Gatte Ki Sabzi
Gatte Ki Sabzi is a Rajasthani delicacy made with boiled Besan or Gram Flour dumplings cooked in a curd based gravy. This is one of the most popular and rustic dishes served in Rajasthan in every household and every Rajasthani Thali including the Royal food. It is a staple both in Mewar and Marwar regions of Rajasthan.
In contrary to the name of the dish which suggests sabzi (translating to a veggie), this dish does not have any vegetables, but the besan dumplings known as Gatte are considered as Sabzi. In olden days, especially during summers, when veggies were sparsely available in Rajasthan, dishes like these were some of the indigenous and healthy inventions which were truly a blessing in disguise.
Gatte ki sabzi is made with minimal ingredients which are readily available at home – Besan, Curd, Ghee and the most basic spices. Despite the use of such simple ingredients, this is such a delectable dish. This dish is a perfect savior when you run out of veggies and want to make a quick and easy sabzi for the meal.
Having spent most of my childhood in Rajasthan, this dish is quite near to my heart. Strangely, I have had a strong aversion to curd since my childhood and no matter how hard my family members have tried to feed me curd, I have shown strong resistance. To date, I am still the same! However there are a few exceptions where I don’t mind consuming curd when it is totally disguised. This Gatte ki sabzi is one such exception which I truly relish.
For making Gatte ki sabzi, the first and foremost step is the preparation of Gatte which are Besan dumplings that are boiled in water. The dough for gatte is quite simple which needs basic ingredients like besan, turmeric powder, chilli powder, ajwain or carom seeds, cumin, curd, ghee and oil. The dough must be medium stiff which is then rolled into cylinder shaped dumplings and cooked in boiling water. These are then cut into discs and then cooked further in the gravy. Most important part here is to get soft Gatte.
The gravy for this dish is quite rustic and again makes use of basic spices like turmeric, chilli and dhaniya powder. All these spices are mixed into curd which forms the base for this gravy. This dish is traditionally cooked in desi ghee which is what makes it super delicious. Finely chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies are sauteed till they are golden brown. Then the curd mixture is cooked in the gravy along with Gatte. It is finished with Kasuri methi, Garam Masala and fresh coriander.
Most of the Marwari dishes are finished with a double ghee tadka and this dish is no exception. You could skip this, however I strongly recommend for added flavours and taste.
Though this is a simple and easy gravy involving minimal ingredients, technique and precision is important to turn this into a perfect dish. One of the most common issues faced by many while making this dish is that the Gatte turn hard. Gatte or the besan dumplings must be soft in texture for a good curry. The second issue is with the curd getting split while cooking the gravy. If you follow the below tips, you would never go wrong!
- While kneading the dough for gatta, make sure that the gram flour or besan is sieved. It makes the flour light and free of any lumps.
- Use roughly 3 tablespoons of curd for 1 cup of besan while kneading the dough. You would require only 2 tablespoons of water for the dough.
- Adding 1 tablespoon of ghee in addition of 3 teaspoons of oil while kneading the dough makes the Gatte soft.
- A pinch of baking soda is used for extra lightness.
- Stretch and knead the dough for 4 to 5 minutes till it glossy and smooth.
- Never drop all the gatte at once while boiling, as it would lower the temperature of the water.
- Add a small amount of besan in the curd mixture for gravy, and this would prevent it from curdling.
Serving Suggestion
Gatte ki sabzi is best served with phulka, paratha or any other roti like missi roti. Gatte ki sabzi also tastes great with plain steamed rice.
Gatte Ki Sabzi
Ingredients
For Gatte
- 1 cup Besan or Gram Flour
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1 tsp Ajwain or Carom Seeds
- 1 tsp Jeera or Cumin Seeds
- 3 tbsp Curd
- Baking Soda a pinch
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- 3 tsp Oil
- 2 tbsp Water
- Salt to taste
For Gravy
- 1 cup Curd
- 3 tbsp Ghee
- 1½ tsp Jeera or Cumin Seeds
- 1 large sized Onion finely chopped
- 5 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 1 inch Ginger finely chopped
- 1 Green Chilli finely chopped
- ⅛ tsp Asafoetida
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1½ tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 2 tsp Dhaniya or Coriander Powder
- 2 tsp Besan
- 2 tsp Kasuri Methi
- ½ tsp Garam Masala
- Fresh Chopped Coriander for garnishing
For Double Tadka
- 1-2 tbsp Ghee
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- ⅛ tsp Asafoetida
Instructions
- Take 1 cup of Besan and sieve to make it light and get rid of any lumps
- To the besan, add ½ turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder and salt to taste
- Crush 1 tsp of Ajwain and 1 tsp Jeera between your palm and add to besan
- Add 3 tablespoons of curd, 1 tablespoon of ghee, a pinch of baking soda and 3 teaspoon of oil
- Mix the besan well without adding any water in the initial stage. Curd, oil and ghee must be incorporated into the besan thoroughly. It should come together as a very stiff dough.
- Now add 1 tablespoon of water and knead well. You could add one more 1 tablespoon of water as required. The dough should be medium stiff.
- Stretch and knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes.
- The dough should finally look glossy like this.
- Divide this dough in 4 equal portions.
- Roll each of the ball on a flat surface to shape them into cylinders. It should be roughly ¾ to 1 inch in thickness
- For cooking gatte, take a kadai and heat 3 cups of water till it comes to a rolling boil. Now add the gatte one by one. Do not drop all of Gatte at once as it would drop the temperature of the water.
- Continue cooking on high flame for roughly 10 minutes or till the Gatte starts floating on top and blisters appear on the surface.
- Now drain the gatte from water. Reserve the stock which will be used in the gravy. Cool the gatte completely.
- Cut the Gatte into discs (not too thin, roughly ½ inch in thickness)
- For making the base of the gravy, take 1 cup of fresh curd and add ½ tsp of Turmeric Powder, 1½ tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder, 2 tsp Dhaniya Powder, 2 tsp Besan, salt to taste and whisk well till it comes to a smooth paste.
- Head a kadai and add 3 tablespoons of ghee. Add 1½ teaspoon of Jeera, followed by asafoetida. Next add finely chopped onion.
- Add a pinch of salt and cook on medium flame till the onion is golden brown in colour. Next add finely chopped garlic, ginger and green chillies. Sauté for couple of minutes.
- Now turn the flame to medium and add the curd mixture to kadai.
- Make sure to continuously stir the curd mixture to avoid splitting of the curd.
- Once the curd is cooked and thickened a bit, add the reserved stock.
- Bring to boil and add 2 tsp Kasuri Methi
- Add another 1 cup of water or reserved stock to adjust the consistency of the gravy.
- Once the gravy comes to a boil again, add the chopped Gatte.
- Cover and cook on medium flame for 5 to 6 minutes.
- Ghee should start floating on top once the gravy is ready.
- Add ½ tsp of Garam Masala and garnish with fresh chopped coriander.
- For making double tadka, heat 1-2 tbsp of Ghee and keeping the flame low, add Kashmiri Red chilli powder and asafoetida. Add a dash of water and bring to boil.
- Pour the tadka over the sabzi and garnish with some more coriander.
- Gatte ki sabzi is ready. Serve hot with phulka, roti or rice.
Video
Notes
- Sieving the besan makes it light and free of lumps
- Adding curd and ghee to the gatte dough makes the gatte soft. Make sure to use minimal water for the dough (1 or 2 tablespoon should suffice)
- Stretch and knead the dough well.
- Gatte must be boiled in really hot water. So make sure that the water is on rolling boil and also drop the gatte one by one to avoid drop of temperature of water.
- Make sure to make the gravy using Ghee as compared to oil as it is really flavourful when cooked with Ghee
- Adding little besan to the curd mixture prevents the splitting of curd.
- Double tadka is optional but makes it extra delicious.
