Gatte ki sabji

I got introduced to Rajasthani food at a very early age of 6. Our upstairs neighbors in Delhi were from Rajasthan and from them I got to taste some spiciest home-cooked Rajasthani food ever. Once we moved to Pune, we lost touch with them and rajasthani food. But recently several rajasthani restaurants and speciality outdoor "villages" like "Chokhi Dhani" and "Sanskriti" have come up around Pune getting us closer to the taste of Rajasthan once again. Now, no trip of ours to Pune is complete without a visit to Sanskriti! And in our last trip to India, we took some extra days off and visited the real Rajasthan!! Starting from Jaipur, we made it via a long train journey to Jaisalmer where we got to taste some real authentic jaisalmeri food straight from the kitchen of an 80 yr old lady!

We avoided touristy places and visited as many "local" restaurants as possible. Daal-bati-churma, Ker Sangri, jaisalmeri chane, Gatte, kadhi, bajre ki roti.. you name it.. we had it all :) Even now as I write this, my mouth starts watering! Take a look at a thali we had there. We visited Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ranakpur and Mt. Abu as well after that. And the only place where the food came close to that thali in Jaisalmer was the Gujarati food we had in the dharamshala of Ranakpur.

One dish I liked the most was Gatte ki Sabji. I have tried making it at home before with varying results ;) . Now, with the deadline for RCI Rajasthan coming close, I made it again.. this time with excellent results!


Here's how I made it..

Ingredients
For Gattas:
1.5 cup besan
1/2 cup fresh methi leaves chopped
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
2-3 tsp oil

For curry:
1 onion chopped fine
2 tomatoes pureed
2-3 green chillis chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
oil for tempering
little milk

Method

Gattas:
1. Mix besan with chilli pwd, garam masala, salt and 1 tsp oil.
2. Knead it well adding little water as necessary.
3. Now divide the dough in 3 equal portions and roll them into cylinders like this

4. Boil some water in a big bowl.
5. Once the water is boiling, put the above cylinders in it and boil them for 15-20 minutes (They will start floating on the top)
6. Take the cylinders out (save the water for later) and cool for sometime
7. Cut them in 1/2 inch pieces.
8. Now heat some oil in a non-stick pan and roast the gattas on both sides

These crunchy gattas could be eaten as is. But we're making a sabji here!

Curry:
1. Heat some oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, put the cumin seeds in it.
2. Once the cumin seeds are roasted, add chopped onions and fry them till they become transparent.
3. Add the tomato puree and green chillies next and roast till oil separates
4. Add the masalas now and some of the water used for boiling gattas.
5. Boil the gravy for 5-10 minutes. Add some milk to make it creamy.
6. Now add the gattas to the gravy and boil for some more time

Gatte ki sabji is ready! Serve with hot parathas


This is my first entry for an RCI event!! I am submitting it to RCI: Rajasthan hosted by Padmaja