Gatte ki Subzi

Piping Hot Gatte ki Subzi garnished with fresh coriander

I have adapted this recipe from Nita Mehta's "'Recipes from Rajasthan". As the name suggests, this is a Rajasthani recipe with a curd based gravy & besan ( chickpea flour ) dumplings. You will notice that other than the tomato, there is no other fresh vegetable in this dish. Lots of Rajasthani dishes are made in this manner without using too much fresh ingredients. This is because parts of Rajasthan are deserts. The areas are remote & the land & weather conditions are also not conducive to growing fresh stuff. Water is also scare in lots of areas. Hence, the people of this state have over centuries come up with innovative ways to cook with whatever is easily available to them. Hats off to these people, that with these limited ingredients available to them, they have managed to make their cuisine, one of the most popular ones in the country !!!

The gatte or chickpea dumplings are made with besan of chickpea flour, curd and some spices. A soft dough is first made & then rolled into thin finger like cylinders. They are then steamed for a few minutes until cooked. Later on, they are cut and added to the gravy.

The gravy used here is a curd based one and again, besan or chickpea flour is used as the thickener. If the curds are sour, all the better. I recommend using 2-3 day old curds. They are perfect for the gravy. So, sour curds, besan, some wonderful spices like  fresh ginger, jeera, cardamom& cloves, salt & chilli powder....Those are the main things that go into the gravy.

The method is really simple too. Nothing much to it really. Do try & write in to me. 

Wonderful with garam-garam rotis or chawal..........

the dumplings, cut into small bite sized pieces & waiting to be dunked into the gravy

Ingredients

1 cup + 1 or 2 tbsp besan as per requirement
a pinch of soda bi carbonate
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ajwain( carom seeds )
1/2 tsp haldi
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp saunf coarsely powdered
1/2 tsp dhania powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ginger paste
3 tsp malai
2-3 tbsp curds
1/2 tsp chilli paste


For the Gravy ( mix together)


1 cup curd
2 tsp besan
1/ 2 tsp haldi
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger paste ( optional )
3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp jeera
8 -10 curry leaves
3-4 cloves
2 moti elaichi
1/2 tsp red chilli pow
1-2 tomatoes pureed and strained
some fresh dhania or coriander for garnishing

Ready & waiting to be eaten !!!

Method

Making the Gattes

1. Mix together all ingredients to get a soft dough (like chapati dough ).

Add more curd if required to get soft dough. Do not add water.

2. With the help of oil smeared hands, roll out thin fingers 3-4 inch long, like cylinders.

3. Boil 5 cups of water. Keep gatte in a stainless steel round strainer and keep on pan of boiling water and cover with lid.

4. Steam gatte for 5- 7 minutes. Cool. Later cut into rounds of 1/2 inch thickness and keep aside.

For the Curry

1. Mix together curd, besan,haldi,salt,ginger paste & green chilli paste.

2. Add 1 cup water. Beat well & seive.

3. Heat oil. Add jeera, when brown, add curry leaves, laung and moti elaichi. Fry for a minute.

4. Add red chilli powder.

5. Add the curd mixture. Go on stirring until it starts boiling.

6. Add pureed tomatoes ( should be very smooth...so strain and add )

7. Give 2 boils. Add the gatte. ( add more water if more gravy is required )

8. Cover , lower heat. Simmer for 4-5 minutes.

9. Serve hot garnished with fresh dhania.

For Paneer Gatte:-

To 1 cup besan, add 1/2 cup grated mashed paneer along with all the other ingredients. adjust seasonings and continue with the recipe.

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