The true indicator of winter in any Gujarati home is the materialisation of a semi-dry green vegetable on the thali (plate). Undhiyu, a Gujarati speciality, is a medley of seasonal vegetables and nostalgia-linked flavours.
Its health quotient is high, and the array of vegetables is to credit — each infusing the dish with an authenticity of its own. Val (green beans), fresh green peas, raw banana, small eggplants, potatoes, kand (purple yam), lillo lassan (green garlic), freshly grated coconut, ginger and coriander come together with sugar and a generous helping of oil lending the final touches.
And winters in Ahmedabad mandate you head to these eateries for your fill of undhiyu.
1. Swati Snacks
In a world where interpretations of cult classics are celebrated, undhiyu defies the norm with its unchanging rigidity. No one does tradition better than Swati Snacks, is what Pune-based food curator Madhura discovered on her recent trip to Gujarat. “It [Swati Snacks] is the best for undhiyu,” she says, while also encouraging people to explore other menu items.
“You can taste staple Gujarati dishes like panki (rice pancake), patra vadi (a dumpling made from colocasia leaves), kadhi fafda (a gram-flour based soup served with gram-flour ribbons) here,” she adds.
While you browse the menu, here’s a bite of history. Swati Snacks had humble beginnings in 1963 in Tardeo, Mumbai, when a single mother Minakshi Jhaveri began experimenting with home cooking. In no time, her Gujarati renditions amassed a huge amount of love and scaled into a culinary legacy, which India knows as its beloved Swati Snacks. The multi-crore venture has enjoyed an affluent clientele that includes the likes of legendary painter M F Husain and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain.
2. Under the Neem Trees
“Why do you love undhiyu?”
The simple question is all it takes to unlock a compendium of memories in chef Smit Sagar’s mind. “Every year on Bestu Varas (Gujarati New Year), we make the chappan bhog (a sacred platter of 56 food items) for Lord Krishna. I always help my mother make undhiyu for this.” There is a certain emotional depth that cooking with one’s loved ones evokes. Smit agrees. “It’s because of its holistic approach; there is a sense of positivity to it.”
But if there’s one thing he loves more than the cooking, it is the relishing that comes after. “The undhiyu, eaten with the entire family, tastes heavenly.” While insisting that homemade undhiyu pales all others in comparison, Smit says he enjoys feasting on the dish at ‘Under the Neem Trees’.
3. Gordhan Thal
The eatery has ensconced itself in the city’s social fabric with its thali priced at Rs 350 featuring Gujarati specialities, including the lip-smacking undhiyu. The accompaniments are as enjoyable. From the corn basket, spring roll, and dhokla (savoury sponge dish) to the potato curry and kadhi, blogger Atulmaharaj is a fan.
Sharing a highlight, he says, “The Gujarati Thali at Gordhan Thal has a rotating menu so you’ll have something new every day. There are more than 20 items on the menu, including starters, mains, and desserts.”
4. Rajwadu Restaurant
I can personally attest that Rajwadu, a theme-based restaurant reflecting the lifestyle of Indian villages is a sensory experience. My visit in 2019, left me amazed at how traditional Indian and Gujarati cultures were brought alive not just through the food but through puppetry, Gujarat folk dance, folk art and music.
But, I have to admit, the protagonist of the evening was the massive thali — a culinary canvas of Gujarati delicacies from starters to main course to desserts, with chutneys and seasonings emboldening the flavours. Seasonal produce has a sway over the items that make it to the Rajwadu menu, adding to its flare.
5. Kamla
In Ahmedabad’s Bodakdev locality lies the Kamla restaurant that travel blogger Sam Mendelsohn discovered. He couldn’t stop singing praises of the home-style thali (priced at Rs 175).
He writes, “The menu changes per meal; check their Instagram stories for the day’s menu. It’s 80 percent Gujarati, but sometimes they switch it up. Sometimes it’s fairly basic (various preparations of dal, potato sabzi, kadhi). Still, many of the meals were more unique, with local seasonal bean dishes and different muthia nu shaak (vegetable made out of fenugreek dumplings). I even got a pre-season undhiyu once (they called it ‘almost undhiyu’, without every single vegetable in season yet).”
6. Shreeji Caterers
Distributors of Gujarati snacks and farsan (savoury snacks), Shreeji Caterers is known for their undhiyu. Revealing a little about the history of the dish, culinary consultant Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal shares that the dish derives its name from the word undhu (Gujarati for ‘upside down’). “Farmers in the rural belt around Surat, where undhiyu is said to have originated, have for decades filled earthen pots with fresh winter produce and buried them underground, lighting a fire on top so the dish cooks under a fire instead of atop it.”
Today, multiple versions of undhiyu exist, with each region putting its own spin on the dish. While Ahmedabad likes to make hers spicier with generous helpings of oil, Surat loves keeping the garlicky flavour while Kathiyawad likes to add muthiyas (steamed or fried snacks made with gram flour).
7. Vishalla
Enjoy undhiyu while also engaging in a rustic experience. Vishalla was created in 1978 by an architect Surendra Patel who wanted to change the way we see Gujarati food. His idea was to make the eating experiential through mud flooring, bamboo walls, wooden tables, leaf plates, and bowls.
When you are done with your meal, you can digest it during a stroll around the museum ‘Vechaar’ — conceptualised by Patel and an anthropologist Jyontindra Jain. The museum features old utensils.
Edited by Pranita Bhat
No comments:
Post a Comment