God is the best and oldest matchmaker of all. His expertise in the romance department might be debatable for few but human proficiency in forming perfect food pairings is undoubtedly beyond question. Waffles taste better with maple syrup while pizzas not loaded with cheese are just, not pizzas. Closer home, shrikhand puri, idli sambar, khichdi kadhi etc always go together. One such dish is gatte ki sabzi, which finds a permanent place with dal baati and churma.
Gatte ki sabzi is part of the delectable Rajasthani/Marwari cuisine. Gatte are classically besan dumplings that are added to spicy gravy. There are different variations to this gravy like adding onion, garlic and tomatoes and/or whole/powdered garam masala. Personally, I like the one with curd, curry leaves and only basic spices. They can occasionally also be made dry with some added roasted peanut powder.
Surprisingly, I didn’t fancy this flavourful dish although it was often made in my Marwari home. Mom liked the one with the curd gravy while Dad liked it dry. She patiently prepared both versions every single time and never gave up on insisting me to try it. Once during a family function some glaringly disapproving eyes spotted me discarding it in my plate. I reluctantly took a bite to save my skin from burning out under their gaze, and guess what, I loved it! Just like that, gatte and I developed a lifelong friendship. 🙂
There is one fun incident attached with this dish. I lived with a Maharashtrian friend of mine for two weeks when I shifted to Mumbai for work before marriage. She had heard a lot about Marwari food and had tasted some of it when Mom packed it for me on my visits. She hadn’t tasted gatte ki sabzi though. It was a joke between us that making this dish for her and her family was my rent for the stay.
Aunty (her mother), she and I got all the ingredients together and ventured expectantly towards their kitchen on a Sunday. None of the men were home. I hadn’t confessed to them both that I had made it only once before, that too under Mom’s watchful eyes. Everyone from Siddhivinayak to Saibaba was quietly summoned by me and their blessings sought. It is amusing how little faith I had in myself. To their credit (and mine), it went fine. Well, most of it.
There was one instance when the curd split up because the temperature of the pan was too high. I still maintain that our incessant chatting and momentary neglect had nothing to do with it. My face fell looking at the colourless liquid which should’ve been a lovely reddish yellow. We did some immediate damage control by adding more curd and shutting Aunty and her ‘I told you so’s’ off. Our final labour of love, after striving for another fifteen minutes, gave us tears of joy, literally. The smoke in the kitchen coupled with the spicy tadka had given us both a fit of cough. 🙁 😛 😀
Humans have a tendency of seeking out the unknown. We don’t mind paying through our nose for trying out new international cuisines. However, at times we fail to see the rich culinary heritage we have right under the same nose. Gatte ki sabzi was one such thing for me. I now make it at home and prod my kids to try it. 😛 They give in but am not sure they like it as much yet. I know they will come around someday. 🙂
Have you tried gatte ki sabzi? Do you have any favourites from the Marwari cuisine? Tell me.
This post is written for #BlogchatterA2Z and #AtoZChallenge for April 2019
It’s really surprising yet beautiful how we are connected and weave stories around food. Lovely one Varsh!
My all time favorite. In office cafe if they were serving gatte ki sabji, it was confirmed that i will buy lunch from them even if I used to carry my tiffin from home.
Though i like Gatte ki sabzi but will now love it all the more. And everytime I will have it now onwards, your lovely narration of it will echo in my mind. Really enjoyed reading it.
I did not know a delicious yet simple Gatte ki Subzi can Hof so much lime lite You really brought out the curiosity in me by your vivid description of Gatte ki Subzi. Very enjoyable post about simple pleasures of life in a very lucid style.
I wish you had given us a pointer to any site giving authentic recepie for Gatte ki Sabji.
We don’t mind paying through our nose for trying out new international cuisines. However, at times we fail to see the rich culinary heritage we have right under the same nose.
This is so true! We have a tendency to shun what’s available.
I do not enjoy Gatte Ki Sabzi, even though Mom makes it so well, without the curd. I am going to try it again with a different mindset after reading your post though. Loved the narration and the anecdotes you shared. Really enjoying your posts, Varsha!
Mu husband adores gatte ki sabji; he keeps prodding me to try it. Perhaps I should keep him away from this tempting post! 😛
Please invite me for Gatte ki Sabji. I belong to Rajasthan and at my friend’s place I ate it, I just loved the flavour. Wonderful post dear!Again beyond my imagination.
I’ve eaten Gatte ki sabji at a Rajasthani restaurant and also at my Marwari friends house in Kolkata. I didn’t like it much though it has noes to do with my aversion towards veggies in general and not just this particular dish.
Being a marwari gatte ki sabji is something mama used to make often and I have always liked it but yes my mallu husband never liked it so I hardly cook it anymore ?
I like Gatte ki sabzi. i liked your experiment in Mumbai. Despite small miscalculation, apparently the preparation came out nice. At least Maharastrians did not understand the finer details.
To be honest, gatte ki sabzi is quite alien to my Punjabi palate. I’ve only eaten as part of the odd Rajasthani thali while on holiday. Your post is tempting me to try my hand at it though:)
I like this dish and tried it once in a Rajasthani restaurent
Yes dear I have tried, I love it mostly unless the gate are really hard. I loved the anecdote you weaved related to it ?
My mother used to make Gatte ki sabzi and I loved it. Not tried myself though. Your post is a temptation.
I first had it at a local joint and instantly fell in love with the dish. I cant make it properly so have to eat it outside and fulfil my cravings. ☹
Some faint memories of my road trip to Rajsthan 3 years ago…..Must have tried gatte ki subji in Jodhpur…Though would love to have it from ur kitchen!!
This is one of the favourites at our home… Gatte ki subzi, Dal, baati & churma… A complete rajasthani yummy & healthy meal. A lovely post to read!
As I have told you once before you have your own unique writing style, don’t you? Here are a couple of sentences which held my attention. You began the post with,
‘God is the best and oldest matchmaker of all’
and then somewhere in the middle I found this gem,
‘Humans have a tendency of seeking out the unknown’
The reason I am mentioning this is because this is a post about eating and food and you have brilliantly woven god and human psychology into it. You are really a very good writer. I think I would like Ghatte ki sabzi. But more than that kudos to your unique style of writing.
Coming from Jodhpur, gatte ki sabzi is our all time favourite. Reading your post, I made it for lunch today
Gatte ki sabzi is one of the most important dish of Rajasthan cuisine, my friends wait for me to prepare this for them :))
This post reminded me of many such dishes which I disliked as a child but like it now. I dont know how to make gatte ki sabzi but I like it.