Gatte Ka Pulao

For the letter 'G; in this series of cooking with alphabets, my first choice was garlic bread, garlic knots or some thing to do with garlic and I even wanted to bake ginger cookies. But then baking with a 19 month old, who is running around all the time and always wants to open the oven door when something is getting baked, I knew none of this would ever work out.

Then my 'bank' came to my rescue. Yes, my drafts has a lot of recipes and then when I saw this one I knew I could pass off making one dish and it was surely a relief!

Gatte ka Pulao is a rice preparation from the 'Land of Kings'- Rajasthan. Besan / Bengal gram flour is extensively used in the Rajastani cuisine .Since it is an arid region, vegetables are not available and lentil / flour based dumplings are used in different dishes.This pulao is usually served on festive days.

This is one of those recipes that I made after I prepared the Royal Rajastani Thali.I had some gatte left over after I made the Gatte ki Khadi. I had some chopped gatte in the fridge and I remembered having this pulao long time back in Jaipur when we went on a college tour to some places in North India. That was my first hand exposure to authentic North Indian cuisine.

I can still remember the Pav Bhaji that we ate on the way to the the Lake Palace . It was dripping with butter and we ate like there was no tomorrow! Then in one of the dhabas on the way to Jaipur, it was this Gatte ka pulao that another group had ordered. I had never seen it before.We too ordered that and we loved it. After the trip, I pretty much forgot about this pulao until I made the gatte for the khadi.

I made this pulao with the left over gatte.I thought my folks would not like it much as the taste was very different to their liking but I was mistaken. The picky eater loved it so much she wanted a second helping. Lil due loved to chew on the fried gatte.MIL liked it too and said it was very different from the other pulaos I prepare and hubby was happy to eat another new dish. I guess I had totally miscalculated their reactions! Finally when I sat to have my dinner I noticed that I just had a couple of spoonfuls left!

I will be making this in future too when I need something different or when I run out of vegetables....

G - Gatte Ka Pulao
Theme - Regional / Rajastani cuisine

I used:

For the Gatte

Besan - 1/2 cup
Curd- 2 tablespoons
Carom seeds- 1/8 teaspoon
Chilli powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Oil- 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

Combine all the ingredients[except the oil to deep fry] in a bowl and mix well to combine.
Add a little water and knead to a firm dough.
Divide this into 3 portions and shape into cylindrical logs[about the size of your finger]
Boil plenty of water in a pan and drop the logs into the pan.
Cook for around 10 minutes and remove with a slotted spatula.[The gatte will float on top]
Cool and cut into small dumplings.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the gatte till brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

For the Pulao

Steamed rice- 1 1/2 cups

Onion-1, thinly sliced

Cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon

Cinnamon - 1 " stick

Cardamom-2 pods

Cloves- 2

Pav bhaji masala- 1 teaspoon

Chilli powder- 1/2 teaspoon

Kasuri methi - 1 teaspoon, lightly crushed between your palm.

Ginger garlic paste- 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Oil-1 tablespoon

Coriander leaves to garnish

Heat oil in a pan and the cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon.
When the cumin crackles, put in the ginger garllic paste and saute for a minute.
Add the onion and saute till translucent.
Then in goes the chilli powder, Pan bhaji masala, salt.
Mix well and cook for a few minutes. If the mixture is too dry, sprinkle a little water so that the masalas don't burn.
Add the rice and mix well so that the masala coats the rice well.
Then put in the gatte and lower the flame.Cover and cook for a few minutes for the flavors to blend.
Finally add the kasuri methi, mix and remove from heat.

Serve garnished with coriander leaves with a raita and crisps on the side....