Gujarati Steamed Muthiya

EVENT: FOODIES_REDOING OLD POSTS
RECIPE: GUJARATI STEAMED MUTHIYA
Gujarati Steamed Muthiya is a delicious, easy to make and versatile snack. Usually, muthiya or muthia is steamed, cut into pieces and then stir fried with tempering ingredients. Versatile because you can add different vegetables to the basic dough, you can add diferent flours too.
What is Muthiya/ Muthia?
The name muthiya comes from the fact that the dough is shaped in the fist, muthi. Generally, deep fried ones are added to sabji or shaak like in undhiyu. I like to add fried muthiya to my matar valor nu shaak, or in tuvar nu shaak.
Enjoy steaming hot muthiya without the tempering or vaghar with some lemon juice and oil drizzled over it. Personally, I prefer to stir fry them in the tempering or vaghar. And then have it with lemon juice drizzled over it and with masala tea or milk. The best part of tempered muthiya is the crumbs that form. Yes, some of the slices will break up during stirring.
While traditionally, the dough is shaped into log shapes before steaming, sometimes I add the slightly softer dough to a plate and then steam it. Both ways the muthiya turns out good.
Why Is Muthiya A Versatile Recipe?
Firstly, let me emphasis the vegetables that one can use.
Generally, if you google muthiya, most of them are with doodhi (bottle gourd) and methi (fresh fenugreek). There are so many more options to make this tasty and healthy snack:
- grated cabbage, both white or purple
- grated carrots, zucchini, radish, kohlrabi, pumpkin, turnip, ash gourd.
- lightly crushed peas, corn,
- Fresh spinach, kale, chard, fresh amaranth, bathua, luni bhaji (purslane, pigsweed, kulfa).
- Fresh spring onion, green garlic, leek,
I remember when I was younger, luni bhaji would grow like wild in our garden and my mum would use it to make muthiya.
Secondly, let us look at the flours used:
Usually, chickpea flour (besan) is used. But you can add the following too along with besan:
- ragi flour (finger millet)
- pearl millet flour (bajri)
- rajgira (amaranth flour)
- jowar (sorghum flour)
- Jau (barley flour)
- Wheat flour
- makki ka atta (cornmeal flour)
- Sooji (semolina)
- Dhokla or handvo Flour
- Rice flour
- Buckwheat Flour
Memories
My grandfather would visit his friend who owned a farm during the weekend. He would come back home with a whole kikapu(basket) of vegetables. Doodhi or bottle gourd would be one of them. That usually meant that mum would make either handvo, muthiya or doodhi chana nu shaak.
When we went to Drive In to watch movies or went for picnics, my mum would make handvo, muthiya or dhebra to take along. Or it was usually prepared as a light meal option. I love dunking muthiya in cold milk, a weird habit but just love it.
Sometimes, my siblings and I took it in our tiffin boxes to school to enjoy it during break time.
This recipe that I’ve been using for over 38 years is the one I learned from my mother in law, Nunu. While chickpea flour remains the same, I replace the other flours, vegetables, depending on availability.
Some More Gujarati Snacks





THE GROUP – FOODIES_REDOING OLD POSTS
The Group Foodies_Redoing Old Posts, started by Renu who blogs at Cook With Renu. This group helps the members to make an effort to update old posts. This is our 73rd one. This time am updating Gujarati Steamed Muthiya. The recipe remains the same but I’ve updated this post with more structured write up, better photos and a video. The video shows how you can easily replace the traditional doodhi and methi with other vegetables.
Check out my You Tube Channel MAYURI’S JIKONI
First Published on 11/07/2013. Updated on 01/04/2022


WATCH HOW TO MAKE SPINACH ZUCCHINI MUTHIYA
THE RECIPE REMAINS THE SAME AS BELOW. I HAVE REPLACED FRESH FENUGREEK WITH SPINACH AND GRATED DOODHI WITH ZUCCHINI.

GUJARATI STEAMED MUTHIYA
Equipment
- 1 steaming device
Ingredients
FOR THE MUTHIYA:
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- ½ cup wholewheat flour
- ¼ cup semolina
- 3 tbsp pearl millet flour
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 cup fresh fenugreek chopped
- 1 cup doodhi grated and lightly packed
- 2-3 tbsp water
- 1 - 2 tsp green chilli paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1 - 1¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp carom seeds
- ¼ tsp of asafoetida asafoetida
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp soda bicarbonate baking soda
FOR THE TEMPERING/VAGHAR:
- 2 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2-3 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
TO SERVE:
- lemon wedges
Instructions
TO PREPARE MUTHIYA:
- Keep your steaming device ready. There are a lot of steaming devices available in the market. The dokhra steamer, electrical steamer or just use a pan filled quarter of the way with water. Using a ring or steaming tray and a steel plate. Oil the plate.
- Add the 1 tbsp oil to the wheat flour and rub it in well.
- Add the other flours and mix it up well.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (except water) for the muthiya and mix it well
- The dough should not be too hard or soft. Add water 1 tbsp at a time if required.
SHAPING THE MUTHIYA:
- Divide the dough into roughly 4 parts.
- Rub some oil on your palms.
- Take one part and using your hands roll into a log shape.
- Don't make the logs fat, as on steaming the size of the muthiya will increase.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
STEAMING THE MUTHIYA:
- Boil the water in the pan/steamer. When it begins to simmer, arrange the muthiya on the greased steamer tray or plate.
- Cover the pan and let the muthiya steam for 25 to 30 minutes over medium heat.
- The muthiya are cooked if they no longer appear soft and if a knife pierced into the middle comes out clean.
- Remove the steamer tray or plate and allow the muthiya to cool down completely.
- When the muthiya are completely cold, cut it into cubes or slices.
TEMPERING OR VAGHAR:
- Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
- Add fenugreek seeds to it. When it begins to sizzle, add the mustard, cumin and sesame seeds.
- Add hing and sliced garlic.
- Saute for a few seconds till the garlic appears light pink in colour.
- Add the sliced muthiya. Mix well.
- On low heat let the muthiya become hot.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges, a cup of hot masala tea or milk.
Notes
- Add water last to the dough. If the yogurt or dahi is a bit watery then you may not need water.
- Use handvo/dhokla flour instead of chana flour and sooji. Simply replace the quantity of both with handvo/dhokla flour.
- Add 1 cup leftover cooked rice, khichdi, pulao
- Replace doodhi with zucchini, ash gourd, radish, pumpkin, turnip, etc.
- Use finely chopped spinach, kale, chard, spring onion, instead of fresh fenugreek.
- If you like crunchy muthias add a bit more oil during the tempering stage and let the muthiyas cook a bit more over low heat.
- Adjust the spices according to your taste.
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A little request:
- If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962
7 Comments
Akila
July 12, 2013 at 12:24 am
Looks yummy… and tempting clicks…
Seema Sriram
April 5, 2022 at 3:47 am
Muthiyas turned out to be the best. I loved easily I could meal prep and keep these muthiyas for the week. It made my early morning runs so easy. Thankyou.
mayurisjikoni
April 5, 2022 at 8:13 pm
Thanks Seema am so glad that the recipe worked out well for you. And yes, sometimes I prepare a big batch and keep them in the fridge. To warm them up i sprinkle very little water and heat it in the microwave.
Renu
April 6, 2022 at 10:58 am
So true, Muthiya can be made with so many veggies and I hardly make it with dudhi as it is quite costly here as an exotic veggie. I am loving all the different clicks in this recipe, shows that it is one of your favourite too. 38 yrs old recipe is definitely a keeper Mayuri di.
mayurisjikoni
April 6, 2022 at 9:41 pm
Thank you so much Renu. Yes muthiya is my favourite and I make it with a variety of vegetables. It was an easy way to get kids to enjoy veggies when they were younger. They had no idea what went into the muthiya.
Kalyani
April 13, 2022 at 8:54 am
With lauki, Methi and bajra added this steamed mithai can be nothing but super delish. I am thinking this summers can use jowar instead of bajra to try this asap
mayurisjikoni
April 13, 2022 at 4:46 pm
Kalyani, thanks. You can replace the bajra flour with any other flour, be it jowar, jau, ragi, or simply add more chana flour.