Born to parents rooted in Punjab, it wasn’t until I got married in a Marwari family that I laid my eyes on a gatta curry, or for that matter, entered the kitchen. One day when my mother-in-law prepared this dish, she assigned me the task of serving it to everyone. She was aghast at the sight of the dish. She had topped the curry with the tadka (a tempering of dollops of hot ghee mixed with red chilli powder) and I had ruined it by thoroughly mixing it till one couldn’t see a speck of it :). The visibility of the tadka is the gauge of the richness of the Marwari cuisine and of the hospitality towards a guest. In a nutshell, I learnt one thing that day… do not mess with the tadka or the…. 😉
Pour 4 cups of water in a deep pan and keep it for boiling. Meanwhile, take all ingredients for gatte and knead them into a tight dough. Take small portions of the dough and roll out about 1.5 cm diameter rolls. Drop them in boiling water. Boil on low medium heat for 45 minutes. Remove and cut in 7-8 mm pieces. Keep aside. Do not discard the water in which they were boiled.
Blend curd and besan in a mixer. In a hot pan, add ghee, then cloves and peppercorns and saute for a few seconds. Add the blended mixture and keep stirring till it reaches a boil. Then add the remaining ingredients, including the tomato puree. (Save the garam masala for the tadka).
Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the gatte pieces and the water left over from boiling the gatte. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Garnish with coriander and tadka made from spluttering cumin, red chilli powder, and garam masala in ghee. Let the tadka be visible as a garnish. Serve hot with rice or roti. Add some water if it’s too thick.
Refrigerate leftovers
