BESAN KI TARKARI / बेसन की तरकारी (Chickpea flour Squares in Mustard Curry)

Gluten free food has been an integral part of the Indian cuisine. Each state has its own gluten free recipes. Besan ke Gatte is a Rajasthani vegetarian delicacy of sorts. Gatte are spicy chickpea flour dumplings. Chick pea flour is turned into a soft dough which is then rolled in a log shape, boiled and sliced. The sliced logs is added to an onion, ginger-garlic, and yogurt curry. The perfect gatte curry should have soft gattas or dumplings soaked in the slightly tangy and spicy curry. And making soft gatta is a somewhat tricky job. I never liked the gatte much anyway, coz I hardly found anyone making them perfectly. My mother never used to make them and it was post my marriage that I had developed a taste for them. But it was not that classic gatte ki sabzi that I had.

My mother-in-law one day asked me if I would eat gatte ki sabzi and being a new bride, i didn’t want to appear choosy. I told her I have never had them. She enthusiastically made her style of gatte. Just for records, she is one of those cooks who never use a measuring spoon or cups to measure the quantity of ingredients and yet the dishes they turn out having a perfect balance of everything in it, from the ratio of ingredients to the seasoning. I donno how the women of her generation managed to do that. She was indeed right that I did like the curry. In fact, I loved it and it is my all time favourite curry among the ones she makes. She makes another one where she cooks the gatte in onion and ginger garlic paste to which she adds tomatoes. But I prefer this one anytime.

This is one dish I never cared to learn (up until now) from her coz every time I visit her or she visits me, she ensures that she cooks this one for me diligently. She makes it like a fusion curry. She uses the Bengali spices such as the mustard seeds to make the curry. She uses no onions in this recipe. Also, she does not boil the gatte. Instead she makes the chickpea flour batter and whisks it before adding it to a hot pan with a little oil and furiously whisks it to achieve a smooth dough. The cooked hot dough (almost like a choux pastry) is then rolled flat on a plain surface using hands, which she cuts in diamond or square shape. These are shallow fried in hot oil on a griddle and kept aside while she makes the curry. I don’t know if this curry can really be categorized as gatte. Interestingly a few days back on an Indian channel I was watching a program where a lady made a dish similar to my mother-in-law’s. She belonged to a royal family from the central state of India. She made the gatte the same way my MIL did but she made the gravy using onion, ginger garlic paste and made it tangy by adding yogurt to it and called the dish ‘khandaiyan’. Well, gatte or khandaiyan, take your pick. I like to call it my mother in law’s besan ki tarkari.

For Gatte:

1 C Besan (chick pea flour)

2 – 3 tbsp Dahi (Yogurt), sour yogurt works best

1/3 C Water (adjust consistency)

¾ tbsp Cooking Oil (for batter)

1½ tsp Cooking Oil (for sauteing)

1 – 2 tbsp Oil (for frying)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp Turmeric Powder

½ tsp Garam Masala

¼ tsp Red Chili Powder (+ / -)

½ tsp Jeera (Cumin Seeds)

1 tbsp Oil for shallow frying

For Curry:

1 tbsp Peeli Sarson (Yellow Mustard Seeds)

1 tsp Ginger Paste

1 tsp Garlic Paste

2 tbsp Mustard Oil

1/2 tsp Jeera (Cumin Seeds)

A pinch of Methi dana (Fenugreek Seeds)

1 medium Tomato (I grate it to attain the puree)

Salt to taste

½ tsp Red Chili Powder (adjust to taste)

½ tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Coriander Powder

1½ C Water

½ – 1 tsp Amchur/ Amchoor (Dry Mango Powder)

2 Green Chilies

1 tbsp chopped fresh Coriander (Cilantro)

For the gatte, whisk together chick pea flour, salt, turmeric powder, garam masala, cumin seeds and red chilli powder. Add whisked yogurt and water (add slowly to achieve desired consistency) till a smooth consistency is achieved. Add ¾ tbsp oil and whisk again for a minute. The consistency of the batter should be almost like that of pancake batter. (it should not be too thick or thin)

Heat a wok or a heavy bottom pan on medium high heat. Reduce heat and add 1½ oil and grease the pan or wok. Pour in the chick pea batter and stir continuously, on low medium flame, till the batter comes together as one mass. Remove the batter from heat and spread it carefully with hands or rolling pin on a working surface or chopping board to a little less than a centimeter thickness. Slice the dough to the size you like. (I suggest keeping it the size small since the dumplings will soak water once they get cooked in the curry and swell in size)

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a skillet (it should not smoke), lower the heat and gently add the sliced dough and shallow fry on low heat till just golden. Remove on an absorbent sheet. Set aside.

Begin to prepare the curry by grounding the mustard seeds to powder. Add two table spoons of water to make a paste and to this, add the garlic and ginger paste.

Heat oil in a pan and allow it to smoke. Reduce heat and add cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. The moment they begin to crackle, add the mustard paste to it. Fry on medium high heat. Stir the paste every few seconds to ensure it does not burn. Once it begins to dry out and turns golden brown add two table spoons of water and sauté again the same way.

Once the paste again turns golden brown, reduce heat and add tomato pulp along with dry ground spices except amchur. Sauté again till the oil appears towards the edges of the masala.

Add water and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and gently add the fried chick pea batter dough. Add the amchur, whole green chillies (since we only want their fresh grassy flavor and not the heat) and allow the curry to simmer for 2 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with rice.

Serves 3 – 4

Note: Let the curry sit for half an hour so that the dumplings absorb all the flavors.

Note: You may need to adjust the water since the dumplings will greedily soak the water.

Check out other Chickpea based goodies

Chhole Kulche 

Badam Besan Laddu

Spicy Pumpkin Pancakes (Eggless & Vegan)

Orange & Chocolate Chickpea Flour Pancakes (Eggless & Vegan) Besan Ka Chila (Loaded Veg Omelette) (Eggless & Vegan) Choco Chunk Besan Cookies (Vegan, Refined Sugar free) Sattu Kachori Lu’upi (Chickpea Flour Sweet Soup) Sindhi Kadhi (Vegetable Spicy Chickpea Flour Curry)

For more gluten free recipes click HERE

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5 thoughts on “BESAN KI TARKARI / बेसन की तरकारी (Chickpea flour Squares in Mustard Curry)

  1. I always learn so much when I visit you! I love the vast variety of Indian dishes — although many use similar ingredients, there always seems to be a twist. This looks excellent. Thanks. And thanks to your mother-in-law.

    1. You are so kind 😀 Thank you so much. You said it very well. That is the beauty of the Indian cuisine. The ingredients don’t vary much but each dish differs in taste. Isn’t that amazing 🙂

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