Gatta-Nu-Shaak

I came across this delicacy for the first time at a family get together. There is a very popular, Gujarati snacks restaurant - Swati in Mumbai at Tardeo. Gatta-nu-shaak or gatte ki sabzi with satpadi roti is one of their most popular dishes! This delicacy is made up of besan rolls (gatta) in a curd gravy.

Ingredients:

For gattas -
2 cups gram flour (besan)
3-4 tbsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp dhania powder
1/2-1 tbsp turmeric powder (haldi)
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil - preferably peanut oil

For the gravy -
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter?)
A few cumin (jeera) seeds
2 cups curd/yogurt
3-4 tbsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp dhania powder
1 tbsp jeera powder
1/2-1 tbsp turmeric powder (haldi)
dried chili if available
fresh coriander (green dhania)
Salt to taste

To make gattas:
Before kneeding the dough, take a heavy bottomed pan and leave water to boil.
1) Take besan, oil, red chilli powder, dhania powder, haldi, and salt in a bowl.
2) Use a little bit of water to kneed dough.
3) The dough should be slightly stiff. If it is too stiff, the besan will take longer to cook and if it is too soft, the besan might be soggy later.
4) Roll the dough in round elongated pieces - shape them like spring rolls
5) Add these rolls to boiling water and boil for about 5-7 minutes. Actually, boil till the rolls rise up to the surface and show some bubbling. To test if they are cooked, take one roll out and cut a tiny peice. If this peice is more dark colored from within than light yellow color then if it not done! The idea is to boil these rolls so that they dont feel "kaccha" in the dish.
6) Once the rolls are cooked, place them on a dish and cut them into tiny round pieces.
7) Make sure to set aside the remaining water for the gravy!

To make the gravy:

1) Take a pan, add ghee and jeera seeds and heat the mixture till the seeds are brown.
2)Add the rest of the ingredients including the curd and stir for half a minute.
3)Now add the gattas and the remaining water from boiling the gattas to this mixture.
4) Bring to a boil
5) Cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the gravy has reached the desired consistency (a nice thick consistency is best)
6) Add fresh coriander to garnish and serve hot with rotis or rice!

Important note: Make sure you use ghee and not oil in the gravy because a great part of the taste in the shaak comes from it! If you want to make a punjabish version you can add garlic and garam masala, but I think the gujju essence comes from not adding these.

Variations:
Some people like to add methi leaves to the gatta dough.
You can also add tomatoes or onions to the gravy if desired.

Published in the Garvi Gujarat category.