Breakfast is undoubtedly the most important meal of the day, and most of us choose to cook up quick and easy recipes for this meal which are also filling and nutritious. And if you want to tick all of these essential breakfast check boxes, then this steamed Pundi Gatti recipe from Karnataka should definitely be a part of your kitty.
For those who don’t know, Pundi Gatti is a dish of round-shaped rice flour dumplings originating in the Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka. Today, dishes belonging to this region are also included in what is popularly known as Mangalorean cuisine. In Udupi, that centre of Mangalorean cuisine, Pundi Gatti is simply known as Pundi, and is eaten as a nutritious and filling breakfast dish.
But those aren’t the only names Pundi Gatti is known by. In Kannada, Pundi Gatti is also known as Undi, Akki Tari and Kadubu. A close relative of this dish is prepared in the states of Tamil Nadu, where it is known as Khara Kozhukattai, and in Andhra Pradesh, where it is called Undrallu or Kudumullu. The concept behind Pundi Gatti is simple. Rice flour is blended with coconut to create white-coloured round or oblong dumplings which are first steamed and then lightly tossed in a tempering.
Video credit: YouTube/Hebbar's Kitchen
Traditionally, Pundi Gatti was prepared by soaking rice overnight, then grinding it into a thick paste. This rice paste was then steamed with grated coconut, after which the rice dough was shaped into balls. Many people also shape the dough like doughnuts. These balls were then tempered with ingredients like dry red chillies, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves.
With the easy availability of rice flour these days, Pundi Gatti doesn’t take as much time to cook up now. Here’s the Pundi Gatti recipe for you to try out.
Ingredients:
2 cups rice flour
4 cups water
¾ cup coconut, grated
Salt, to taste
For the tempering:
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp chana dal
½ tsp urad dal
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 dry red chillies
2 sprig curry leaves
Method:
1. Heat the coconut oil in a wok.
2. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal, urad dal and dry red chillies.
3. Let them splutter, then add the curry leaves.
4. Once the tempering stops spluttering, add the water.
5. Let the water come to a boil, then add the rice flour and coconut.
6. Mix well quickly, add salt and let the ingredients simmer for a few minutes.
7. Once the water has evaporated, let the mix cool down.
8. Knead the rice flour dough a bit, then shape the entire dough into equal-shaped rice dumplings.
9. Place the dumplings in a steamer and steam for 10 minutes.
10. Serve the Pundi Gatti dumplings hot with coconut chutney and tomato chutney.