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Gujaratis have become very popular all across the country and so has their food. The food here is highly influenced by both their culture and their geographical location. When someone thinks of Gujarati cuisine, some of the first few names that would pop into one’s mind are Khakra, Thepla, fafda, etc. Even though these dishes are very integral and some of the most consumed Gujarati dishes – the cuisine itself is much beyond that. One such dish which is truly authentic and has a science behind its making process is Undhiyu.
An authentic Gujarati dish - Undhiyu
The name ‘Undhiyu’ is derived from the Gujarati word ‘undhu’ which means upside down. This name is appropriate for the dish as traditionally it is cooked upside down in earthen pots known as ‘Maltu’. These pots are fired from above.
Undhiyu is not just any Gujarati dish. This delicacy requires a lot of patience in order to achieve perfection. Traditionally, this dish is prepared in a huge pot with numerous seasonal vegetables along with a mixture of different spices, slowly cooked overnight in that earthen pot to give it that unique rustic flavor that will linger in one’s taste forever. The pot is kept upside down under the fire led by coal or cow dung fed. As technology has evolved, the style of preparing Undhiyu has also evolved but still, the ingredients and flavors are the same to keep the original taste of the dish intact.
Even though, because of the evolving technology, the process of cooking has changed a lot, there are still some places where people prefer to cook Undhiyu with that same authentic, traditional method that gives the dish complete justice.
Undhiyu is a delicacy of winters, as it inculcates a large variety of vegetables that are harvested during this season. The process of making Undhiyu is an elaborate one so there is a lot of heat produced from it which is why it’s prepared and preferred to be eaten in winters because it would be difficult to sit in the scorching heat in summer or in the humid weather of monsoon and cook it throughout the night. Another reason is most vegetables are difficult to digest during summers and monsoons whereas it is easy to digest them in the winter. For Gujaratis summers are equal to ‘Aam ras-Puri’ and winters are equal to ‘Undhiyu-Puri’.
In Gujarat, Undhiyu is cooked as a custom dish on the festival of harvest known as ‘Uttarayan’ or ‘Makar Sankranti' the ‘kite-flying festival'. Hence,14th January (when the festival of uttarayan is celebrated) is also known as the 'National Undhiyu day'.
This special dish usually consists of vegetables like broad beans (surati papdi), flat green beans (desi papdi), raw bananas, brinjal, sweet potatoes, purple yam, and Muthia (wheat flour balls). Garlic, coconut masala, and chilies are added to give it an aromatic flavor then it’s slow-cooked so that all the flavors mix together generously.
Though the main process and ingredients of this dish are the same sometimes the flavors vary from place to place, region to region. From north to south, east to west of Gujarat, Undhiyu has its own different versions. While the flavors of Garlic and Coconut masala dominate the Undhiyu in Surat, Ahmedabad’s version is a little spicier and the muthiyas prepared for the Undhiyu are also high in flavors. The Palanpur version of Undhiyu is cooked in mustard oil and Valsad has its own name for its version of Undhiyu known as Umbadiyo in which the pot is sealed with Ajwain leaves to get the mouth-watering aroma and taste. Umbadiyo is smokier in flavor as compared to Undhiyu.
Gujarati cuisine has the most variety of vegetarian dishes to offer but there is a non-vegetarian version of Undhiyu to cater to the needs of the non-vegetarian community of Gujarat.
A community in Yemen, known as the Bohri community, who originated the non-vegetarian version of Undhiyu when they migrated to Surat. This dish is the result of a cultural mix between the Bohri and the Gujarati community. The recipe of the non-vegetarian Undhiyu is the same as the traditional recipe of Undhiyu, except that the muthiyas are replaced with the mutton. Also, some people do not prefer to add brinjal and purple yam while some do.
People prefer to eat Undhiyu with different varieties. The most famous way of eating Undhiyu is with Puri (puffed deep-fried whole-wheat bread) and Shrikhand (Indian sweet made from strained yogurt). In some parts of Gujarat, it is also eaten with Bajre ka Rolta and Jalebis. No matter what accompaniments we use, nothing can steal the thunder of this star dish.
Undhiyu may not have traveled across the country like khakra, fafda, and thepla but it surely has a special place in the hearts of Gujaratis and people who have grown up eating it.
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