Gatta Galore: Gatte ka Pulao and Gatte ka Subji

 Gatte ka Pulao (Fried Chickpea Flour Dumplings in Pilaf) and Gatte ka Subji (Chickpea Flour Dumplings in Yogurt Gravy)

I had to clean my fridge yesterday; declutter ingredients thrown in and long forgotten about. I delved in and found a besan (chickpea flour) packet. We are moving soon out of F'ville and I had to finish this packet before I start to pack.  Thinking of pakodas made me gag (thinking of all the oil involved, of course) and dhokla would make my throat dry. So I thought, gatta was the perfect way to use up the packet. Avi and myself fell in love with gattas. They are loved by all non-vegetarians too, as they have a texture of meat when you cook them. So here are the recipes, straight from the lovely state of Rajasthan, India.

Both these recipes goes to MLLA-21 hosted by Mirch Masala and is a brain child of Susan.

How to make Gattas

 

Ingredients:-

1 cup of besan

1/4 cup of curds

1/3 cup of oil

1 tsp of ajwain

1 tsp roasted cumin powder

1 tsp of kasoori mathi

1 tsp of red chilli powder

salt to taste

Method:-

Bring 4 cups of water in a pan to boil. In the mean while, do the below.

Mix all of the above ingredients to make a tight dough.

You can sprinkle some water incase the dough is a little dry and get the crumbles together.

Let it rest for 15 mins and divide this dough into 6 equal portions.

Roll each portions into a thin cylinder of 1/2 an inch diameter. These are called gattas.

Add these gattas into the boiling water and boil them for 10-15mins. The gattas should be floating on water in sometime.

Fish out these gattas with a slotted spoon and keep aside on a kitchen tissue.

Gatte ka Pulao:

I love cooking rice in a variety of ways. But this Tefal pan does make a fabulous cooker. You don't actually need a pressure cooker to cook rice. Like olden days, all you need is a heavy bottom pan with a tight lid and a small hole in the lid. Can it get any better and easier? I hate the pressure cooker's whistles that used to scare my room mates in Leeds and the long wait to open the cooker lid safely (until the pressure abates)!!! I love cooking the traditional way with my fav Tefal heavy bottom pan.

Ingredients:-
3-4 chopped gattas
1 cup of mixed chopped veggies like carrot,peas and green beans (optional, but I add for additional nutrition)
2 cups of washed basmati rice
2 tsp of shah jeera/caraway seeds
1 onion sliced finely
1 tbl spn of ginger-garlic paste (fresh)
4 green chillies
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of garam masala
2 javithri/mace
1 inch of cinnamon
1 star anise
3 cloves
3black  peppercorns
2 tbl spns of mint leaves
chopped coriander leaves to garnish
2 tbl spns of olive oil/ghee
salt to taste

Oil to deep fry the chopped gattas.

Method:-
In the heavy bottom pan, add oil/ghee.
Add the shah jeera, cinnamon, cloves, star anise.
Add green chillies and ginger-garlic paste. Fry well for 1/2 a min.
Add onions and mint leaves. Fry till onions get transparent.
Add vegetables, turmeric powder,garam masala aand salt.
Fry well for 10 mins.
Add the washed basmati rice into the pan and stir for about 5 mins.
Add 3 to 3 1/2 glasses water (if you want it a little softer for kids, add the extra 1/2 glass) and close the lid. Keep the flame at medium-high. (say at 7 in a scale of 10)
Keep a look at the rice every 5 mins. The water will start to boil.
Once the water has evaporated (you should be able to see through the lid). Reduce the flame to medium low (4 out of 10) and cook for another 10 mins.
Take it off the heat and open the lid. Let it cool for 15 mins.
Mean while deep fry the chopped gattas to golden brown and keep aside.
Mix the gattas with the rice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot.

 

Gatte ka Subji:-

 

Ingredients:-

3 chopped gattas

1 medium sized onion chopped finely

1 green chilli

2 large tomatoes chopped finely

1 tsp of red chilli powder (According to taste)

1/2 tsp of garam masala

1/2 tsp of jeera/cumin seeds

1/2 tsp of coriander powder

3 tbl spns of curds/yogurt

2 tbl spns of oil

1/2 cup of water.

chopped coriander leaves to garnish

salt to taste

Method:-

Heat the oil in a pan. Add jeera and let it start to sizzle.

Add the ginger-garlic paste, green chilli and onions. Fry till the onions get transparent.

Add the tomatoes and the rest of the powders/masalas.

Fry well until the tomatoes are well cooked.

Add water and let it come to a boil. Cook till you get the desired consistency.

Add the curds/yogurt and the gattas and cook in simmer for 10 mins with lid closed.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis.