Surti Undhiyu (Upside Down Vegetable Stew)

This is a most excellent curry! Even when it's not cooked in the traditional upside down method from which it gets its name. With a bag of frozen surti undhiyu mix in hand, it's a cinch to throw together on the stove. It's also reasonably healthy and tastes amazing. What more can you ask for?!

I wasn't sure what to expect from the frozen surti undhiyu mix. I'm often dubious of "just dump in this bag of frozen mix" recipes. Doubly so in this case since I wasn't sure I'd even like all the veggies included. Turns out I needn't've worried though. The veggies were all delicious (although I haven't tried any of the whole baby eggplants that were included in the mix yet) and the sauce was tasty enough that I would've been happy just eating that on its own!

If you have access to an Indian grocery store and can get surti undhiyu mix, then this curry is definitely worth making. If you don't and you can't then it's probably still worth making, you'll just have to improvise on the veggies a bit. The mix I got included shelled and unshelled green pigeon peas, new potatoes, cubes of purple yam, whole baby eggplants, fenugreek leaves, and a few other odds and ends that I can't remember off the top of my head. Iyer says that urti undhiyu mixes often include plantain slices, cubes of yellow sweet potatoes, fried flour dumplings as well. Iyer advises a mix of seasonal root vegetables combined with snow peas and green (sweet) peas to roughly approximate the mix.

Surti undhiyu (top) served with raita (right), aloo paneer pulao (bottom), and papads (left).

Surti Undhiyu

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 c. frozen green peas
• 1/2 c. shredded fresh coconut¹
• 1/2 c. firmly packed fresh cilantro
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2-4 fresh green Thai or cayenne chilies, stems removed
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. ground asafetida
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1 (340g) bag frozen surti undhiyu mix
• 250mL diced tomato

Directions

1. Combine peas, coconut, cilantro, sugar, salt, chilies, and lime juice in food processor or blender. (If using a blender you may also need to add a few mL of water.)
2. Process/blend until minced but not completely smooth. Mixture should still be visibly lumpy.
3. Heat ghee over medium-high heat.
4. Add mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they stop popping (30-60 seconds).
5. Add asafetida. It will sizzle.
6. Immediately add blended pea mixture and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it begins sticking to the bottom of the pan (3-5 minutes).
7. Add water and deglaze pan.
8. Stir in surti undhiyu mix and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender (~30 minutes).
10. Stir in tomato and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for another 2-3 minutes.
11. Serve with rotis, pooris, or papads.

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¹ If fresh coconut is not available, reconstituted dried coconut also works. Be sure to use unsweetened shredded dried coconut. Use have as much as called for in the recipe (1/4 c. in this case) and place in a bowl with an equal volume of boiling water. Set aside for 15 minutes before draining and using as directed int he recipe. ^Back