Manbhavan Muthia

Trupti mane tamari aa recipe bau bhaveli che. Muthia saras thaya, etle enu naam Manbhavan Muthia paaDi didhoo :).

Well after long I actually tried at Gujarati, what I am telling Trupti here is I loved her recipe. The Muthia were so good that I named them Manbhavan Muthia which means Muthia that please the mind.

On Saturday I called Alok and Varsha over for SNACINER, now "What's that ?", you will ask. Well that is Snacky Dinner. If people can come up with Brunch then why not SNACINER! We do it some times, have snacks for dinner. I made 3 things, Paneer tikka (see the pan fried version), Pizza and Muthia.

Alok simply loved the Muthias. This was meant to give him a small after exam treat and Varsha a little breather from the cooking. My dear friends are so busy these days, Alok with his work, studies at IIM and the toddler. Varsha is full time Mom right now, true to the word she literally does everything for the kid herself with so much patience. God bless! I love to spend time with them both and Aditya.

Here is what I did with Trupti's recipe...

Ingredients

1.5 cups Wheat flour, 3 tbsp Besan flour, 1-tbsp: Semolina
1/2 cup leftover cooked rice - mashed (skipped it this time)
2 cups Methi Leaves chopped
Salt, sugar, turmeric, to taste
1 green chili and 1 inch piece ginger- chopped coarsely and roughed a bit
Yogurt to bind the dough
1 tbsp- oil from your favorite pickle - this tastes great in this! (will try next time)
A handful of Cilantro leaves - chopped ( I didn't have on hand)

For the tempering:

2 tbsp: Oil
1 tsp: Mustard Seeds, 1 tsp: Sesame Seeds (I used black as that's what I had), 1 tsp: Asafoetida,
1 tsp sugar and a few drops of lime juice- if you like. (skipped)
Cilantro leaves - for garnish (skipped)

Combined all the ingredients in a large bowl. Kneaded together with yogurt.

Oiled the plates from the dhokla stand.

Pinched off small portion and lined them on two plates. I need only two plates for this measure. Placed one in the top slot and the other on the middle slot. Thus allowing space between 2 plates so there is no sticking business.

Steamed for 20 mins or till the dumplings get a glaze. Once done removed from the steamer. I used pressure cooker without the weight as the steamer. That is regular even for Idlis or any thing that I want to steam.

Or like this fit a mesh lid into a wok filled with water and cover with wok's own lid and let the muthia steam. (added on 13th Jun 2010)

Got the tempering ready by heating a wok. Added 2 tablespoons oil. I was generous coz I wanted a little crunch on the outside of the muthias. Then in went mustard seeds, sesame seeds and asafoetida. Sauteed for about 10 mins.

The Manbhavan Muthia were ready for sharing with friends as I talked to them from the kitchen.

Notes:

I did not have cooked rice on hand so skipped it this time. I guess this must be making the muthia lighter.

Next time I will try with pickle oil. I noticed all the pickles in my pantry are low on oil. Yay! coz I am a pickle lover so lesser guilt. Like Trupti says this must definitely make a whole lot of difference.

When I use ginger I rough it up a little after chopping to tiny bits. I don't like biting into ginger piece nor do it like to use paste. So this is my way.

There was no cilantro in the herb mug so gave it a miss. I would have loved a sprinkle of cilantro at the end though.

I used black sesame seed purely because that is what I had in stock.

The sugar and lime juice dressing I know guarantees citrusy freshness which I will try another time.

This recipe is a keeper. Thank you Trupti!