Muthiya

Serves 2

Ingredients from the local grocery store:

1. 1/2 cup Grated Squash/bottle gourd (any one)
2. Vegetable oil/Canola oil
3. Salt
4. Garlic paste
5. Chopped green chillies
6. Coriander leaves
7. Sesame seeds
8. 1 Lemon

Ingredients from the Indian market:

1. Wheat flour
2. Coriander powder
3. Cumin powder
4. Asafoetida
5. Gram flour (optional)
6. Curry leaves (optional)

You will also need:

1. A cooker
2. A thali that fits into the cooker. In case you dont have this, the idli cast will also work.

Method:

Step 1: Take a bowl/thaali and combine: 
1/2 cup of grated bottle gourd/squash

1 tablespoon of oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon of lemon pickle or combine: a pinch of asafetida, 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste, chopped green chillies (as per spice level)

Step 2: Mix these ingredients together.

Step 3: Add 2 cups of wheat flour and 1 table spoon of gram flour(optional). Mix well. Keep adding wheat flour till the dough mixture doesnt stick too much on your hands. Do not add water at any point of time.

The proportion of the flour to the mixture should look something like this:

The dough and the hands should look something like this:

Step 4:Take a thali/idli cast and grease it with oil.

Step 5: Grease your hands with oil and make the dough partitions in a sausage-shape. Place these partitions next to one another in the thali/idli cast. Grease your hands with oil every time you make a new partition.

Step 6: Add water (1/2 cup) in the cooker and place the thali. You can also use a big vessel and fill it with water and then place the thali.

Step 7: Switch on the gas at high flame and bring the water to boil. Cover the cooker lid.

Step 8: After 1 whistle, set the gas on medium flame. After 15 minutes, turn off the gas.

Step 9: Let the muthiyas cool for 5 minutes after you take them out of the cooker.

Step 10: Cut the sausage-shapes vertically into circles.

Step 11: For tempering, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the cooker base. Add sesame seeds. Once the seeds pop, add asafetida and curry leaves. Add the circular muthiya pieces and mix well. Ensure that the flame is medium.

Step 12: Keep stirring occasionally until you see a slight brown coating on the circular pieces. Turn off the gas.

Step 13: Add lemon juice (1 teaspoon). Garnish with coriander leaves.

You can relish the muthiyas with curd or green chutney.