My MIL’s Muthiya….but not the muthiya you think…coming from a Gujarati home where Muthia’s were made with Dudhi/bottle gourd, cooked leftover rice, semolina and lentil flour shaped into palm sized logs that were steamed until cooked, then cubed and tempered with mustard and sesame seeds and stir fried to a crispy texture enjoyed with masala chai and ketchup – but my MaaIl’s version was a whole different horse altogether.  

I had not had these until my MIL made them for me. Imagine my mild surprise when I saw gravy, and then the meat and realized there was no chai coming with this, and this was the whole meal itself. 

This is a lavish meal eaten on its own- no rice or naan, just coconut chutney, and a simple salad.  These millet flour dumplings in a coconut and tomato sauce packed with vegetables like eggplants, spinach, tender peas, cluster beans, potatoes and lentils like Azuki and yellow chickpea along with aromatic spices combines influences of Gujarati cooking with Tanzanian flavors. 

This is a Gluten-Free recipe, you can also make it vegan by leaving out the meat and it is just as delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. lamb/beef meat, cleaned cubed (2×2 cm) sized pieces and cooked until tender with ginger- garlic paste and salt (reserve the stock for dumplings).
• 1/2 cup olive oil or other flavorless oil
• 3 medium onions (about 2 cups), finely diced
• 3 medium tomatoes,(about 2 cups) diced 
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste/puree
• 1 cup fresh methi/fenugreek leaves (you can alternatively use frozen methi) reserve 1 tablespoon for dumplings.
• 4 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1/2 frozen green peas
• 1 small Chinese eggplant (or 3-4 small Indian eggplants), cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 cup Guwar/ fresh or frozen Custer Beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces- par-boiled with a pinch of turmeric and salt
• 3/4 cups cooked Azuki bean (also known as red cow pea, chori, Gujarati: lal chora)- cooked with turmeric and salt. 
• 1/2 cup cooked Chana dal (split -skinned baby chickpeas) – cooked with turmeric and salt.
• 2 cups baby leaf spinach or frozen spinach, finely chopped
• 3-4 cups canned coconut milk (reserve the solid milk)
• 1.5 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon methi/fenugreek seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick- broken into 2
• 1.5 teaspoons cumin powder
• 1.5 teaspoons coriander powder
• 1/2 TEASPOON turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1.5 teaspoons garlic paste
• 1.5 teaspoons ginger paste
• 2-3 Thai hot green chilies, crushed
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Freshly chopped cilantro
• Pink Himalayan salt to taste

Dumplings:

• 3 cups Bajra/Millet flour
• 2 tablespoons shredded coconut (optional)
• 1 teaspoon ginger- garlic- green chili paste
• 1 teaspoon cumin-coriander dhana jeera ( cumin coriander powder)
• 1.2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 4 tablespoons of the cooked mixed beans (channa and chora dals)
• 1/2 cup mixture of coconut milk and reserved meat stock
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh methi leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt or more to taste

Assembling the Muthiya:

1. Cook the meat until tender – Instant Pot or pressure cooker works best- add a tablespoon of ginger, garlic, green chilli paste and salt.
2. In a large wide pan heat the oil.  Add cinnamon stick, cumin, and methi seeds.  
3. Add the diced onions and fry them stirring till they are golden brown, about 8 minutes (you can add a pinch of salt to aid the browning).
4. Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli pastes and then add methi leaves and fry for 1 minute.
5. Add diced tomatoes, coriander & cumin powders, turmeric, and salt and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the eggplants, frozen peas, potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add the cooked meat, chana dal and chora dal let it cook for 7-8 minutes, adding a little meat stock if necessary.
8. Add the cluster beans and spinach and and coconut milk and bring to a rolling boil.
9. Gently add the dumplings to the pan, layering them around the pan so they are not laying on top of each other, add stock if needed, so that the gravy is not dry. 
10. Let it cook on a medium heat for 10 -15 minutes, at this point gently tip the pan back and forth to move the dumplings, partially cover with a lid half way through the 10 minutes.
11. Add the lemon juice and garam masala gently swirl the pan and and let it rest.
12. Garnish with cilantro before serving.
    
    

Note:

I have also made this with Chicken, and even omitted the meat and stock altogether and made it vegetarian/vegan.