Gola bhaat is a traditional recipe from Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. Golas (Balls) of besan are cooked with rice that is mildly spiced. Hence the name Gola bhaat. It is a variation of popular masale bhaat of Maharashtra. It is a one pot meal and simple & easy to make dish.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Maharashtrian
Prep Time 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
rice soaking time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Author Rama G
Ingredients
For the Rice
1 cup Basmati rice
2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 broken dry red chillies
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp lime juice
salt to taste
2¼ cups water
For the Gola
1 cup besan (chickpea flour / kadalai maavu)
1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain/ ova / omam)
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp ginger chilli paste
½ tsp turmeric powder
asafoetida
1 tbsp curd (I used peanut curd)
2 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
salt to taste
water as needed
Tempering
1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 to 4 dry red chillies
asafoetida
Instructions
Soak the rice in enough water for about 30 minutes and drain completely.
Dry roast besan on a low flame till it loses raw smell and remove in a bowl.
Add all ingredients one by one.
Add very little water (just enough to get binding) and make a stiff dough.
Take small ball of dough, roll as lightly as possible and give the shape of your fingers. Make more Golas similarly.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and dry red chilli.
Once they are done, add the asafoetida, turmeric powder, salt, drained rice and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Add water and the lime juice.
Cover and cook on a low flame.
When the rice is half-done add the goals into the cooking rice.
Push the golas gently to be covered with rice.
Cover and cook further while mixing occasionally.
When the rice and the golas are completely cooked, turn off the heat.
Heat oil and add the tempering ingredients.
When they are done, pour over the Gola Bhaat.
Serve hot with buttermilk tempered with cumin seeds and coriander leaves.
To check if a gola is cooked, just use a spoon to break one. It should not be raw. If you feel they are not cooked enough, add a little hot water to the rice and cook covered.
Goals should be firm but not too tight. If they are not firm, they might disintegrate while cooking. If they are too tight they may remain raw while cooking in rice.
Add the golas when the rice is half-done. This gives them enough time to cook.
If you prefer, you can break or lightly crush the golas and mix through the rice while serving