Rasia mutia is a yogurt soup from the state of Gujarat in the Western part of India.  It is a delicately spiced yogurt broth with chickpea flour dumplings called mutias.

Rasia Mutia

The dumplings are made with day old rice, turmeric, chickpea flour, ginger, garlic, and salt.  These are then steamed and added to a delicately spiced yogurt broth. Many times when yogurt is warmed up it tends to curdle, to prevent this the yogurt is blended first with chickpea flour, the flour acts as rue for the yogurt soup and keeps it creamy and smooth when warming up. 

 

A rather unique Indian yogurt soup that is considered “ordinary” and not worthy of serving for company, you wont find this at any Indian restaurant.  However this is a delicious homemade soup that is wholesome and healthy. Give it a try!

Rasia Mutia.
Chickpea flour Dumplings in Indian Spiced Yogurt Broth

Ingredients for mutia:

• 3 cups day old cooked rice. In my recipe I used a blend of 1 cup cooked quinoa and 2 cups cooked rice.
• 2 cups chick pea flour (also called besan)
• 4 cups finely chopped cabbage or zucchini squash
• 1 bunch cilantro finely chopped about a cup
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika or chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp asafetida powder

Ingredients for yogurt broth:

• 3 cups plain yogurt
• 6-8 cups water
• 4 tbsp chickpea flour also known as besan
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika or chili powder
• 2 tsp salt or to your taste
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp garlic paste
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 4 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp oil

Directions:

Make the mutias:

• In a large mixing bowl mix together cooked rice, salt, and all the spices.

• Add the cabbage, ginger, garlic and and mix-in. Next add the chickpea flour and mix together to form thick sticky rice. Add a small amount of water if needed to bind the rice together.

• Get ready to make the dumplings. Keep a bowl of water handy. The water prevents the dumplings from sticking to your hands while you roll them. Coat your hands in water before taking a spoon of rice mixture. Roll the dough in the hand to form dumplings.

• Once all the dumplings are rolled, get ready to steam them.

• Steam the dumplings in a steamer for 10 minutes. You may have to steam them in batches if all the dumplings don’t fit in the steamer. After 10 minutes, the dumplings are ready. Take them out of the steamer and set aside.

Make the rasia mutia.

• In a large pot using a hand blender blend together yogurt, water, chickpea flour, salt and sugar until smooth. The chickpea flour acts as a binding agent for the yogurt and prevents it from curdling on the heat.  Place the pot on the stove and start warming the yogurt soup on a low simmer. Keep stirring to keep the yogurt broth from curdling.

• Add turmeric, chili powder, oil and garlic paste. Continue to cook the yogurt soup for a total of 15 minutes to remove the raw chickpea flour taste in the broth. Continue to simmer on low heat until the yogurt soup starts bubbling, still on low heat.

• Once the broth is bubbling add the steamed mutias. Continue cooking the dumplings in the yogurt broth for approximately 10 minutes, adding more water as needed to keep the soup a thin creamy consistency.  Gently stir the dumplings in the soup periodically to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, making sure not to break them while stirring.
• After 10 minutes, soup is ready.  Taste and adjust for salt.

• Add finely chopped onions and cilantro and mix in.  Rasia mutia is ready to be served.

• For added spicy heat, serve rasia mutia with hot sauce such as siracha.