Besan Ke Gatte (Gram flour dumplings in yogurt sauce)

This is a personal favorite and was a big hit at a recent lunch that I had for some girl friends. This dish originates from Rajasthan in India and has many variations. Rajasthan is a land of royal palaces and sand dunes. Hot days and cold nights, with a rich vibrant history and fabulous food!

For those of you who are familiar with making gnocchi, the first half of the recipe uses the same method of broiling the dumplings in boiling water.

Ingredients:
For the Gatte:
Besan (Gram Flour)      - 1Cup
Oil                                - 1tbsp
Baking powder             - 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
Water to make dough

Sauce:
Besan                     - 1 tbsp
Yogurt                   - 1 Cup
Oil                         - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder   - 1tsp
Corriander powder - 1tsp
Cumin powder       - 1tsp
Red Chilli powder  -1tsp (optional)
Curry leaves          - 10 leaves
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Tomato paste         - 1 tbsp
Chopped Cilantro to garnish - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Gatte:
Mix the gram flour, baking powder, oil and salt together. Add water to make a stiff but pliable dough. Divide the dough into four equal parts and make sausage like cylinders out of each of these. Use a drop of oil on your hands while rolling if the dough sticks to your hands.

Seperately, fill a deep pan half with water, and bring to a boil. Add the cylinders of gram flour into the water gently and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes on a medium flame. The cooked Gatte will float on top, remove them gently with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. When cool, chop the gatte into small pieces.

Sauce:
Heat oil in a pan. Add curry leaves, turmeric powder, cumin powder, salt, chili powder, ginger garlic paste and stir fry for a minute. Add tomato paste and cook for another couple of minutes. Whisk the yogurt and gram flour together, add water if you like the sauce thin. Pour this into the pan and keep stirring this until it starts to boil.

Add the gatte into the sauce and simmer coverd over a low flame for about ten minutes. You can adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding more water if the sauce is too thick for your liking. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.

This recipe is served with steamed rice or any indian bread like puris, naan, chapati etc. Enjoy :-))