Mom And Her Gatte ki Sabji

 Cooking is considered an art and mothers usually begin to teach their daughters and pass down family recipes by show-and-tell, fairly young in life. As a matter of fact, food is very serious business. In most  homes, even in this day and age when most women work outside the home, if one is not cooking or eating a meal, one is planning what to cook next! Meals almost always include several dishes, dessert and a staple or two like rice and Chapatis.



There is nothing more comforting than 'ghar ka khana'. We can safely say that no gourmet chef can replicate the taste of mom's home cooked food.  It's simple, yet unusually satisfying, instilled with the aroma of local flavors and the unconditional love and warmth of her hands.My  mom has tips for creating quick and flavorful  recipes are as follows: 

 

• 1. Simplify the spices.

  There are seemingly a million spices. The best way to start experimenting with Indian cookery is to pick a simple recipe that uses two to three spices and grow the spice collection from there.
  

  2. Buy ground spices in small quantities.

  Always buy ready powdered spices in smaller quantities as they tend to lose punch as soon as the pack opens. This will save having to grind/powder your own.
  

  3. If you do grind spices, go with machine power.

  If you do fancy grinding your own spices, a coffee grinder is the way to go — not a pestle and mortar. The cheaper ones with the detachable bowl inside are the best ones as the blades will inevitably weaken.
  

  4. Use the freezer for specialized ingredients.

  I love my freezer for ready access to specialized ingredients — coriander leaves, curry leaves, dill are really easy to whip out of the freezer when needed.
  

  5. Freeze minced garlic and ginger in ice cube trays.

  Make batches of minced ginger and garlic and freeze in ice cube trays. Then push them out and zip lock them into bags ready for curries. That'll save a whole lot of time when you're cooking next.
  

  6. Skip recipes with fried onions.

  What takes time with Indian cooking is frying onions until caramelised and then masalas until their raw, pungent smell goes. If you're in a hurry, pick recipes that don't use fried onions as a base.
  

  7. Use Greek yogurt instead of cream.

  Greek yogurt (thick, full fat natural yogurt) is excellent at adding texture and creaminess to curries and a far healthier alternative to cream.
  

  8. Add a pinch of sugar to curries.

  Add a pinch of sugar to oil when heating it up to add natural red colour to curries.
  

  9. Learn to use a pressure cooker.

  Learn to use a cooker — every Indian cook has one up their sleeve. They cut cooking times dramatically!
  

  10. Always make extra food.

  And finally, always make extra. If you're going through the effort of making a curry, you should have plenty left over for another meal.
  
  
  
  
  Besan Gatte Recipe by Our mom 
   
• Gatte' refers to cooked and spiced gram flour dumplings, which are then dunked into spicy curd gravy. This dish is served with Roti, Chapatti, Paratha, Naan and can also be had with plain steamed rice.It is a healthy recipe that can be packed for school tiffin and is apt for office goers too. If you are a spice lover then you can customize this dish by adding more green chillies, as per your taste. Serve this delicious recipe with pooris and boondi ka raita and garnish with some mint leaves.

• To Make Gatta : In a bowl mix together besan, jeera, fennel seeds, salt, chilly powder, hing, coarsely crushed cloves and black peppercorns, baking soda and oil. Then add the curd and mix well.
• Next with the help of little water knead a stiff dough just like for rotis. Make sure to add water little by little so that the dough should not get extra soft.
• Now divide the dough into 6 - 7 parts. Roll each part into cylindrical tubes of 1/2 inch in diameter and 4 - 5 inches long.
• Boil 4 cups of water and place these rolls in it. Let it cook for 15 mins or till the rolls get cooked from inside.Cut a piece to check if they are cooked properly and evenly. Otherwise cook some more.
• Then turn off the flame and take out the rolls from the water and keep the water aside for the curry.
• Cut the rolls into 1 inch pieces.
• For the gravy : Make a fine paste of ginger, green chillies, onion and garlic. Whisk the curd smooth with a beater.
• In a kadai heat the pan and put jeera. When it begins to crackle add the onion paste prepared before.
• Fry the onion paste till light brown in color. Then add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Fry for another 2 mins.
• Now lower the flame and slowly add the whisked curd. Stir well and continue cooking till oil separates. Stir once in a while so that the mixture does not get burnt.
• Now add the gatta water separated earlier. Bring it to a boil and then add the cut gatte pieces. Let the curry simmer for 5 - 10 more minutes on low flame. Then add the fenugreek leaves.
• Transfer the curry to a serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander.