Moong Spinach Muthia
Recipe: Moong Spinach Muthia
Moong Spinach Muthia is a healthy, protein rich Gujarati steamed and tempered snack. It is made from soaked green moong, fresh spinach, plain thick yogurt and chickpea flour. All these 4 main ingredients are rich in protein. Spices, lemon juice and a bit of sugar is added to make it flavourful.
Memories
I had shared this post on 04/09/2017 as the theme for the Mega Blogging Marathon was protein rich dishes. I had opted to share vegetarian protein rich dishes. That is when I came up with this recipe. Generally, muthia or muthiya are made from chickpea, wheat or handvo flours. I decided to give moong a try and surprisingly the muthias turned out pretty good. When hubby, my dad and son had the first mouthful, they loved it. Okay, my dad is a man of few words when it comes to praising. The indication that he liked them was when he took a second helping. Being a Gujarati, I had to have at least one Gujarati dish for the theme. We have to make in total 26 dishes. And muthia came to my mind as one can play around with the ingredients for this popular steamed snack.
Sharing Moong Spinach Muthia Recipe With Foodies_Redoing Old Posts
The photos I had taken back in 2017 were blurry and not appealing at all. I am so happy that Renu who blogs at Cook With Renu started this group. It allows me to redo so many old posts. And yes, I have redone many of my old posts. However, still need to go through quite a few. So with better photos and write up I decided to share this recipe with the group. Sharing the better version of this old post on 13/09/2026.
Some More Gujarati Snack Recipes You May Like
Ingredients Required For Moong Spinach Muthia
Green Moong Beans
Known as green grams, soak about 1 cup of moong beans in enough warm water overnight or for 6-8 hours. After soaking them you will get about 2½ cups of soaked moong beans.Drain out the soaking water. Rinse the moong beans before processing them.
Spinach
We need about 3-4 cups of spinach. I took 3 cups of baby spinach. Weight wise that is approximately 100g.
Plain Yogurt
Make sure the plain yogurt is thick and a bit sour.
Chickpea Flour
Also known as besan, chana no lot or besan ka atta. We need about ¼ cup.
Water
We will need to add a little water to the muthia batter.
Fresh Ginger
Peeled and grated or minced.
Garlic
Peel and sliced, we will be adding it to the tempering, vaghar or tadka.
Green Chillis
Add according to your taste. Best to add minced green chillis.
Salt
Add according to your taste.
Sugar
We add a little to balance the flavours. Can use white or brown sugar. Alternately, can use jaggery powder.
Lemon Juice
Add about 1-2 tbsp lemon juice to the batter. Serve lemon wedges on the side. Drizzle some lemon juice over the cooked muthia.
Baking Soda or Eno
We need a bit of the leavening agent. Can either use baking soda or Eno (fruit salts). Adding a bit makes the muthia more soft. Can omit if you don’t want to add any.
Oil
Any oil of your choice for the tempering, vaghar or tadka. I prefer to use sunflower oil. We will need some oil also for brushing the plates in which the muthia will be steamed.
Mustard Seeds
Rai or sardine ke dane. We need some for the tempering.
Sesame Seeds
I like to add a generous amount of tal or sesame seeds.
Ajwain
Carom seeds, adds flavour and is good for digestion. We always add ajwain to any dish that contains beans.
Asafoetida
Also known as hing, adds an umami flavour. If you want gluten free muthia then omit the asafoetida as it may contain wheat flour.
MOONG SPINACH MUTHIA
Ingredients
FOR THE MOONG SPINACH MUTHIA BATTER
- 1 cup whole moong
- 3 cups spinach 100g
- 1 cup plain yogurt thick and sour
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1-2 tsp green chilli paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda or Eno
FOR THE TEMPERING/ VAGHAR
- 2 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- ¼ tsp carom seeds
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- 3-4 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
Instructions
PREPARE THE BATTER
- Soak the moong in warm water for 6-8 hours or overnight.
- Drain out the water and rinse the soaked moong in a colander.
- Add the soaked moong, spinach, yogurt and water to a blender jug.
- Process the mixture till it is coarse but not too coarse.
- Remove the batter from the jug into a mixing bowl.
- Add ginger, chilli pastes, salt, lemon juice, flour and sugar.
- Mix the batter well.
STEAM THE MUTHIA
- Heat water in a pan or your steamer.
- Lightly apply oil to two steel plates with a tall side or round baking pans.
- When the water begins to boil, add baking soda or Eno to the batter and give it a good stir.
- Divide the batter between the 2 plates.
- Steam for 30 minutes or till the muthia are done. The top should not appear wet and when you insert a wooden skewer or toothpick into the steamed muthia it should come out clean.
- Remove the plates from the steamer and let the muthia cool down completely.
- Cut the muthia into squares.
TEMPERING OR VAGHAR
- Heat oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
- When it is hot add mustard, carom and sesame seeds.
- Add asafoetida and sliced garlic.
- Stir fry till the garlic begins to turn pink.
- Add the cut muthia.
- Mix well and let the muthia become hot.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges. Enjoy them as a snack with masala tea or as a light meal.
Notes
- Make sure that the batter is not thin or liquidy.
- Most people make muthias by rolling the dough into cylindrical shapes before steaming. I prefer to add a bit more yogurt or water and steam them like dhoklas.
- This way they turn out much softer and less oil is used.
- Add fresh amaranth leaves instead of spinach if you like.
- Make sure the steamed muthias cool down completely before you cut them into pieces.
- If you don't want to temper the muthia, warm them up in a micro or steam them for 5 minutes. Serve with some olive oil drizzled over it.
Pin For Later
A Small 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 comment on Pinterest @mayuri62
14 Comments
Sharmila- The Happie Friends Potpourri corner
September 4, 2017 at 2:34 am
Muthia is always a healthy version as we steam cook them and with spinach and moong dal you have made it even more healthy…
vaishali sabnani
September 4, 2017 at 2:50 am
Yes , even I have become a Gujju ! Staying in Gujrat , I always carry theplas , baakhris while traveling but that is only for overseas travel .
Btw the muthias look fantastic , I will try them soon for my spinach and moong loving hubby .😊
rajani
September 4, 2017 at 3:24 am
Nice to know that your experiment turned out with a positive result. Now you can peacefully watch greys anatomy again to know what exactly happened in that episode 🙂
Padmajha PJ
September 4, 2017 at 3:49 am
You have given a whole new twist to the dish. Lovely color!
Gayathri Kumar
September 4, 2017 at 4:34 am
I can totally relate. I always keep my experimental cake in oven and do the same thing. The muthias have turned out so goo. Super tempting snack..
Srividhya Gopalakrishnan
September 4, 2017 at 6:07 am
Loved your write up yaar. And loved how this recipe turned out. Very healthy and yummy muthiyas.
Archana Potdar
September 4, 2017 at 8:55 am
That is delicious I just love the idea. Next time I plan to make muthia will try your recipe Mayuri.
Sowmya :)
September 4, 2017 at 10:01 am
I can imagine what you must have gone through. The feeling when a cooking experiment is successful is the best. You feel on top of the world! Lovely dish. Am bookmarking it to try asap!
Srivalli
September 4, 2017 at 11:41 am
I loved reading your adventure in making this muthias..and yes I have few gujjus who carry stuff and is most helpful when we need it..hehehe..anyway we finally have a delicious dish!
Sapana Behl
September 4, 2017 at 2:21 pm
I have never tried steamed muthias ever. This spinach one looks very inviting. Btw I had a total craze for Grey's anatomy and I have had watched the whole series almost three times.
Priya Suresh
September 4, 2017 at 6:11 pm
Green muthias looks absolutely nutritious and totally rich with beautiful green colour. Feel like finishing that whole plate anytime of the day.
Kalyani
September 5, 2017 at 3:21 pm
loved the idea of muthias with moong ! so healthy delicious and filling !
Anlet Prince – Annslittlecorner
September 5, 2017 at 3:25 pm
simply interesting twist with Moong and Spinach. True healthy version of Muthia.
preeti gupta
September 7, 2017 at 10:43 am
Love this super tempting snack… good for travelling and healthy snack.