Indian food is just as diverse as its people. No matter where you travel in this magnificent country, every state has unique dishes to tempt your taste buds and please your eye. The recipe I am sharing today is from Rajasthan. It is a desert state of India, located on the northwestern side. I love Rajasthani cuisine for its rustic yet simple and rich flavors. With scarce water resources and lack of vegetation and farming, people here use gram flour, lentils and yogurt to make most of their dishes. Republishing October 2024 with a video on YouTube Channel.
Although Gatte ki sabzi has “sabzi” (vegetable dish) in its title, it does not contain vegetables. It is a dish of bite-size gram flour dumplings (kind of gnocchi) simmered in a moderately spicy yogurt curry. While the gattas are essentially made using gram flour, the base of the curry can always differ. Some people make curry with just yogurt while others tend to use tomatoes and onion. I haven’t used onion in mine but added tomato for a slight tang and also it gives the end dish a bright yellow curry, which I like.
There’s not really too much to say on the process of making this as it’s fairly straightforward. A couple tips though- the dough should not be very soft and gattas should be added to the water only after it starts boiling. Once they start to float on top, it means that they are done. I use a food processor to make the dough. You can hand knead it but I find the dough sticking even if you coat your hands with oil. The food processor makes the whole process much faster and easier. After the boiling process, pan frying the gattas give a nice crispy edge. They can be eaten alone as a snack. In fact, I did gobble up a few pieces while frying them before I could put it in the curry.
Since gram flour also works as a thickening agent in savory dishes, the longer you leave the gattas in the curry the thicker it becomes so if you make this dish in advance its best to have a runny consistency for the yogurt curry. I’d really urge you to give this dish a try, the gattas are melt in mouth soft and the curry is finger licking good, giving you an experience close to heaven.
This is best served with roti, however I have also seen people enjoying this with rice, the choice is yours! I do hope you’ll give it a try, it’s really worth a go.
Dinner last night
A typical rajasthani preparation of gram flour dumplings in yogurt curry.
Ingredients
- 100 g Gram flour / besan
- 2 tbsp.(+) greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp. melted butter or ghee
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ajwain
- 1/2 tsp coarsely ground coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp dry fenugreek leaves
- 1 cup (245 g) plain greek yogurt
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/3-1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 dry red chili
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (95 g) tomato, pureed
- 2 tsp roasted besan ( optional)
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste (optional)
- 2 tbsp oil
Instructions
- Combine the besan and all the ingredients under gattas in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment.
- Put the lid on the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
- Then process for 30-60 seconds until the dough comes together (Do not add water).
- Remove the dough from the food processor on a cutting board lined with plastic wrap.
- Heat up water in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Oil your palms and divide the dough into 4-5 portions, roll each portion into thin cylindrical shape not any wider than the width of your finger as they tend to expand once cooked.
- Steep the gattas gently in the boiling water (a few at a time if making more) and cook them for 10mins.
- They will start to float once they are nearly done. Remove and set aside to cool slightly. Don’t discard the water you can use the water to make the curry.
- Cut the gattas into small pieces.
- In a non-stick pan add 2 tbsp oil. Fry the gattas until slighlty crispy on edges.
- To make curry, add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and roasted besan (gram flour) to yogurt and mix it well till smooth.
- Heat oil ( use the leftover from frying gattas) in a pan. Add bay leaf and dry red chili, followed by cumin and fennel seeds, and let them splutter.
- Add ginger garlic paste. Cook for a minute or until it turns golden brown. Add pureed tomato and fry till it is all pulpy, and cooked.
- Now add the whisked yogurt with spices. Cook it for 5 minutes while stirring continuously till it comes to a boil.
- Now add salt, and the reserved water (about one cup). You can add more later if it seems thick.
- Once the curry starts to boil, add the gattas, and cook for the next 5 minutes.
- Transfer the curry to a serving dish and garnish with chopped cilantro.
- Serve hot with flatbread or rice as you prefer.
Angie@Angie's Recipes
They look just like gnocchi, but made with chickpea flour. Love that curry gravy!
sheenam | thetwincookingproject.net
Looks yummmm 😀
Dolly
Lovely recipe, dear Bal! Made with chickpea flower, it also delivers protein, instead of carb-packed gnocci, and the curry makes it amazing. Thank you for sharing!
Corina Blum
I’ve never seen this recipe before but it look so good! I love the sound of those dumpllngs made with chickpea flour – I’m sure I’d be eating a few before they made it into the curry too! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
amrita
A very good side dish to pair with any Indian breads or rice
Monika Dabrowski
A curry recipe with dumplings – can I call them dumplings? – is right up my street. Sounds lovely! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare!
Blackswan
Something new to me, but it looks really good, dear! xoxo
Emma - Bake Then Eat
This dish looks and sounds amazing, super delicious.
Natalia20041989
Simply amazing, I love those flavours☺☺
Lisa F
This looks so delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!! Have a great day 🙂
Lisa
A Mermaid’s Crafts
Renu
One of my favourite recipes of all times. Sadly not made since long, Looks very tempting. I make it 2 ways one without tomato and one with. I like the way you have made it, simple and delicious.
Maria
The curry looks so creamy delicious – somewhat like the Punjabi Kadhi we make with pakoras. I love the addition of gattas to it and the idea of making them using the food processor.
Judee
What an amazing recipe. I love the idea of the little dumplings and of course they are gluten-free – yay.. The weather is becoming chilly so I’m welcoming warming foods.
2pots2cook
Love your chickpea flour gattas. We usually make flat bread using it so I believe this will be nice and tasty week dinner for us. Thank you.
Pattie
What a fabulous color! I love curry of all kinds, and this is making my mouth water. There are a couple of ingredients with which I’m unfamiliar, so I’m going to investigate. This strikes me as something I would really enjoy during the colder months.