This one comes from the stable of Rajasthani cuisine, which offers an array of spicy dishes. This week, go all vegetarian and try gatta curry, a gramflour dumpling cooked in simple onion and tomato gravy with yogurt. Rajasthani dishes are basic minimal in nature and understandably so because the desert State, which offers many challenges, has limited fresh ingredients.
Gatta Curry
Ingredients for lentil nuggets
Chickpea flour - 250 gm
Coriander seed powder - 1 gm
Ghee - 50 gm
Red chilli powder - 1 gm
Cumin seeds - 1 gm
Asafoetida - 1 gm
Curd - 100 gm
Salt - 2 gm
Ingredients for gravy
Curd - 200 gm
Salt - 5 gm
Oil - 30 ml
Red chilli powder - 2 gm
Turmeric powder - 2 gm
Coriander powder - 2 gm
Cumin seeds - 2 gm
Asafoetida - 1 gm
Onion - 60 gm
Ginger garlic paste - 30 gm
Cashew nut paste - 30 gm
Fresh tomato puree - 50 gm
Whole garam masala (Mix of bay leaf, cardamom, cloves and mace) - 2 gm
Method
Mix all the ingredients for nuggets. Make a stiff dough. Make 5-6 thin and long cylinder of the dough. Put these strips in boiling water and cook for five minutes. Cut these gattas into small pieces and deep fry the nuggets till golden brown.
Strain the curd through a strainer. Add salt, red chilly powder, coriander powder and turmeric to the curd. Mix well. Add the gatta pieces. Heat oil in a pan. Put the tempering of jeera, whole garam masala and add the curd mixture. Cook it for 5-7 minutes while stirring continuously till it comes to a boil.
Simmer at low flame and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Turn off the gas and add the fried nuggets and serve.
About the chef
Chef Bhawar’s family traces its ancestry to the retainers of households of the royal family of Jodhpur. Chef Bhawar further honed his skills by getting specialised training in the hotels of ITC and Taj. He skilfully continues the ancient art of the Marwad chefs with modern-day professionalism at Suryagarh, a boutique hotel in Jaisalmer.
