Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce

Greatest Ever Indian p. 137

2/3 cup besan

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 onion, finely chopped

2 fresh green chilies, chopped

¼ bunch of cilantro, chopped

2/3 cup water

1 ¼ cups vegetable oil

YOGURT SAUCE

1 ¼ cups plain yogurt

3 tbsp besan

2/3 cup water

1 tsp chopped fresh gingerroot

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 ½ tsp chili powder

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

BAGHAAR

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp white cumin seeds

6 dried red chilies

To make the dumplings, sift the besan into a large bowl. 

Besan has a similar texture to all-purpose flour, so don't be nervous about using it.

Add the chili powder, salt, baking soda, onion, chopped chilies, and cilantro and mix. 

Behold! Your dinner!

Add the water and mix to make a thick paste. Heat the oil in a skillet. Place teaspoonfuls of the paste in the oil and cook, turning once, over medium heat until a crisp golden brown. 

I think that "fritters" might be a better term for these than dumplings.

Reserve.

To make the sauce, place the yogurt in a bowl and whisk in the besan and water. Add all of the spices and mix well.

Push this mixture through a large strainer into a pan. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. If the yogurt sauce becomes too thick, add a little extra water.

Pour the sauce into a deep serving dish and arrange all of the dumplings on top. Keep warm.

To make the baghaar, heat the oil in a skillet. Add the cumin seeds and the dried red chilies and cook until darker in color. 

I only used a little swizzle of this for the final product - things were already oily enough for my taste.

Pour the dressing over the dumplings and serve hot. 

See all that delicious savory yogurt sauce?

My Rating: 5/5 "LOVED these. The spice mixture is wonderfully tasty, the dumplings have a lot of fresh flavors that get greasy-good when they're fried, and the pepper sauce gives everything a little zing. Win!"