Vegetarian Dishes
Gatte ki sabzi
On November 8, 2011 by Meghalee DasI must admit I had never even heard of this dish until a month ago, when a friend cooked it for a party. After he told me how to make it, I realised it is somewhat similar to a Bengali dish called Dhokar Dalna but in this case we have a curd-based gravy. ‘Gatte’ means lentil cubes made from a gram flour dough which is boiled and then cut into small pieces. The dish has no vegetables but uses only spices, curd and a bit of garlic and ginger. Gatte ki sabzi is one of the most popular dishes of the state of Rajasthan and its ingredients make it different from the usual curries that we eat.
Prep time: 30 min Cooking time: 40 min Serves 4
For gatta:
Ingredients:
Besan/gram flour: 1 cup
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Chilli powder: ½ tsp
Garam masala: ½ tsp
Crushed Ajwain/Carom seeds: ½ tsp
Crushed Fennel seeds: ½ tsp
Salt: ½ tsp
Minced ginger: ½ tsp
Minced garlic: ½ tsp
Ghee: 1 tbsp
Curd: 3 tbsp
Method:
1) Mix all the ingredients mentioned above and make a dough. Apply a little oil on your palms as the dough will be sticky.
2) Divide the dough into four portions and roll each of them with your palms and shape them like thin sausages, about the width of your thumb.
3) Gently dip them in boiling water. They will sink to the bottom of the saucepan and after 5 minutes they should rise to the top.
4) Remove them and let them cool for 5 minutes. Do not discard the water as you can use it for the gravy.
5) Cut the besan “sausages” into small pieces, about 1/3rd inch long. Keep aside.
For gravy:
Ingredients:
Curd: 1 cup
Chilli powder: ½ tsp
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Crushed fennel seeds: ½ tsp
Garam masala: ½ tsp
Coriander powder: 2 tsp
Besan: 2 tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Chopped green chillies: ½ tsp
Mint chutney (optional): ½ tsp
Method:
Mix all ingredients mentioned above with the curd and keep aside.
For Curry:
Ingredients:
Oil: 3 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Cloves: 2
Chopped ginger: ½ tsp
Chopped garlic: ½ tsp
Chopped green chillies: ½ tsp
Chopped tomatoes: 1 medium
Chilli powder: ½ tsp
Butter (optional): 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:
1) Heat oil and add cumin seeds and cloves. When they start to splutter, add garlic, ginger, chillies and chilli powder.
2) Add the diced gattas and pan fry them for 5 minutes or till they are slightly brown,
3) Add the chopped tomatoes and salt and fry for another 5 minutes.
4) Stir in the prepared curd gravy on low heat and add 1-2 cups of the water where you had boiled the besan sausages.
5) Let it simmer for 10 minutes in a covered pan on medium heat.
When the gravy thickens, you can add a little butter or desi ghee. This is an optional step but I found that it smells and tastes great with a little butter.
6) Remove the lid and increase the heat to medium high. Let the gravy reduce according to your choice, dry for serving with rotis and runny for rice.
7) Sprinkle chopped dhaniya leaves and serve hot.
