Banu's Version of Muthiya

 (From Banu's Cookbook)

Muthiya is a Gujarathi Dish. It is a dish that is steamed and then pan fried. There are different versions of this dish. I wanted to share my version of it. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of Finely Chopped Spinach
1 medium sized zucchini grated
1 inch of ginger finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3 green chillies (or per taste) finely chopped 
1/2 cup of Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 cup of Saki Flour (By Svelte Zone)
2 tbsp. of Chickpea aka Besan Flour
1 tsp of Turmeric Powder
1 tsp of Garama Masala Powder
2 tsp of Dhaniya-Jeera Powder
1 tsp of Red Chilli powder
1 tsp of Sugar
1 tsp of Jeera 
1 tsp of Ajwain seeds
2 tbsp. of Yogurt
1/2 Lemon Juice
Salt per Taste

For Seasoning:

2-3 tbsp. of oil
2 tsp of Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp. of White sesame seeds
A pinch of Asafetida
A few curry leaves
Chopped Cilantro and Fresh coconut for Garnish

Method: 

1. In a large bowl, mix all the grated/chopped veggies, flours, spices, yogurt, lemon juice, salt and sugar. Mix it gently and well until they are all incorporated together. You do not need to any water because the vegetables have a lot of moisture, along with the yogurt and lemon juice. 

2. Divide the dough into four parts and roll it out into rolls (like sausages). 

3. Heat water and grease the steamer. Place the rolls a bit apart in the steamer and steam them for about 15 - 18 minutes. Let it cool for about 5-6 minutes. Then cut then out into slices.

4. Heat oil in pan. Once it is hot, add mustard seeds, sesame seeds, hing and curry leaves. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the cut slices of steamed/cooled Muthiya and cook on both sides for a few minutes until they are lightly browned. You do not need to cook it a lot because it is already steamed.

5. Garnish it with some freshly chopped cilantro and coconut. 

6. Muthiya is ready to eat with some hot coffee or chai. 

Notes:

1. You can add more veggies like grated carrots or cabbage etc. Or replace zucchini with carrots or some other vegetables.

2. You can replace Saki flour with regular wheat flour. You can do a mixture of wheat flour and jowar flour. 

3. You can skip the sugar, but a that little sugar gives the dish a nice taste.

What's in my Pantry Chilli in Instant Pot

(From Banu's Cookbook)

This is named What's in my pantry chilli, because that is exactly what this was. I did not really follow any particular recipe, I just used what was in my pantry today. So, please feel free to substitute and/or add your own ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 Medium Sized Onion - Chopped Finely
3-4 Mini Sweet Peppers - Chopped
1 Green Zucchini - Chopped
1 Carrot - Chopped
1 Small Tin of Hatch Green Chilies
1 16 oz Can of Dark Red Kidney Beans
1 16 oz Can of Sweet Corn
1 16 oz Can of Pinto Beans
1 16 oz Can of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
2 tsp of Oregano
2 tsp of Cumin Powder
1 tsp of Cayenne Red Chili Pepper
2 tsp of Brown Sugar
Oil for Sauteeing
Salt for Cooking
1/2 - 1 cup of Water

For Pico De Gallo
1 Small Onion Chopped
2 Tomatoes Chopped
1/2 cup of Cilantro Chopped

Avocado for Topping

Instant Pot for Cooking

Method:
1. Heat the Instant pot in Saute mode. Put some oil. Put the chopped Onion, Sweet Peppers and Hatch Chille and saute for a few minutes (5-6) minutes or until the onions turn soft.
2. Now add the Zucchini, Carrot and all the seasoning and mix well. Cook for a few more minutes.
3. Now add all the canned ingredients, salt and some water. Basically the water should be about 1/2 inch over all the ingredients or even less.
4. Mix it all well and close the Instant pot lid. Turn the Steam Valve to sealing position. Switch off the Saute mode and chose the Bean/Chilli Mode. Mine was set to some 50 mins, but since I was using canned and not dry or pre soaked beans, I reduced the time to 25 mins.
5. Once the cook time is done, I did a natural pressure release, which means, I just waited for the pressure to release naturally. Chilli was done well and not over cooked or mushy.
6. Ladle the Chilli into a bowl, top it with Avocado and Pico De Gallo and Enjoy.


Notes:
1. You can of course do this in a regular pressure cooker or stove top. I happen to use Instant pot because it is easy to saute and cook all in one pot.
2. You can add any different kind of canned beans and some fresh tomatoes as well.
3. You can serve it with a bit of sour cream or greek yogurt too.
4. You can skip the Brown sugar, but I feel like it tempers all the sourness that is there in tomatoes etc.

Zucchini Chutney

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
4 Tsp of Urad Daal
2 Tsp of Coriander Seeds
1/4 Tsp of Methi Seeds
1 Medium Onion chopped
2 Green Chillies (Or more as per taste)
3-4 Garlic Cloves
2 Small or 1 Large Zucchini Chopped
1 Tsp of Tamarind Paste
Salt to Taste
Oil for Sauteing
Mustard seeds and Curry Leaves for Seasoning.

Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan, add the Urad Daal and saute well until they turn light brown.
2. At this point, add the coriander and methi seeds and saute a bit more.
3. Add the chopped onion, green chilies and garlic and saute well until onion turns translucent.
4. Now add the chopped zucchini and cook until the zucchini becomes tender - maybe 5-7 mins.
5. Let this mixture cool well. Then blend it into a smooth paste with salt and tamarind paste.
6. Heat the oil, add the mustard seeds and once they splutter, add curry leaves and add the seasoning to the blended chutney.
7. Enjoy the chutney with chapathi, rice, dosa or even with bread.