Undhiyu

Ingredients

• 200g surti papdi or flat green beans, strings removed
• 200g purple yam (kand) or taro, peeled and cubed
• 200g sweet potato, cubed
• 250g baby potatoes, halved
• 4 small brinjals (aubergines), slit into quarters but left joined at the stem
• 1 raw banana, thickly sliced
• 150g fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves for the muthia
• 120g besan (gram flour)
• 40g atta (wholewheat flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sugar for the muthia
• 1 tsp salt for the muthia
• 500ml neutral oil, for frying the muthia
• 150g fresh grated coconut
• 60g coriander leaves
• 50g green garlic, or 6 garlic cloves
• 3 green chillies
• 3cm ginger
• 60g peanuts, coarsely crushed
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sugar for the masala
• 1.5 tsp salt for the masala
• 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
• 6 tbsp neutral oil for the pot
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 200ml water
• Juice of 1 lemon

Before you cook

• Pick and chop the methi leaves, then mix them with the besan, atta, baking soda, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and just enough water to make a stiff dough.
• Roll the dough into small oval muthia about the size of a thumb.
• Blend the coconut, coriander, green garlic, chillies and ginger to a coarse green paste, then stir in the crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, ground coriander, ground cumin, 1 tsp sugar and 1.5 tsp salt.
• Peel and cube all the root vegetables and slit the brinjals without cutting them through.
• Push a heaped teaspoon of the green masala into each slit brinjal and set them aside.

Steps

1. Heat the frying oil to 170C and fry the muthia in batches for 4 minutes until golden and firm.
2. Drain the muthia on kitchen paper and set them aside.
3. Heat 6 tbsp oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and add the ajwain and asafoetida.
4. Stir in the turmeric and half of the remaining green masala and fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add the papdi beans and toss them through the masala.
6. Layer the yam, sweet potato and baby potatoes on top without stirring them in.
7. Spread the rest of the green masala over the vegetables and pour 200ml water down the side of the pot.
8. Cover the pot tightly and cook on low heat for 25 minutes.
9. Uncover and gently arrange the stuffed brinjals and banana slices on top, still without stirring.
10. Cover again and cook for 20 minutes until the brinjals are collapsing.
11. Tuck the fried muthia into the top layer and press them lightly into the vegetables.
12. Cover and cook for a final 10 minutes so the muthia soften and take up the juices.
13. Squeeze the lemon juice over and fold everything together once, very gently, with a flat spoon.
14. Serve hot in a wide dish with puris and a bowl of shrikhand.