Winter vegetables including raw banana, sweet potato, surti papdi and yam slow-cooked underground in a sealed clay pot using the technique of the Adivasi (tribal) communities of the Surat and Valsad districts of south Gujarat — a preparation without any oil, spices or water.
Ingredients
For the umbadiyu (choose 4 to 5 of):
2 raw banana — halved with skin on
2 sweet potato — halved with skin on
1 cup surti papdi (flat beans) — whole with string removed
1 cup fresh pigeon peas — whole
1 cup yam pieces — with skin on (the skin holds the vegetable together during cooking)
2 brinjal — whole
For the green masala coating (applied before sealing):
1 cup fresh coriander + 5 garlic cloves + 3 green chilli + 1 tsp ajwain + salt — blended to a paste
Salt, 1 tsp sesame seeds
Method
Prepare the vegetables: Wash all vegetables. Leave all skins on — the skin prevents the vegetables from disintegrating in the hot clay pot. Score the sweet potato and banana lengthwise without cutting through.
Apply the green masala: Coat each vegetable generously with the green masala paste, pushing the paste into the cuts in the sweet potato and banana.
Prepare the clay pot (matlo): If using an actual clay pot, wet it and fill it with the prepared vegetables, packing tightly. The Adivasi technique seals the pot with a clay lid and buries it in hot coals or ash.
Oven method (home adaptation): If no clay pot, use an oven-safe covered pot or a Dutch oven. Line with banana leaves if available.
Pack the vegetables tightly: Place all masala-coated vegetables tightly inside the pot. No water, no oil added beyond what is in the masala paste.
Seal the pot: Seal the lid with wheat flour dough pressed around the rim to make it airtight.
Cook at high heat: Bake in an oven at 220°C for 50 to 60 minutes. The vegetables cook entirely in their own steam inside the sealed pot.
Open carefully: Break the dough seal at the table. The intense steam escaping is the theatrical element.
Serve in the pot: Bring the entire pot to the table and serve directly from it.
Eat with yogurt and roti: The vegetables are eaten with plain yogurt and bajra roti — the cooking method provides all the flavour needed.
Note: Umbadiyu is the Adivasi (tribal) preparation of the Halpati, Warli and Gamit communities of south Gujarat — the clay pot cooking technique predates urban Gujarati cooking by millennia. The principle of cooking sealed vegetables in their own steam with just a herb paste has no parallel in mainstream Indian cooking. The dish has gained recognition in food writing circles as one of the most distinct and ancient Indian cooking techniques still practiced regularly.