Methi Muthiya

In my last post, I wrote about Methi Muthiyas that I used in my Undhiyu inspired sabzi. I had initially made the muthiyas as an accompaniment to a simple dal-rice meal. After having them with the dinner and some more for breakfast with ginger chai, I had just the right amount leftover to use in my undhiyu sabzi.
Muthiyas are meant to be snack food and go best with chai, preferably with some tamarind chutney or ketchup on the side. As you might know, people in Gujarat love their tea time snacks. It is basically the land of snacks. :) And for a good reason, with snacks as good as this (and things like khaman, handvo, khakhra and so on), people will gladly skip meals to have tea ;)

Methi Muthiyas

Ingredients:

1/2 cup	atta (whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup	coarse wheat flour (also known as wheat ladu flour)
1/4 cup	besan (chickpea flour)
2 bunches	methi
1/8 tsp	asafoetida
1 tsp	salt
1/2 tsp	sugar
1/2 tsp	dhaniya-jeera powder
1/4 tsp	red chilli powder
1/2 tsp	sesame seeds

Tadka/Tempering:

2 tbsp	oil
1/2 tsp	mustard seeds
1 tsp	sesame seeds
1/4 tsp	asafoetida

Method

• Mix the atta, coarse wheat flour, besan together.
• Add salt, sugar, dhaniya-jeera powde, chilli powder and sesame seeds and mix.
• Add cleaned and chopped methi leaves. Add just enough water for the dough to come together. It is quite similar in consistency to roti dough.
  
• Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan. Once it reaches a boil, place a greased sieve on the mouth of the saucepan. Make small muthiyas by taking about two tablespoons of dough and rolling it into cylindrical shape and place them in the sieve.
  
• Steam the muthiyas for 10-12 minutes. They will change color and will not be wet inside if you stick a toothpick in them. Let them cool to room temperature.
  
• For tempering, heat oil and let the mustard seeds splutter in the oil. Add the asafoetida and sesame seeds. Add the muthiyas. Mix them around to coat with the oil.
  
• Let the muthiyas sit in a single layer to brown on one side. It will take a few minutes. Turn and brown on the other side.
  

Notes:

• About 1/4 cup of cooked white rice can be added to the muthiya dough if you prefer softer muthiyas.
• Muthiyas for undhiyu are even smaller and are traditionally deep fried (unlike the ones in this recipe)
• I used a large cast iron skillet to crisp up the muthiyas in the tempering. Cast iron is the best for crisping jobs but any heavy skillet will work.