Seven Flour Muthia with Cabbage and Greens

Muthia is an Indian snack dish. The name is derived from the way it is made, from the 'gripping' action of the hand. It resembles sausage but is a vegetarian dish. Typically It is made up of Chickpeas flour and  fresh Methi leaves (Fenugreek) Salt, Turmeric,  and an optional bonding agent/sweetener such as sugar and oil. It is a very good staple of Gujrat.
This dish can be eaten Steamed or fried (after steaming); it is equally tasty either way.

In addition to Fenugreek leaves my mom used to add grated bottle gourd (Lauki or Doodhi) or cabbage. She used to add different flour.
Over years I have adapted the recipe by adding various flour to make it of differnt texture and make it more nutritious.  I still use cabbage or Doodhi, but have used Zucchini at times at it also gives the same texture and taste.

It is my mom's favorite dish, to me it is a l little dry but like everything else I love this with side of plain yogurt.
Here is some nutritional information on different flour that I use in addition to wheat flour,  gram flour, semolina and corn flour, which are well known to most of us here in USA.

Ragi is the common name of Finger Millet in Southern part of India (and known as Nachni in the northern part of India). Along with oats this is one of the most nutritious food and one of the easy one to to digest. It is rich in calcium and protein and also have good amount of iron and other minerals. It is low in fat most of which are unsaturated fats. As any other grains out there it has its shade of good and not so good aspects. Ragi or Nachni is often ground to a fine power and sold and popularly known as Ragi Flour.

Pearl millet is the most widely grown type of millet. It has been grown in Africa and the  Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times.
Pearl millet flour (Bajri flour) provides us with disease fighting chemicals that lower cholesterol, antioxidants, plenty of fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, copper, zinc, vitamins-E and B-complex, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. It is a gluten free grain. So it is one of the grains which can be easily included in the diet of a person who is suffering from allergies towards gluten. It is noted for its high iron content also.

Jowar is the Indian name for sorghum, a cereal grain native to Africa. Also known as white millet, whole jowar kernels can be steamed, boiled, added to soups and stews or ground into a flour that can be used as a substitute for wheat flour in baked goods. Jowar is a gluten-free, high-protein, cholesterol-free source of a variety of essential nutrients, including dietary fiber, iron, phosphorus and thiamine.

Ingredients for the Muthia

7 flour as follows: 
*2 cups Wheat flour (durum wheat flour)
*1/4 cup  Semolina (Rawa)
*1/4 cup Soya flour
*1/4 cup Corn meal
*1/4 cup Ragi flour
*1/4 cup Bengal gram flour (Besan)
*1/4 cup Millet flour or Jowar flour

Spices and condiment  for the  dough

*1 and 1/2  teaspoon turmeric powder 
*1 teaspoon cumin powder
*1/2 teaspoon of asefoetida
*1 teaspoon of baking soda
*Salt to taste
*Juice of 2 fresh limes
*1 cup of plain yogurt
*1/8-1/4 cup of water (quantity as and if needed)
*1/3 cup of oil
*2 tablespoon of sugar

Vegetables for Muthia

*2 cups grated Cabbage or grated Zucchini or Bottle gourd (Dhudhi) (I used 1/3 of a large head of  Cabbage)
*1 onion 
*Hand full of spinach and other greens
*2 tables spoon of Kasuri Methi (Dried fenugreek leaves) or one bunch of fresh Methi
*2 fresh Serano peppers or 1 fresh Jalapeos
*1 teaspoon of ginger paste
*1/2 cup of fresh Cilantro leaves
(I used food processor to grind all of these)

Method to make Muthia

* Mix all the dry ingredients
* I used food processor to grind all the veggies in a coarse paste .
* Combine all the spices and ingredients for the Muthia in a bowl and form a soft dough adding the water as and if needed.
* Drizzle a little oil on the dough and set aside covered.

* Using oil on your palms, divide the mixture into 8-9 parts and roll out into cylindrical shape.
* I made total of 9 small rolls to steam them in two batches as my steamer is small.
* Steam them for 10 min. 
* Let them cool for 10 min.

Thanks to Tarla G. for giving me fresh Curry leaves plant seedling. Now I have fresh curry leaves to use in my cooking. 

For Tempering

*1/4 cup oil

*2 teaspoons black mustard seeds

*1 teaspoon Cumin seeds

*2 pods of dried red chilies

*1/4 cup sesame seeds

*1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

*2 Serano peppers slices

*1 sprig of fresh curry leaves

For Garnish

*1/4 cup  chopped coriander

*2 tablespoons grated sweetened or unsweetened coconut (optional)
*Juice from 1 fresh lime.

*Once all the Muthia rolls are steamed and cool, slice them on a cutting board in to 3/4 " slices.
*Do not try to cut too thin, as they may fall apart.

*Heat the oil in a wok.
*Add the mustard seeds and cumin seed. When they crackle, add chili pods,  the sesame seeds and asafoetida.
*Add sliced green chilies and curry leaves.
*Add the sliced muthia and gently fold them 2-3 times every 2-3 min, with spatula,  till they are light brown in color.
*Sprinkle fresh lime juice, fold them gently again.
*Garnish with cilantro  and coconut (if desired).

* Serve them hot with cilantro chutney or desired hot sauce.
* This recipe yields  6-8 servings.

Information on  flour source: http://vegweightlossdiets.com/good-diet/ragi-flour-nutritional-value-and-health-benefits/
http://www.nutrichoice4u.com/health-benefits-of-bajra-pearl-millet/
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-jowar-7040.html
Information source for Muthia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muthia
https://en.wikipedia.org
 /wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License
 Recipe adapted by Surekha from her mom Mrs. Kasturben's recipe.
Photographs by Surekha.

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