Merry Tummy: Spinach Muthiya- Gujarati Snack, Steamed Dumplings

As you all know that Mr. Husband loves Guajarati food a lot because of his Ahmedabad connection. Gujarati cuisine is very wide and has many options in snacks. Whenever I hear the word snack I generally picture the crunchy, deep fried and high calorie munches, which are of course not very good for our health.

Snacking is very popular in Indian families. We snack in the morning, before our lunch, supper and also before dinner. Why not?? After all our mothers, grandmothers make wide range of snacks from savoury to sweet. But things have changed a bit now, we have become health conscious and do not like deep fried snacks. One such healthy snack is Muthiya- a Guajarati dish of steam cooked dumplings with a goodness of vegetables.

It is a simple snack which is made with any grated vegetables mixed in some gram flour, selomina and spices to form the dough. Later the dough is steamed to perfection. There is no particular rule that one needs to follow to make Muthiyas. I made it with corn meal and spinach.

Ingredients: For Dough

Whole wheat flour – ¼ cup

Besan /chickpea flour/gram flour – ½ cup

Semolina/Suji/ Rawa – ½ cup

Corn meal/Makki ka atta-1 cup

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Spinach/palak- 2 cups washed and chopped

Asafoetida – ¼ tsp

Baking soda – ¼ tsp

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Fennel seeds – ½ tsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Ginger paste – 1 tsp

Garlic paste- 1tbsp

Yogurt/curd/dahi-1 tbsp

Green chillies – 4, chopped finely

Coriander leaves/dhaniya – 10 sprigs, chopped finely

Lemon juice – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Oil – 1 tsp

For Tempering:

Oil – 3 tsp

Mustard seeds/rai/sarson – ½ tsp

Sesame seeds/til – 2 tsp

Method:

In a bowl mix wheat flour, besan, semolina, corn meal, turmeric powder, asafoetida, baking soda, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, salt and sugar.

Then add ginger paste, green chillies, chopped coriander, lemon juice and oil.

Squeeze out as much possible water from spinach.

Add spinach and curd to the bowl, mix well and knead it into soft dough. Use water only if needed.

Prepare steamer. Add about 5 cups of water and bring to boil. Then apply some oil on steamer tray and grease it well.

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 20-22 minutes.

You can check if Muthia is cooked by inserting a toothpick in it and it should come out clean.

Let it cool 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. 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.

I used corn meal/makki ka atta but that can be opted out. Use more besan instead of that.

Serving ideas:

It is a great tiffin and picnic snack.

Serve hot with chutney, curd or pickle.

Taste:

Spicy, soft and healthy.