Instant Pot Undhiyu Recipe Easy Cooker Method Carve Your Craving

I love loads of vegetables on my plate everyday. Be it a salad like this easy greek salad with vegan cashew tzatziki or a simple subzi like healthy mix vegetable subzi with beetroot boost or hidden vegetable soup like this easy garden vegetable soup . Vegetables form an essential part of our everyday meal. Today’s recipe is very close to my heart. It is a classic and authentic mixed veg curry I grew up eating for years. I can never get bored of Undhiyu. It’s nourishing as well as a comfort food for me.

Undhiyu is made during winter time when the recipe ingredients are freshly available in abundance. Every Gujarati home makes Undhiyu on special occasions like Diwali and Uttarayan. My favorite way to enjoy Undhiyu is with hot puris, chilled chaas and shrikhand. My mother in law makes the best Undhiyu and I feel lucky to have learnt from her. Her tips and tricks just makes this Undhiyu even better and enjoyable all year long. If you are not familiar with this amazing Indian curry . Let me quickly brief it up for you below –

What is Undhiyu?

Undhiyu is a full of flavor mixed vegetable curry from the State of Gujarat mainly from Surat region of India. Undhiyu got it’s name from the Gujarati word “undhu”, which means upside down . This dish is traditionally cooked upside down underground in earthen pots, termed “matlu”, which are fired from above. Its a very slow and time consuming process. Now a days the process is quickened by cooking Undhiyu in a pressure cooker while still preserving the flavor.

Undhiyu is made mainly during winter season in India as the vegetables like Surti papdi , lilva and methi are only available during this season. But thanks to the convenience of frozen vegetables you can enjoy Undhiyu all year long. Though Undhiyu is a Surat specialty, many regions of Gujarat have it’s own version of Undhiyu. Today I am sharing an easy version of Undhiyu i.e Kathiyawadi Undhiyu.

Undhiyu Recipe Ingredient list –

As I have mentioned earlier, Undhiyu is made with winter season specific vegetables. But there are always substitutes that you can work with. I tend to lean towards fresh vegetables. My last resort is using frozen vegetables. As Surti Papdi was not freshly available I have used snow peas available in grocery store here in America. And it works great.

Root vegetables used are baby brinjals, sweet potatoes and baby potatoes. I have even used raw banana ( plantain).

A blend of fresh fenugreek leaves ( methi) and cilantro makes this curry so good!

I did not find fresh peas and lilva beans at the store so used frozen peas and edamame instead.

Some Frequently asked questions and solutions –

I can’t find all the ingredients ( Are they seasonal only?) In India Undhiyu is made in winter when flat beans like tuvar lilva and Surti papdi are freshly available. But nowadays frozen Undhiyu vegetable mix as well as other root vegetables are easily available in leading Indian grocery stores even in USA. If you still don’t have luck finding them substitute it with snow peas and edamame as suggested. Can I skip making the dumplings/ muthiya? Muthiya is the heart of this authentic Indian curry. But skip it if desired. You may just make shortcut undhiyu recipe like mixed vegetable curry. Muthiyas turned out hard ? Prepare a soft and sticky dough. Too much flour makes muthiyas tough. Adding baking soda will make muthiyas soft and melt in mouth too. How to make Undhiyu recipe using less oil? Traditional Undhiyu is slow cooked in oil alone so lot of oil goes in making it. My recipe uses a combination of oil and water. Making it in a pressure cooker helps to cook Undhiyu in it’s own steam. The muthiyas are not deep fried in this recipe, instead cooked with a brush of oil in a paniyaram pan. How to make Surti Undhiyu? For Making Surti Undhiyu, do not cut the potatoes and brinjals into cubes instead slit and stuff them with the prepared green masala.

How to make Vegan Undhiyu ? Simply substitute ghee with peanut oil or oil of your choice. I have used oil only. Is Undhiyu Gluten- free? The vegetable curry is GF, but need to be careful about the muthiya ingredients. Skip rawa if you are on gluten free diet. Instead you can use rice flour. How to make Jain Undhiyu ? Undhiyu has good amount of root vegetables which are not consumed by Jains. You may substitute it with a mix of raw banana and bottle gourd ( doodhi/ lauki ) Skip the onion and garlic too. What pairs well with Undhiyu? Undhiyu is served with Pooris and a side of Srikhand on festival & special occasions. For regular meals I prefer Undhiyu with Bajra rotla that make the complete meal Gluten-free or with simple rotis OR Methi theplas and chilled chaas ( buttermilk). Can you freeze Undhiyu? Yes , Undhiyu freezes well. It is a great make ahead of time dish for large group parties & potluck. Place it in air tight freezer friendly container and freeze up to 3 months.Thaw overnight in the fridge or over the counter or defrost in a microwave. Once thawed do not re freeze.

Step by Step making Undhiyu in a pressure cooker Instant Pot –

Step 1 – Making the muthiyas –

Muthiyas is the star of Undhiyu. It is generally deep fried and then added to the vegetables. But I have used a paniyaram pan to make Undhiyu healthy.

Step 2- Making the green masala for Undhiyu –

The green masala is easy to make with just 4 ingredients mainly coconut, green chilies, cilantro and peanuts. You can make this masala upto 2 days in advance. Store in the refrigerator until used.

Step 3 – Chopping and preparing vegetables for making Undhiyu

You can choose to use frozen Undhiyu vegetable mix and pre-cut frozen roots like purple yams , potatoes and sweet potatoes or go for fresh seasonal vegetables depending on your convenience. A list of possible substitutes are mentioned in the recipe notes when Undhiyu vegetables are not in season.

Step 4- Pressure cooking Undhiyu in a stove top pressure cooker or Instant Pot as shown below.

Just layer everything inside the pot as shown in the photos . Set it to cook . Once done serve it with puris or roti.

Other authentic Indian Instant Pot recipes to try-

Mumbai Pav Bhaji – A droolworthy Indian street food made super easy in a pressure cooker. Paneer Lababdar – It’s pressure cooked for real and so so good!!! Instant Pot Chana Masala – Made in one shot from scratch!! Instant pot Aloo Baingan – Making this curry has never been so easy!

Add more vegetables to your diet in a yummy way –

Vegan Pasta Primavera with roasted vegetables – Pasta got more tasty with this recipe. Healthy Nacho Cheese Sauce – It has hidden veggies , shhhhh!!! It’s our secret!! Easy vegan coleslaw sandwich bars – Yummy way to feed veggies to kids.