Gondi
Gondi is a Persian-Jewish Shabbat hors d'oeuvre that I love to enjoy as a hearty, filling meal. With substantial and tasty dumplings made from ground chicken and chickpea flour, this recipe passed onto me by my mother holds a special place in my heart. I hope you feel the love when you make it yourself.
Servings: 6
Calories: 731kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground chicken or dark meat turkey or beef
- 4 chicken legs
- 6 oz. chickpea flour
- 1 yellow onion grated
- 1 yellow onion peeled and quartered
- ¼ cup flavorless oil like canola, avocado, or sunflower seed
- 1 tbsp matzo meal panko, or breadcrumbs
- 16 oz. canned chickpeas rinsed (optional: peeled)
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp Cumin seed
- Salt and pepper
- fresh herbs for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Bring 6 cups of water and the chicken legs to boil. As foam builds, skim the top with a slotted spoon.
- Lower to simmer. Add the cumin seed, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp turmeric, bay leaves, and quartered onion. Let the chicken simmer ~20 minutes. After 20 minutes discard the bay leaves and quartered onion.
- After 20 minutes discard the bay leaves, quartered onion, and any built-up foam as you see around the edges in the photo above. When the chicken broth is ready, remove the chicken legs from the pot. That way, there is plenty of room for the dumplings to cook. You will add the chicken legs back to the broth later.
- In the meantime, mix the ground chicken (or turkey or beef), grated onion, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup oil, matzo meal, ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, salt, pepper, and chickpea powder. Mix thoroughly without over-mixing. The mixture should feel soft and elastic.
- Bring the water back to a rolling boil. Make golf ball-sized balls from the ground poultry mixture. At this point, you can freeze the dumplings to make them at another time. Add the chicken balls to the boiling broth.
- Add the chickpeas to the broth. Bring to a boil. Now, add the chicken legs back to the pot.
- Lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30-40 minutes. Then, it will be ready to serve and enjoy.
Video
Notes
The texture of the ground mixture should be elastic and soft.
Serve with basmati rice or enjoy as a soup.
I prefer using ground dark meat. It has more flavor and fat.
You can freeze the gondi dumplings on a baking sheet. When frozen, transfer to a sealable bag or container. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 731kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 157mg | Sodium: 505mg | Potassium: 1345mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 94IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 6mg
