Persian Chickpea and Chicken Dumplings

Gram flour is the English name for besan, and can be find as besan in some supermarkets with large international foods sections, some Indian groceries and online Indian food sellers, and on Amazon. A note for diabetics and others interested in lower glycemic foods. Besan is ground from a different, smaller variety of chick pea, which is very low glycemic, lower than the chickpea/garbanzo bean common in the United States and Europe. Bob's Red Mill grinds the higher glycemic chick peas.

I have made these several times, from a recipe that referred to them as an Iranian Jewish dish. The Persian Jewish community goes back over 3,000 years, although only a small remnant remains in Iran. So unless you were invited to dine in a Jewish home in Iran, you would be more likely to encounter these in Israel, where the great majority of Persian Jews now reside.

This is a Persian Jewish dish known as ghondi- we use ground chicken in the ghondi along with the chickpea flour. It is a traditional Shabbat dish.

Garbanzo bean flour is also chickpea flour. It's sold by Bob's Red Mill in most supermarkets nowadays.

I made this twice--once following the instructions precisely, and once leaving the chicken in the soup instead of putting it in the dumplings. The results are better--and firmer--if the poultry is left in the soup instead of pressed into the dumpling mixture like a "meatball."

I have made these several times without having them fall apart. I've always made mine smaller, a bit more than an inch in diameter, which probably helped them stay together. If the onions are not chopped fine enough they would also be more at risk of breaking up. I'd also be careful not to boil them too violently. To much turbulence would also tend to break them up.

Hi. I am Persian and very good cook. I have created many dishes in my life and I have been in many provinces in Old and New Persia. This is not Persian cuisine by any means and major. I am sorry to break it to you.

Will anything be lost by using ground chicken from the get-go instead of pulsing chicken breasts in the food processor?

I liked the flavor of this soup with dumplings, but I didn't like the texture of the dumplings at all--heavy and gummy. But guess what, the dumplings can be fried like falafel, and are much better! Next time I try this, I will add some baking powder to the dumpling dough to lighten it. The fresh herbs really make the soup.

an egg would help or maybe use more meat - but also add more liquid meaning you would have to add flour or breadcrumbs. Maybe you are using large onions, which would add more liquid and prevent the meatballs from holding their shape? Or you could try cooking the meatballs for less time or in a separate pot of water or stock.

These dumplings are called "Gondi" in Persian/Judeo-Farsi (a Yiddish-like language Persian Jewish language.) I've had the pleasure the teach Jews in Iran how to make Matza ball soup and to teach American and German Jews how to make Gondi. It's funny how a similar soup dumpling came to fulfill the same historical purposes in all three Jewish cultures....