RAJASTHANI GATTE KI SABZI

Rajasthan is an Indian state with large stretches of desert. The scarcity of vegetables gave rise to more reliance on dishes made from pulses, milk and other non-perishable food items. Gatte ki sabji, an authentic dish from Rajasthani cuisines is a delicious curry prepared with gram flour as base ingredients. It tastes best when served with roti or any delicious Indian flatbread, dal and plain rice in lunch. It is not only popular in Rajasthan but also in some other parts of India. It is best enjoyed during winter or rainy days and like most of the Rajasthano dishes it is bit high on spiciness. Rajasthani Gatte ki sabji  is a delicious curry prepared from cooked and spiced gram flour dumplings called gatte dunked into spicy curd and tomato gravy. You can prepare this easy and exotic side dish at home by following the simple step by step recipe mentioned below. Hope you all like it, if yes then try it and comment your suggestions in the comment box below.

INGREDIENTS:

For making Gatte-

1 Cup Besan/ Gram Flour/ Chickpea Flour

¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds/ Jeera

¼ teaspoon Dry Coriander Seeds/ Dhaniya

¼ teaspoon Ajwain/ Carom Seeds

¼ teaspoon Fennel Seeds/ Saunf

¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder/ Haldi

1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder/ Mirchi Powder

1 teaspoon Salt / as needed

1 tablespoon Pure Ghee

1 tablespoon Oil

2-3 tablespoon Curd

2 tablespoon Water for kneading [as needed]

1 litre Water for cooking Gatte

For Curry-

2 big Onions/ Kande

2-3 Tomatoes

¼ cup Curd/ Dahi

3 Green Chillies/ Hirvi Mirchi

½ “Ginger/ Adrak

3-4 Garlic Pods/ Lasoon

2 teaspoon Coriander Powder/ Dhana Powder

¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder/ Haldi

1 teaspoon Kasoori Methi

Salt as needed
3 tablespoon Oil

For Tadka-

2 tablespoon Ghee

Pinch of Asaafoetida/ Hing

¼ teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder

¼ teaspoon Fresh Cumin, roughly ground

¼ teaspoon Saunf, roughly ground

METHOD:

For Making Gatte-

STEP 1 – Add cumin seeds, coriander seeds, ajwain and saunf in a mortar pestle and grind it coarsely.

STEP 2 – In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients for Gatte except water and oil. Add freshly ground spices and mix it well.

STEP 3 – Then add 2 tablespoon water and begin to knead. Knead very well allowing the besan to absorb water. Make a semi stiff dough like puri dough with it.

STEP 4 – Add oil on it and keep it aside for 5 minutes.

STEP 5 – Then mash it again properly and make a semi soft dough. This process helps to mix all ingredients well and make the gatte soft. If there are cracks, then sprinkle 1 teaspoon water and continue kneading and if the dough is sticky then sprinkle some besan flour and knead again.

STEP 6 – Before rolling the dough, heat the water in a wide kadai on medium to high flame.

STEP 7 – Divide the dough in 3-4 equal parts and roll each part to a smooth ball.

STEP 8 – Now use your fingers and roll each ball to form cylindrical roll with it.

STEP 9 – Let increase the flame and  when the water starts boiling, add the gatte roll in it and boil them for 10 minutes or until they comes up on the top with bubbly texture. This is the sign to know whether they are cooked or not.

STEP 10 - Gently remove them on a slotted plate and let them cool.

STEP 9 – Cut them in small pieces of about 1 inch and fry them. Don fry for long, just fry for 1-2 minutes. Gatte ready. Keep them aside.[see notes]

For making Curry/ gravy-

STEP 1 – In a mixer grinder pot, add tomato, cut into big chunks, green chillies, ginger and garlic and make a fine paste with it.

STEP 2 – Chop onion very fine. Dry roast kasoori methi and crush it on your palm. Keep aside.

STEP 3 – In a small bowl, add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, kasoori methi and curd. Whisk it well and keep it aside. This helps to prevent curdling of curd when added in gravy. 

STEP 4 – Now heat a pan with 2-3 tablespoon oil, add chopped onion in it and saute well. Roast it well till light brown in colour.

STEP 5 – Add tomato mixture in it and mix well and cook till rawness disappears. Add salt in it. It will help to remove the moisture faster and make the mixture dry.

STEP 6 – Add curd mixture in and mix well and cook it stirring continuously for 5 minutes. Let the curd mixture come to boil and you will see some oil specks on the top.

STEP 7 – Now add the reserved water in it [see notes] and mix it.

STEP 8 – Once the gravy comes to a boil, then add fried gatte in it, stir it gently and simmer the gravy or curry on a medium low flame, stir at intervals, let this gravy comes to a boil. Approximately for 5-7 minutes or till the gravy thickens slightly. [see notes]

STEP 9 – Finally, add 1 teaspoon garam masala and cook it for 1-2 minutes.

STEP 10 - Switch off the flame. Gatte ki sabzi is ready to serve.

* For making it more rich pour tadka on it.

For making tadka-

STEP 1 – Heat ghee in small tempering pan, add roughly ground saunf, cumin seeds and Kashmiri chilli powder. Swtich off the flame.

STEP 2 – Pour this tadka on gravy before serving.

STEP 3 – Transfer prepared Rajasthani Gatte Ki Sabzi to a serving plate and garnish it with chopped coriander.

Serve it with roti, paratha, phulka or any Indian flat bread in lunch or dinner or you can serve it with steamed rice as a part of meal. It also tastes good when served with Missi Roti.

NOTES: *If you want a onion, garlic free recipe then you can skip using onion and garlic.

                *Frying is totally optional. If you don’t want to fry then not a big deal.

                *Add the water in which we boiled the gate. Add more if needed.

                *Do note that on cooling the gravy thickens more, so adjust the consistency accordingly. Make a medium thick gravy for this.