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Valor Muthia Nu Shaak
June 21, 2007 | 38 Comments
Valor papdi or Hyacinth Beans are quite popular in Gujarati cuisine. The seeds inside are dried and familiar to those in western India as ‘val‘. Our Gujarati cuisine primer from Tarla Dalal has this recipe for ‘Walor Muthia Nu Shaak’. Yes, she spells it with a ‘w’. (See the recipe here)
Everywhere else, online as well as in print, hyacinth beans are called ‘valor‘ with a ‘v’. Our desi grocer Hasmukhbhai, who’s from Rajkot, pronounces it as ‘valor’ (vaa-lore), with a bite of the lower lip rather than a rounding of the mouth. So we’ll stick to ‘valor’.
Why is the spelling crucial? ‘Cos this is our ‘V’ entry for Nupur’s A-Z of Indian Vegetables Event at One Hot Stove. We chose this over ‘vatana’, ‘vangi’ or ‘vellarikka’, ‘cos it’s a new veggie for us. Besides, anything with muthias has gotta be great.
A word about The Complete Gujarati Cookbook. It’s fabulous. We’ve tried nearly a dozen recipes. We usually cut down the chilli and sugar a bit and double the recipe, and end up with bliss on a plate. We’ve blogged about a few unusual delicacies from the book like Fajeto and Ghugra.
Muthias are steamed or deep fried dumplings with flour and usually a green veggie. In this recipe, they cook directly in the gravy, and help thicken and flavour it. The fenugreek (methi) leaves for these muthias are from our kitchen garden.
Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients
For the methi muthias
1 bunch fenugreek leaves (methi), chopped (1 cup packed)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
1/2 cup gram flour (besan)
1 teaspoon green chilli-ginger paste
1 teaspoon sugar
juice of 1 lime (2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
a pinch soda-bi-carb
1 tablespoon oil
salt to taste
Other ingredients
400 grams valor papdi
1 teaspoon ajwain (bishop’s weed)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
2 teaspoons green chilli-ginger paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon coriander-cumin seed powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoons oil
salt to taste
Method
1. For the methi muthias
2. Put the chopped methi leaves in a bowl, add 1 teaspoon of salt and mix well.
3. Allow to stand for 5 to 7 minutes and squeeze out all the liquid from the methi leaves.
4. Combine with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and knead into a soft dough, adding water only if required.
5. Divide this mixture into 30 portions and flatten by placing between the palms. Keep aside.
**we got only 16 small muthias.
How to proceed
1. Wash and string the valor papdi.
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the ajwain, mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the mustard seeds crackle, add the valor papdi and 3 cups of water.
3. Add the green chilli-ginger paste, turmeric powder, coriander-cumin seed powder, chilli powder, sugar and salt. Cover and simmer till the valor papdi is 3/4 cooked.
4. Gently add the muthias.
5. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes till the muthias and valor are cooked. (Valor papdi has a thick outer shell and takes longer to cook than regular green beans).
6. Serve hot with parathas.
Books, Fenugreek (Methi), Gujarati, muthia, tarla-dala, the-complete-gujarati-cookbook, Valor Papdi (Hyacinth Bean), valor-muthia-nu-shaak, vegan recipes, walor
Your photos are classic.Recipe is interesting ,would love to make it.
Since yesterday I am reminded of my old neighbors the Rajput family especially Kaki and aromas of the past. Smells of Fort. You guys are making me emotional with this post. Valor is also called papdi.
What to say.. A recipe presented so beautifully.. I gotta try this.. Never had valor before. I think its a kind of avarakkai, right? Muthia looks like paruppu urundai kuzhambu
avarakkai is flat and broad in comparison. valor is more like regular beans.
see pic from food-in-the-main here — http://srefoodblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/arf5-day-tuesday-7.html
growing a type of avarakkai – will post a poriyal after harvest ! –jai
That dish really look inviting. I would love to try it sometime. Will look for valor in our stores here. Our Indian store guy suddenly realized that a leaf called Methi exists and has been stocking it for the last few weeks. I already used up 3 bunches, need to go looking for another one now
Can I use the regular green beans for this, any good substitutes for the valor ??
regular green beans should work very well. string beans should too. –jai
Oh this is really delightful! Great job J and B..
I really like the first pic of the vhalor methi in that lovely mug. I’ve learnt to say it as ‘Vhalor’ not ‘valor’…might be a dialect thing. (small amount of air passes up through your throat as you bite on your lower lip for the ‘Va’ sound to become ‘Vha’)
I think I’ve eaten muthias half the size of yours and made into an oblong shape, i guess thats where the 30 muthias were supposed to come from…anyhow…I have to try this shaak, perhaps with frozen vhalor, since i don’t get fresh here…do you think anyone besides Indian grocers would stock these?
tx for the pronounciation tips…as long as you spell it with a “v”…you see nupur has us spinning around her little finger
-jai
looks delicious with methi i would love it!
Not a fan of papdi. But definitely a fan of your mug & creamer collection. That creamer rocks!
one question don’t we need to steam the mutia seperately? valur is it kind or beans or avarekayi?
not necessary. guess if the muthias are small enough they will cook through. there is no harm in steaming them separately and adding them couple of minutes before you take it off the flame.
avarakkai is flat and broad in comparison to valor. see pic from food-in-the-main here – http://srefoodblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/arf5-day-tuesday-7.html
–jai
Well, I like methi muthiyas, so maybe I’ll tolerate the val as well!!
I got my first bag of frozen undhiyu veggies today (yes, I was feeling lazy and experimental). It had some muthia included in the mix. I haven’t tried them yet and now between you and Nupur, I want to throw them out and make fresh. Love the photo at the top, ‘Visual Valor’ indeed. And the dish looks great too
BTW thank you for excellent info on stoneflower — I searched high and low for the botanical name and I might have saved myself a bunch of time and trouble
yay, i just found my “w” dish
picture looks fab, though I have no idea what it tastes like…
a little nuttier than regular beans – jai
AAHHHH!!!!! Bee going gujju
After coming to Singapore I have never made it 
Thanks for the heads up girly!! 
This used to be made in our house (before marriage) for a lavish sunday lunch.
Hi!
Pics are lovely !!! As suganya said it looks like urundai in urundai kuzhambu and this is gravy!!but this looks dry….nice recipe
Finally, I get to see a valor picture – I know these, they are called chikkudukaya in Telugu. These are the beans that are full of er … beans, plump ones, right? Isn’t that the major difference between these and avarakkai which is all pod and hardly any beans?
couple of websites out there say that avarakkai is chikkudukaya…dont know telegu so cant comment on that. but you are right – valor is plump, the seed inside is more substantial than avarakkai. –jai
Oh those dumplings look chewy and nice, I just want to spear one with my fork and the beans with the slight crunch, working for me
sra, not sure but I think chikkudukaaya is guvaar … could you clarify please?
This book is among my prized possessions. All of Tarla Dalal’s books are. But the newer ones are so good. I too, have tried several recipes from this and just love the outcome
This is a classic Gujju recipe….and it is indeed ‘Valor’…and I’m from Rajkot too so I have that “Kathiawadi” pronounciation just like your Hasmukhbhai.
“Walor”..
You did not deep the muthias. That frees me up to actually cook this dish. Deep Frying is another story.
Yessss, it is a beautiful dish
love that combo 
pan-frying the muthia works well too!
good to know u tried & liked my ‘V’ entry, adding fava beans was a good twist, but do try with peas as well
Great idea to make the dumpling instead of frying.I make chicken dumplings like that with soup.Looks great and great entry too.
I have that book as well.Man! I am crazy.You will see next Wednesday what I mean in my post!;D
Well..I am off to vacation.See you next week.Have a fun weekend.
you don’t have to remind us of your mental state
It is often associated with genius…we always look forward to your wednesday posts …keep them coming. –jai
Don’t think ever had anything like this. Loved the recipe and the muthia being cooked in the gravy is a great idea.
And you know where your grocer is from too ?
yeah. i also have his horoscope and social security #.
– b.
Never Tasted this recipe any where ….Looks great …Good to learn new things ….Nice pic too
Hi, in reply to AA’s question – gawar is cluster beans/goru chikkudukaya/kothavaranga. From the pix here, valor is definitely a/the plump-bean chikkudukaya, but avarakkai is not.
As for avarakkai, I’m not sure it’s some sort of chikkudukaya but dunno what prefix it comes with in Telugu – I am sure there’s one. Funnily enough, I haven’t seen chikkudukaya/valor in TN and avarakkai in AP!
This recipe is new to me too. Looks very nice..muthias look awesome.. If valor is not available can we use string beans instead?
any beans or veggie will work. – b.
This is a classic Gujju recipe!! wow !! thanx
Thanks for your response sra, clears my confusion
Most interesting recipe, Jai and Bee, and it has to be good with those muthias as little treasures- don’t go fighting over them now!
I found an odd variety of val for planting from a Lao store- they are black, but with the usual white “beard”-line that val has. I look forward to the flowers…
Can you use spinach instead of methi? Thank you.
sure. – b.
You have shown great valor in making this dish, guys
I love these beans (they grew on a vine outside my childhood bedroom window, so I would reach out and grab a few and take them down to the kitchen every so often). Your pictures are so porny, they are making me swoon
[...] Valor Muthia Nu Shaak [...]
Made this yesterday, it really taste good. Thanks for the recipe.
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Killer! Going to make this today for lunch.
p.s. I googled it and wiki’d it and completely confused myself. Is valor the same as sem? At least one site suggested it was.
[...] Valor Muthia Nu Shaak (Gujarat) [...]
Hi Bee,
Love your site. Just wanted to tell you that someone has put the same recipe on their blog. its http://prbakshi.blogspot.com/2008/12/valor-muthia-nu-shaak.html
Really feel sad about people taking all the credit.
I too have Tarla Dalal’s book. Do try Ridge gourd Patra recipe from it. Its fantastic. I used frozen paatra to make a quicker version.
Hi this looks yummie, but i am after the recipe for Valor rigra no shakk?
anyone got the best way to make it?
cheers