Leftover Rice Muthiya (bhaat Na Muthiya)

Gujarati bhaat na muthiya that I make with leftover rice. A delicious steamed snack that’s irresistible with a piping hot cup of chai!

Note – This recipe has been refreshed from the archives with updated images and content. The method remains the same, but in our home, it’s always been a flexible, free-style dish — it changes every time depending on what’s in the fridge. Feel free to make it your own! First published in April 2010.

I’m pretty certain Gujarati households rarely have food waste and that’s because they can turn leftover ingredients into pretty much any other dish. I’ve seen countless times my Mum using leftover rice to make vagharelo bhaat and these rice muthiya too.

Muthiya is definitely a fridge clear-out recipe – just add in grated dudhi , grated pumpkin, fresh methi, spinach, you name it (all probably leftover too!). A little bit like dal paratha made with leftover dal . Oh yeah and leftover dhokla chaat !

Growing up, I used to watch my mum make muthiya and I was convinced it was the easiest thing. She would move through the steps effortlessly — mixing, shaping, steaming. I thought, how hard could it really be? But the first time I tried making them myself, I realised just how many things can go wrong. The dough can get too sticky, the muthiya can break while steaming, or they can turn out dense and heavy instead of soft and light. Phew. It turns out, it wasn’t that the recipe was simple — it was just my mum’s skill and years of practice that made it look simple.

Over time, with plenty of trial, error, and a few flops along the way, I’ve figured out how to get them just right. And now, I’m sharing everything I’ve learned so you can get them perfect too — without the guesswork.

You can use the same muthiya dough here to make bhaat na rasiya muthiya too.

How To Make Rice Muthiya & Tips

Step 1: Make the Dough

In a large bowl, combine leftover rice (no need to mash it), chopped methi (or whatever veggies you have), your flours, yogurt, ginger-chilli paste, spices, sugar, oil, ajwain, salt, and baking powder.

💡Important tip: Be careful with the flour — adding too much can make your muthiya dense and chewy. Also, don’t overdo the baking soda or baking powder. Too much can cause the muthiya to break apart during steaming.

Use just enough water to bring everything together into a soft dough — a little softer than chapati dough.

Step 2: Shape the Muthiya

Apply a little oil to your hands so the dough doesn’t stick. Divide the dough into 2-3 parts and shape each one into a tight cylinder by pressing the dough firmly in your fist.

💡 Common mistake: If you don’t press the dough tightly enough, the muthiya can crack or break while steaming.

Step 3: Steam

Grease your steamer plate well to prevent sticking (trust me, trying to peel stuck muthiya off the steamer is no fun).

Get the water boiling before adding the rolls to the steamer plate, so they get cooking immedietely.

Place the rolls in the steamer and steam for about 20 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a knife — if it comes out clean, they’re cooked through.

💡 Pro tip: Let the muthiya cool for a few minutes before trying to remove them. If you rush, they might stick or crumble.

Step 4: Slice and Temper

Once cooled slightly, cut the steamed muthiya into thin, oval slices.

Heat some oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, sesame seeds, and a pinch of asafoetida. Once they start to pop, add the sliced muthiya and sauté them for a few minutes until lightly golden and crisp.

Serve them with Indian ginger tea with milk or try something a little different with Rajkot green chutney with peanuts .

Storage – Muthiya are best eaten the day they are prepared to enjoy them at their freshest. Also, they contain leftover rice so best not to keep the dish for too long and that depends how long you can store it for. You can freeze muthiya on the day of preparation for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw then you can add another vaghar.

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

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Leftover Rice Muthiya (Bhaat Na Muthiya)

Equipment

• Steamer
• Beeding charni chalni

Ingredients

Muthiya

• 1 cup cooked rice
• 2 cup methi or any other greens
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup pearl millet flour bajri flour
• ¼ cup gram flour besan
• ¼ cup shorghum flour jowar flour (optional)
• 2 tablespoon semolina optional
• ½ cup sour yogurt low fat yogurt
• 3 tablespoon ginger-chillies crushed
• 2 tablespoon red chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin coriander dhana jiru powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon carom seeds ajmo
• 2 tablespoon oil
• ½ teaspoon baking powder optional

Vaghar

• 4 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
• ½ teaspoon hing
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 4-5 large green chillies optional

Garnish

• 3 tablespoon coriander leaves

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl or wide plate add all the muthiya ingredients.
• Combine with your hands to bring everything together.
• Add water a little at a time and knead a soft dough. Do not over-knead.
• Apply a little oil on your hands and divide the mixture into 4-5 parts. Then, using your fists, shape into cylinders.
• Add sufficient water into steamer or pot and bring it to boil.
• Place muthiya rolls on to a greased plate, container or charni that has holes. Keep some gaps between rolls.
• Steam muthiya on medium to high heat for at least 15-18 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Remove them from the steamer and allow to cool at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Slice all the rolls using a knife into smaller pieves.

Vaghar

• To temper the muthiya, heat oil in a pan or kadai.
• Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they crackle add hing, chillies, curry leaves and sesame seeds.
• Gently add steamed and sliced bhaat na muthiya into vaghar, and mix using a spatula.
• Saute them for a couple of minutes, or until slightly crispy outside.
• Turn off the heat and sprinkle chopped coriander.

Nutrition

PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Leftover Rice Muthiya (Bhaat Na Muthiya)

Equipment

• Steamer
• Beeding charni chalni

Ingredients

Muthiya

• 1 cup cooked rice
• 2 cup methi or any other greens
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup pearl millet flour bajri flour
• ¼ cup gram flour besan
• ¼ cup shorghum flour jowar flour (optional)
• 2 tablespoon semolina optional
• ½ cup sour yogurt low fat yogurt
• 3 tablespoon ginger-chillies crushed
• 2 tablespoon red chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin coriander dhana jiru powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon carom seeds ajmo
• 2 tablespoon oil
• ½ teaspoon baking powder optional

Vaghar

• 4 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
• ½ teaspoon hing
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 4-5 large green chillies optional

Garnish

• 3 tablespoon coriander leaves

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl or wide plate add all the muthiya ingredients.
• Combine with your hands to bring everything together.
• Add water a little at a time and knead a soft dough. Do not over-knead.
• Apply a little oil on your hands and divide the mixture into 4-5 parts. Then, using your fists, shape into cylinders.
• Add sufficient water into steamer or pot and bring it to boil.
• Place muthiya rolls on to a greased plate, container or charni that has holes. Keep some gaps between rolls.
• Steam muthiya on medium to high heat for at least 15-18 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Remove them from the steamer and allow to cool at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Slice all the rolls using a knife into smaller pieves.

Vaghar

• To temper the muthiya, heat oil in a pan or kadai.
• Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they crackle add hing, chillies, curry leaves and sesame seeds.
• Gently add steamed and sliced bhaat na muthiya into vaghar, and mix using a spatula.
• Saute them for a couple of minutes, or until slightly crispy outside.
• Turn off the heat and sprinkle chopped coriander.

Nutrition

PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.

This particular recipe is a Dhanecha family special! Rasawala muthiya are made by simmering dumplings in a yogurt gravy. Our version is quick because you do not have to form the muthiya first.

Note – This recipe has been updated from our recipe archives with new images and content. The recipe remains the same. First published in January 2010.

Traditionally, most recipes follow a two-step process: first, make a firm dough, shape it into muthiya, and then cook them in the yogurt gravy until everything thickens.

But at home, I grew up watching my mum make it a little differently. She learned the classic method in India – rolling each muthiya before cooking. Later, she picked up a quicker technique from her mother-in-law—one that saves time.

Instead of shaping firm dumplings, this version starts with a loose, spoon-able dough. I simply drop small portions directly into the simmering yogurt gravy—either using a spoon or just by hand.

The result? Deliciously tender rasawala muthiya but less fuss.

Another trick I’ve discovered is adding gram flour (besan) to the dough as it helps to naturally thicken the raso (gravy) as it cooks. It also prevents the yogurt gravy curdling as it heats.

As with bhaat na muthiya , these too are generally prepared with leftover rice.

Ingredients notes

Simply mix all the ingredients to form a loose batter for the muthiya. Dropping small portions directly into the simmering yogurt – either by hand or with a spoon – naturally creates the perfect size for them to cook through evenly.

• Leftover rice – sometimes I use khichdi too!
• Green chilli-ginger – I always use fresh which provides all the flavour.
• Methi leaves – this time I’ve used methi leaves but different vegetables work too, like these muthiya with dudhi !
• Wheat flour, gram flour & millet flour – these all form the bulk of the muthiya and are traditionally used in most muthiya recipes. Keep the flour ratio higher than cooked rice, so that the dumplings do not break in the chaas.
• Carom seeds.
• Red chilli powder and turmeric powder.

Yogurt gravy

The yogurt gravy is made with chaas (a mix of water and plain sour yogurt) and a tempering of dried red chilli, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. I flavour it with red chilli powder and turmeric powder. A little sprinkle of sugar compliments the tartness from the yogurt.

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• YouTube

Rasiya Muthiya

Equipment

• Kadai Pan

Ingredients

Muthiya Dough

• ½ cup leftover rice or khichdi
• ½ cup methi or palak
• ½ cup wheat flour
• ¼ cup gram flour besan
• ¼ cup pearl millet flour bajri flour
• 2 tablespoon ginger-chillies crushed
• 1 tablespoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon carom seeds ajwain
• 1 tablespoon salt

Yogurt Gravy

• 1 cup sour yogurt
• 4 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon hing
• 1-2 dried red chillies optional
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar optional
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander

Instructions

Muthiya Dough

• In a large mixing bowl add all the muthiya dough ingredients and mix well.
• Add water little by little and make very soft and sticky dough. Not as runny as pakora batter though.
• Set aside.

Yogurt Gravy

• Add 3 cups of water to the yogurt and whisk until you get smooth buttermilk (chaas).
• In a kadai or pan heat oil on medium heat, then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
• Once they crackle add hing, red chiili and curry leaves, turn the heat low.
• Pour chaas and stir. Keep heat low all the time.
• Add red chiili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Stir once again.
• Allow chaas to simmer but not boil.
• Wet your fingers in water and take very small amount of muthiya dough and drop in gravy as quickly as you can. Just like you drop pakora batter in hot oil.
• At this stage keep heat low, stir once again and cook muthiya 5-8 minutes on low heat.
• Then turn heat on low-medium and cook the muthiya for another 8-10 minutes.
• The gravy will get thicker, you want the consistency to be like punjabi kadhi.
• Add sugar, turm off the heat and sprinkle coriander on top.

Notes

Nutrition

PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.