One of the regional delights that shines bright in the culinary landscape of Rajasthan is gatte ki sabzi. Prepared with besan, curd, and local spices, this curry is sumptuous and leaves taste buds tantalised. If you are a foodie looking to explore the food of the hottest Indian state, you should start with this gravy and relish other dishes like dal bati churma, kadhi, ker sangri, bajre ki khichdi, and more.
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To prepare gatte ki sbzi is slightly tricky because you have to prepare gatte at home. Instead of paneer, meat, vegetables, tofu, and eggs, you need to prepare gram-flour-based gatte to perfection to go with slightly tangy, creamy, and mildly spicy gravy. Here are some do’s and don’ts that can help you make this Rajasthani delicacy at home.
Use Fresh Ingredients
Begin with preparing gatte using fresh besan, chopped green chillies, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, a pinch of asafoetida, mustard oil, salt to taste, and chopped coriander leaves. These ingredients enhance the flavour of gatte. If you miss out on spices, gatte will taste blend despite being cooked in a flavourful gravy.
Avoid Ginger And Garlic
The best thing about preparing gatte is you can store them in the refrigerator. However, if you add onion and garlic to the dough, the shelf life decreases. If you steam and shallow fry gatte without these ingredients, you can refrigerate them for a month and prepare gatte ki sabzi in a jiffy at home.
Knead A Soft Dough
The dough for gatte should be soft. It should not be rough. A trick you can try is to grease your palms with olive or mustard oil during the final kneading phase. Apply the same technique, when you divide the dough, after resting it for 15-20 minutes, into small parts. Roll them gently and ensure the cylinders are uniform in size to promote even cooking.
Don’t Add Too Much Water
Just like you prepare the dough for roti and puri, similar should be your approach for gatte. If you add too much water, the rolling will not happen as precisely as it has to and the dough will start disintegrating during the steaming process. Add splashes of water gradually while kneading to avoid overusage.
Steam To Perfection
Once you have rolled the dough into cylinders, add them to boiling water. Do not add to cold water because the dough will start sticking to the surface. The easiest way to know if gatte are done is to observe if the surface has blisters on it. Keep the cylinders aside to cool off for 10 minutes and cut them into discs. Save some boiling water to use a broth in the gravy. You can also shallow fry gatte before cooking with the gravy or store them in an airtight jar for future use.
Don’t Rush To Add Yoghurt
To prepare the gravy for gatte, you can either prepare the gravy with tomato-onion or yoghurt. Traditionally, the recipe has origins in the Marwar region where people avoid cooking gravy with onion and garlic base to prolong the shelf life. First, cook tomato puree with green chillies and ginger paste, then pour the yoghurt mixed with spices into the pan. Keep stirring until the oil separates.
Season The Curry
Along with gatte, the curry should be seasoned well so that the recipe comes out well. Once the oil separates in the gravy, add water and gatte to it. They will soften and absorb the flavours of the spices. In the end, temper the gravy with mustard seeds, red chillies, cumin seeds, and a pinch of asafoetida. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with tandoori roti, missi roti, and steamed rice.