Chickpea Flour Dumplings in a Spicy Yogurt Sauce


Visit the Indian Food Glossary for information on the ingredients in this recipe
Chickpea Flour Dumplings in a Spicy Yogurt Sauce

My dear friend Jacqueline recently sent me a most elegant and beautifully presented Indian vegetarian cookbook entitled Pure & Simple by Vidhu Mittal. I've already bookmarked lots of recipes to try, but this recipe for chickpea flour dumplings in a spicy yogurt sauce immediately got my attention and so this was my first experiment with this lovely book. I certainly was not disappointed. Delightful dumplings smothered in a creamy yogurt gravy. How could I resist?

This cookbook comes highly recommended from my kitchen already. Ms. Vidhu presents an extensive collection of traditional and contemporary recipes inspired by her native province of Uttar Pradesh. Each recipe is accompanied by stunning color photos, step by step images, helpful hints, often along with serving suggestions. This is a great resource for both novice and experienced cooks. You will find lots of tempting and straight forward recipes for drinks, appetizers and snacks, soups and salads, rice, breads and desserts. The meal menus and reference guide to spices and kitchen tools essential to Indian cooking are also a nice addition.

Chickpea Flour Dumplings in a Spicy Yogurt SauceChickpea Flour Dumplings in a Spicy Yogurt Sauce
Recipe by
Adapted from Pure & Simple: Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine
Cuisine: Indian
Published on April 15, 2010

Soft spicy chickpea flour dumplings simmered in a tangy spiced yogurt curry sauce

Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Print this recipePrint this recipe

Dumplings:
  • 1 1/4 cups chickpea flour (besan)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3 green chilies, seeded and finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • peanut oil for frying
Yogurt curry:
  • 2 cups plain whole fat yogurt
  • 1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan)
  • 3 cups water
Seasoning:
  • 1 tablespoon of ghee, butter or oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon asafetida
  • 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 1/4 cup fresh fenugreek leaves
  • 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • small handful of dried whole red chilies, broken into bits
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • pinch of ground cayenne
Tempering:
  • 1 tablespoon of ghee, butter or oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon asafetida
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley or cilantro
Instructions:
  • To make the dumplings, combine the chickpea flour and water and stir to combine. Add the green chilies and ginger and beat until light and fluffy. Heat 1/2 inch of peanut oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, drop small spoonfuls of the batter into the pan and fry until golden brown, flipping occasionally. Transfer to a bowl of salted water (roughly 4 cups of water with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt). Remove and set aside.

  • To make the yogurt curry, mix the yogurt, chickpea flour and 3 cups of water in a medium bowl. Set aside.

  • For the seasoning, heat the ghee, butter or oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the asafetida, fenugreek seeds and leaves, cumin seeds, red chilies, turmeric, chili powder and cayenne. Stir and fry for a minute or two.

  • Now add the yogurt curry and sea salt to taste, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chickpea dumplings to the pan. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, adding more water if necessary to achieve your desired consistency.

  • Meanwhile, prepare the tempering. Heat the ghee, butter or oil in a small frying pan or saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the asafetida, cumin seeds, chili powder and parsley or cilantro. Stir for a minute and add to the chickpea dumpling and yogurt mixture.

  • Serve right away with fresh cooked white rice.

Makes 6 servings

Chickpea Flour Dumplings in a Spicy Yogurt Sauce

More chickpea flour recipes from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Chickpea Flour Curry
Scrambled Chickpea Flour with a Fiery Red Chili Paste
Chickpea Fritters with a Creamy Ricotta, Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Filling
Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Crushed Peas and Cilantro (Pudla)

15 comments:

Susan said...

I'm leaning over a bowl of spaghetti squash & red sauce, but I want, want, want this right now!

Cookbook sounds fabulous. : )

Cynthia said...

Keep the dumplings but serve me up loads of that gravy!

notyet100 said...

this looks delicious,..loved the first click too

Unknown said...

THe dumpling looks really yammy.....hope to more delicious dishes from the cook book...have a nice day..

Uma said...

looks so appetizing :)

MaryMoh said...

The gravy looks very delicious...mmmm

Soma Pradhan said...

Nice name given to Indian Dahi Kadhi

Kalyn Denny said...

This sounds so interesting and tasty.

Johanna GGG said...

wow I love your chickpea flour recipes - this is definitely on my list to try

Anonymous said...

This is a favorite at our house. Try the sauce without the dumplings- or just add some green peas, carrots and green beans to the kadhi (yogurt gravy) while cooking for a less fatty version.

FewMinute Wonders said...

Lisa,

You are awesome, what I like about your blog is that you are so open to trying different styles of cooking and you try the recipe and let us know what you feel. Thank you so much. In the world of cook books there must be so many that we look at but we are not too sure that if the recipe would work. It is reassuring when you recommend the books.

Red Chillies said...

This looks so delicious and I am yet to try it. Thanks for the good book recommendation, I will keep that in mind.

eatme_delicious said...

I'm very intrigued by a yogurt gravy and love the sound of these dumplings! Looking forward to seeing what else you post from this book.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

I am glad this turned out to be a good gift. It was a bit of a random choice as I thought it sounded good on Amazon, but haven't actually flicked through it.

Maija Haavisto said...

I once had great chickpea dumplings in a Krishna center and I've tried to replicate it at home, but without much success. Maybe this one could be do the trick? I'll have to try it.