Babubhai nu Umbadiyu — Restaurant in Gujarat

There are tens of Umbadiyu outlets on NH 8 near Valsad.

Umbadiyu is prepared with potatoes, sweet potatoes, purple yam, and local beans, called papdi, mixed with some special kinds of spices, cooked in covered earthen pot. To give smoky flavour, the pot is kept in a pit surrounded by fire. This overly hot variance of Undhiyu is eaten in winter.

Babubhai's Umbadiyu, in Dungri, has been in business for 28 years and is very popular in the area. According to my local friends, the restaurant is swarmed by people. In the evenings, the huge parking area is full of vehicles, and customers have to wait for a long time to enjoy their favourite dish. When we reached there, more than fifty people were eating and many more were waiting.

The hot Umbadiyu is kept on newspapers spread out on dining tables. Everybody in a group eats from it. They go away leaving the garbage on the table and on the floor. Because of heavy rush, waiting customers grab the dirty table. There is no proper cleaning and disposal of garbage.

Although the dry, moist Umbadiyu was being enjoyed by plenty of people, I did not like the taste very much. It was ok; there was nothing very great about it.

The entire place was very shabby, unhygienic, and smelly. The filthy sight of the uncleaned tables and dining area was disgusting and deterring. If you are not used to eat in unsanitary, unappetizing place, Babubhai's Umbadiyu and all such roadside eateries are not good...

Must have experience when in Gujarat. The concept is traditional. We visited this place on our way back home from a road trip. The taste and all was good but the only problem was that the veggies got a little dry BUT the chutney is just wow. There are other dadi's (older women) who sit in the same stretch and it is believed that their servings are more authentic.

This place though is situated at the highway. Parking space is on the service lane side. The sitting area is decent and people in lesser numbers end up sharing the same table which is not a problem. During rush hours, you may have to wait in the line for at least 20 minutes.

This dish is meant to be eaten by hands and by the time you finish your food, you will realise the mess. Don't worry, they have clean basins located in their backyard.

460 Rs per kg was the price here. We ordered 1.5 kgs and were 4 adults and 2 kids( picture shared).

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This is considered as one of the pioneer places to have started serving this unique dish - years back. Best time to enjoy the vegetable combination is around winters. This dish is best cooked in matki (earthern pot). They slice a variety of vegetables into large chunks, add a special chutney which is prepared using nearby tree-leaves and herbs - everything is mixed and placed within an earthern pot and sealed with leafs. The pot is then placed upside down on top of wooden wedges that are on fire, and left to be baked/cooked for a good amount of time. Once done, the mixture is ready to be sold in different weights, and people don't mind waiting for a freshly opened hot pot. You can buy chaas to enjoy the flavours better. Note that this dish is not for jains, as most vegetables used here are root vegetables, tubers and those that grow underground. Ambience and service...