Gatta Curry or Gatte ki Sabzi is a delicacy from Indian state of Rajasthan. In this curry, gram flour dumplings are boiled, sliced and cooked in spicy and tangy yogurt based gravy. Sometimes, even after careful planning and organization, there are days when you have no vegetables at home, then you can make this delectable gatte ki sabzi with gram flour, yogurt and few aromatic spices!! This irresistible curry can be served in lunch or dinner with roti, rice or dal baati .
Gram flour (Besan ) is gluten free and has more protein than wheat flour. Rich in complex carbohydrates and with a low glycemic index, gram flour is good for diabetics. Gram flour is also a good source of folic acid , and hence it is good to include it in your diet before and during pregnancy. It is also a great source of Magnesium and Phosphorus for maintaining strong bones.
Few tips for making soft gatte:
- Add ghee to gatta dough along with some oil.
- When making dough, it is important to knead it for good 4-5 minutes.
- Don’t add too much water in the dough.
- The surface of the dough should be crack free and smooth.
- The water should be boiling when you put gatte in water. Don’t put them in cold water.
- Don’t throw the water in which you boil gatte, it will used for the gravy.
Course: Main Cuisine: Indian Serves: 2-3
Ingredients:
For Gatte dough :
- Gram Flour : 1 cup
- Salt: according to taste
- Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
- Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp
- Ghee: 1 tbsp
- Oil: 1 tbsp
- Plain yogurt/curd: 3 tbsp
- Cumin seeds: 1/4 tsp
- Carom seeds/ajwain: 1/4 tsp
- Coriander seeds: 1/4 tsp
- Fennel seeds/ Saunf; 1/4 tsp
For Gravy:
- Onions: 2, chopped finely
- Garlic : 3-4 cloves. chopped, finely
- Tomatoes: 2 , chopped roughly
- Tomato puree: 2 tbsp (store bought- optional)
- Green chilli: 2 chopped ( adjust according to your taste)
- Ginger: 1 inch, chopped
- Plain Yogurt/curd: 4 tbsp
- Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
- Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp
- Coriander powder: 1 tsp
- Dried Fenugreek leaves/Kasoori Methi: 1 tsp
- Garam masala: 3/4 tsp
- Chopped fresh coriander: 2-3 tbsp
For Tempering/ Tadka :
- Ghee: 2-3 tbsp
- Hing/Asafoetida powder : 1/4 tsp
- Cumin seeds : 1/4 tsp, lightly crushed
- Fennel Seeds/Saunf : 1/4 tsp, lightly crushed
- Dry red chilli : 1-2 broken
Method:
For Gatte:
- First to make gatte, coarsely crush 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, carom seeds and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle.
- In a bowl, add gram flour, crushed seeds and all the ingredients listed for making gatte.
- Mix them nicely, and make medium soft dough. If required add 1 tbsp of water. The amount of water will depend on how watery your yogurt is ! Don’t add too much water.
- Knead it nicely for 4-5 minutes. Then grease your hands and divide the dough into small balls.
- Roll each ball into medium thick (approximately half inch diameter) cylindrical logs. Keep them aside.
- Boil 3 cups of water in a deep pan. Once the water starts boiling, add the rolls carefully to the water ,one by one. Let them boil for 10-15 minutes on medium flame.
- There will be small white bubbles on gatte surface (check the picture above) and they float on the surface when cooked. Take them out of the water and let them cool down for 5 minutes.
- Save the water in which gatte is boiled as it will be needed for the gravy.
- Once the gatte is cooked , slice them into medium thick rounds.
For the gravy:
- First of all, mix 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp coriander powder and 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves in 4 tbsp of yogurt, mix nicely and keep it aside. Adding spices in yogurt prevents it from splitting when we add yogurt in the gravy.
- Now, make a paste of chopped tomato, ginger and green chilli in a blender. Keep it aside.
- Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a non stick pan or kadhai. Keep the heat to medium and add garlic to it. Fry for 5-10 seconds until it is lightly golden.
- Next , add chopped onion and fry till they are translucent. Once onions start changing color, add 2-3 tbsp of water. It will help onions to turn into a sort of paste.
- After a minute, add tomato, ginger and green chilli paste. Add 1 tsp of salt.
- Add tomato puree after 1 minute.
- When the tomato paste starts to leave oil, add masala dahi slowly and mix it vigorously as it will stop yogurt from splitting.
- We need to cook this mixture properly on medium low flame for 5-6 minutes until the mixture leaves oil.
- Add water in which gatte were boiled. Mix everything nicely.
- Let the water come to boil. Once it starts boiling, add gatte chunks, mix everything and cook on low flame for 5-6 minutes.
- Add garam masala and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well. Check for salt and adjust.
- To add a brilliant flavor to the curry, heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a small pan on medium heat. When hot add asfoetida, crushed cumin and fennel seeds and broken red chilli. When the seeds starts crackling, switch off the flame and add this ghee to the gravy. Cover the pan for few minutes so the gravy absorbs the flavor.
- Serve hot with roti, rice or baati.
- Enjoy!