Gatte Ka Pulao: Here’s How You Can Make This Marwadi Specialty At Home

Rajasthani food is known to be hot and spicy. Their flavourful palate has given us a plethora of dishes, be it the fiery laal maas or white jungli maas or the crispy pyaaz kachori and mirchi bada. The desert area may seem to be really hot, which it definitely is, but that doesn’t stop the locals from devouring their favourite crispy and hot bites all throughout the year. While some dishes are known for their rustic flavour, some others have a deep-rooted history attached them. Take dal baati churma for instance. While the baati was the precursor of the dish, meant to feed the soldiers during war, the dal and churma were added at later stages over the course of time. Together, these three elements combined to form one of the most quintessential Rajasthani dishes. 

Another popular recipe from their fare is gatte ki subzi. Gatte, for those untouched by the phenomenon, are thick, roundels of gram flour that are thrown in a curd-based curry. The gram flour aka besan dumplings are quite commonly eaten in Rajasthani culture. However, we have discovered another way to including gatte in your meal. This Gatte ka Pulao is a great way to make wholesome meal with the dumplings. Blogger @365kitchentales shares this amazing Marwadi specialty with us and we can’t wait to try it. 

Here’s the full recipe. 

Gatte Ka Pulao 

Ingredients

For Gatte

• 3/4 cup besan
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1/3 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp jeera powder
• 1/4 tsp ajwain
• 1/4 tsp haldi powder
• Salt to taste
• Warm water to knead dough

Method 

1. Add spices and ghee to besan.
2. Rub ghee nicely in besan to make a moyan. If the moyan is less, gatte will be hard.
3. Add little warm water to knead a soft dough. If the dough is hard and cracks, gatte will be hard too.
4. Add water very slowly and little. It will be sticky in the start but will come together nicely in no time.
5. Make thin cylinders of the dough and cut small rounds.
6. Heat about 3-4 tbsp ghee in kadhai and when it’s warm, shallow fry the gatte in it.
7. Note - Do not touch / flip the gatte as soon as you put in ghee else they will all stick to the bottom of kadhai. Wait for a minute and then flip and turn.
8. Fry them in medium heat till they are light golden-brown.
9. Take them out in a plate.
10. You can freeze then at this point and use any time later too.

For Rice 

• 1 cup washed and soaked rice
• 2.5 cups water
• 1 onion sliced
• 1/2 tomato diced
• 1/4 cup frozen or fresh peas
• 1/4 cup dahi
• Spices - red chilli powder, haldi, dhaniya, salt according to taste
• 1 green chilli
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• 3 tbsp ghee

Method 

1. Crackle jeera in the same ghee which was used to fry gatte.
2. Sauté onions, green chilli and ginger.
3. In dahi, add all the spices and add this to the onions.
4. Stir for 2-3 mins and cook till dahi is cooked nicely (for 4-5 mins)
5. Add water to the onions. It should be double and half cup more than rice.
6. When the water boils, add tomatoes, peas and soaked rice. 
7. Mix gently and cover to cook till rice is soft and water is absorbed. Serve hot, garnished with fresh coriander and with some papad.

Source: Slurrpapp/Instagram