Traditional Gujarati Food & Recipes

Most Indians are familiar with Punjabi dishes and South Indian dishes or Goan and Bengali foods but have you ever thought about traditional Gujarati food? It is gaining in popularity and some of them are just plain yummy treats everyone in the family will love.

Traditional food of Gujarat is wholesome, basically simple and entirely vegetarian. Here are a few dishes that are considered traditional Gujarati foods:

Undhiyu

This has got to be at the top of the list because it is so unique. A winter food, it is a mix of purple yam (Ratalu), sweet potato and potatoes, shelled green beans and whole or split green flat beans, green tuvar seeds (pigeon peas) and stuffed spicy brinjals. It can be made in several ways. Marinate the veggies in spicy Garam Masala, put in a vessel, cover with oil and cook on low flame without stirring. Another way is to simply dump the lot inside an earthen pot, seal it with a cover and put the put in a hold dug in the earth, cover on all sides with wood or charcoal and fire it. The vegetables are steamed. Prior to serving you pour sesame (til) oil on it and eat it with chutney, usually kotha ni chutney (wood apple). The Surti way is to use only green ground herbs like green chillies, coriander, mint, ginger and garlic instead of dry Garam Masala. On kite flying day it is gobbled along with Jalebis and til pak.

Batata nu Shaak

A recipe that is fast disappearing, this traditional Batata nu shaak is the staple served at weddings and get together along with rice and Puri. It is made with potatoes made in a gravy of Garam Masala, hot spices and tamarind with a bit of jaggery. You might find it in traditional Gujarati restaurant menus.

Vaal
What Rajma is to Punjab, Vaal is to Gujarat. This is white beans curry. Vaal is usually soaked overnight and boiled. Then you make a tadka of hot spice powders and ajwain (ajwain because vaal causes gas and is hard to digest), add water, besan, little curds and make a gravy and cook boiled vaal along with some tamarind pulp and jaggery. Goes well with puri and rice.

Bajri no Rotlo and Olo

If you go to Saurashtra this is the staple. Roti or flat bread is made from bajra flour, usually made on earthen pan over a wooden fire for that typical smoky taste. Olu is made from brinjals that are first roasted in the wooden fire, de-skinned and made into a curry with onion, garlic, diced green chillies, plenty of oil and spicy garam masala. A must have food in winter.

Sev Tameta
The simplest of dishes to make, it is popular in Saurashtra as well as Gujarat. You simply make a spicy gravy with tomatoes as the base and add sev made of besan. Eat it piping hot with rotla, rice or wheat flour chapatis.

Gujarati Thali

If you really want to gorge on delicious Gujarati food then go for the Gujarati Thali. The traditional thali will offer you bhakri or rotli and a couple of curries. Curry made with brinjal and potatoes is a staple. According to season you could have another dry curry using Turia or Galka or Bhindi or Chana-Lauki. Then you have a choice of Daal and Kadhi or both. The Thali includes pickles, kachumber, bhajia or khaman or some such fried item collectively known as Farsan, a sweet that may be lapsi or seero and then rice or khichdi.

Khaman

A healthy all time snack, it is one thing you can make a meal of if you are so inclined. Batter made with coarse chickpea flower is allowed to ferment, poured into plates and steamed. Cut it into squares and put them in a bowl. This is followed by tadka of mustard seeds and plenty oil, and sprinkled with grated raw coconut. Eat it with kadhi or chutney and fried green chillies.

Sev Usal

This is a popular snack and can be a meal too. Dried peas are soaked and boiled and then made into thin gravy with chickpea flour, tadka and hot spicy mix. This is sprinkled with sev. Enjoy with bun or Chapati.

Trevti Dal

Trevti means combination of three. Here one can use combination of chana dal, urad dal and moong dal or tuvar dal. Take equal quantities of each dal, soak for a few hours and pressure cook. The tempering is what gives it the typical Gujarati taste. Tadka is done using oil with addition of tej patta, cumin speeds, hing, dry red chillies followed by ginger and green chilli paste. You then add potatoes and saute. Add the cooked dal, water and simmer for 10 minutes or so and garnish.

Muthia

This can be a healthy snack and tasty traditional food of Gujarat. Mix coarse besan and coarse wheat flour with some salt. Add grated Lauki or finely chopped fenugreek leaves or a mix of both and make a hard dough. Take balls and roll in your palm into oblong shapes. Steam just as you would steam idlis. Put aside when cooked and prepare a tadka of oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chilli and sprinkle over muthia. Sprinkle til and coriander leaves. Serve with green chutney or kadhi or curds or raita.

Patra

Patra is made using colocasia (arvi) leaves. The leaves are coated with a thick paste made using besan flour, ajwain and cumin seeds, rolled, tied and steamed. When done, cut the roll into slices. Now you add tadka using oil, mustard seeds, dry red chillies, cumin seeds and hing. This is dry patra. You can make it tastier by adding juice made using tamarind and jaggery for hot-sweet-sour spicy patra. Sprinkle with grated coconut, til and coriander.

Papad Boondi Shaak

This is a Gujarati Jain favorite. Take urad dal papad and cut into medium sized pieces. Take one cup boondi. Now take dhania powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and a little garam masala powder and make a paste with water. In a pan put in oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing and let splutter. Add masala paste and stir fry and then add water. Now add beaten curds to the mix and let simmer. Add papad and let cook for a while and then add boondi and remove from heat.

Shrikhand Puri/Ras Puri

Shrikhand may not be typically Gujarati but it is a favorite of Gujaratis of that you can be sure. Curds are hung to let water flow out and the hung curds are beaten or mixed with powdered sugar into a fine paste. You can add dry fruits, cardamom powder, saffron and a little cream to the mix. It is traditionally eaten with hot puris. In summer most people love to eat Ras Puri. Instead of Shrikhand, you have a large bowl filled with ripe mango pulp sweetened with sugar.

These are by no means the best and the top but these are traditional, typically Gujarati preparations. They are healthy, wholesome and nutritious. Also, it does not entail much labour or time to prepare these foods of Gujarat.