Gatte ke chawal is my family’s signature monsoon dish. Gatte is type of boiled or fried gram flour dumplings used in Rajasthani cuisine. This delicious rice cooked with fried gatte, potatoes, and basic spices gets ready in a jiffy and tastes best when it is piping hot. This is one of the very few dishes which my whole family enjoys without any complains.

You can add cashew nuts, green peas, boiled Bengal gram(kala chana) to this rice. Ours has been a no onion, no garlic home for a very long time. Most of the dishes are still made the same way without onion or garlic. You can add ginger garlic paste, chopped onions, and a dash of lime to add more taste a flavor to this dish.

This rice tastes best when it is eaten hot as soon as it is made. It does not need any accompaniment but goes well with plain yogurt.

Ingredients           

• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 small potato peeled and cut into small cubes
• 2 tbsp oil
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 2 dry red chillies
• 10-12 curry leaves
• 2 tbsp ground nuts
• 2 bay leaves (tej patta)
• 5-6 cloves (laung)
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• Salt to taste

For Gatte

• ½ cup gram flour (besan)
• 2-3 pinches turmeric
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• 1 pinch soda
• Salt to taste
• Oil to fry

Recipe

For Gatte

Mix all the ingredients of gatte. Add 1 tbsp water at a time and mix till everything comes together to form a stiff dough. Divide the dough into equal portions and roll them into cylindrical rolls using your palms. Cut these rolls into approximate 1 inch pieces. Boil plenty of water in a pan and cook these gattas in boiling water for 7-8 minutes. Drain and keep aside. Heat oil and fry the gattas till they are light brown. Drain and keep aside. In the same oil, fry the cubed potatoes till they are lightly browned and keep aside.

For rice

Wash and soak the rice in 2-3 cups of water for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker.  Add cumin seeds, cloves, and bay leaves. Once the seeds pop, add curry leaves, green chillies and dry red chillies. Sauté for few seconds. Add groundnuts and cook for 20-30 seconds. Add the fried gatte and potatoes. Drain water from the rice and add rice to the cooker. Mix well making sure not to break the rice. Saute for 45 seconds to a minute. Add 2 cups of water, turmeric, and salt. Mix well and close the pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles or till the rice is done (the time differs from cooker to cooker). Once the pressure is released, open the lid, add chopped coriander and mix well. Serve hot.