma and complemented the spices very well.

2 bay leaves
1 clove
1 small piece of cinnamon bark
1 star anise
1 black cardomom
1 tspn zeera
2 cups basmati rice
1 cup frozen vegetables-like
carrots, peas, beans , corn, edamame
1 thai chilly- finely diced
1/2 tspn turmeric
1 1/2 tspn coriander powder
1/2 tspn red chilly powder
2 tspn salt
1/2 large potatoe
coriander leaves to garnish
2 cloves of garlic finely choppped
1 tbspn ghee
1 tbspn oil
1 onion - cut into thin rings

1. Wash the rice.
2. Add the oil to a pan. When hot add the bayleaves, cinnamom, cardomom, star anise. Add the zeera. Wait till it splutters
3. Add the onion and the potatoes which are finely cubed. Saute till onions and potato turn golden brown.
3. Add the vegetables and garlic.
4. Add the coriander powder, turmeric, chilly powder.
5. Cook for a minute.
6. Add the rice. Coat the rice with the spices.
7. Add four cups of water.
8. Cook uncovered till done. Check for salt and adjust.
9. Add ghee and coat the rice with ghee.
10. Garnish with coriander.
11. Serve with apple raita

Apple Raita

1 apple - cored and diced or grated
1 cup thick yoghurt
1/2 cup water
1 tspn salt
1/2 tspn cumin powder
zest of 1/2 lemon or lime
2 tspn finely chopped coriander leaves

Mix all the above and chill.

Edamame Rice

1 1/2 cup rice
1 cup edamame
2 green chillies ( diced)
5 green onions diced with leaves
1 pinch asfoetida
1/2 tspn cumin seeds
1 1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn minced ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbspn finely choppped coriander leaves




1. Add some oil to a pan. Add asfoetida allow to heat. Add cumin seeds.
2. When cumin splutters add green onions and ginger. Saute onions for 3 minutes,
3. Add the rice. Add 1 1/2 cups water and salt.
4. Bring to a biol. Add edamame.
5. After 5 minutes add the garlic.
6. When rice is done add chopped garlic.

Tip - you can use broad beans as well.