I recall eating this at my Multani neighbors house in Delhi. These people had just emigrated from Multan in Pakistan. I still recall the wonderful variety of dishes they brought that could not be found anywhere else within the country. Now thanks to the magic of the internet I could find some of them and this being one of my favorite I had to make it right away. Although I find it funny that the dish has the word “sabzi” in it. Sabzi literally means vegetable and there really is none in this!
Ingredients:
1.5 medium onions, minced fine
2C chickpea flour (besan)
1C yoghurt, use Indian yoghurt for best taste
2T coriander, coarsely ground
1.5t red chili powder
1t turmeric powder
1t cumin seeds
1.5t amchoor (raw mango) powder [rml_read_more]
4T tomato sauce
2t garlic-ginger paste
Method:
FIrst start by making the gatta (these are like gnocchis) using chickpea flour, coriander, turmeric and 1t red chili powder.
Add about 2T vegetable oil and yoghurt to make a thick paste that can be kneaded into a dough. Set this aside for about 1/2 hr.
Now roll the dough out into long rolls about 1/2 inch thickness diameter.
Take one of these and cut them into 1″ pieces. Boil about 4C of water and add a handful of the cut gatta to it. Wait for about 3 minutes when the pieces should float to the top. Once they are at the top, spoon these out and add another handful. This way, par-boil all of the pieces.
Heat 1T of oil in a wok. Add the onion and heat till the onion starts to brown. Add the garlic-ginger paste and the rest of the powdered spices. Cook for about 2-3 minutes and add the tomato sauce. Heat the mixture for about 10 minutes or till the oil starts to separate from the sides. At this point, add the gatta pieces and cook for another 15 minutes on low flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and roti or naan as an accompaniment.