Dal Baati Churma: A Rajasthani Classic!
In our Jaisalmer feature above we mentioned Dal Baati Churma. It is one of Rajasthan’s most beloved dishes and you’d be hard pressed to find a household in the state that doesn’t serve it on a regular basis! Baati originated as a wartime meal in the Mewar kingdom and is a traditional festive dish prepared on special occasions and around Diwali. Baati can be plain or stuffed with onions, peas, potato and spices. A variation of the Baati is the ‘Litti” from Bihar. But we suggest you start out with the original… you won’t be disappointed – especially with this authentic recipe from Karma Golden Camp’s head chef Puran Singh…
Ingredients
For Baati
For Dal
For Churma
Recipe Steps
For Baati
In a bowl mix the ingredients and make a stiff dough using sufficient water. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, make your baati balls out of the dough. Place them in the oven. Bake these for 20 minutes. Lightly press the baati with your hands and dip in ghee. Baati is ready.
For Churma
Make a stiff dough out of wheat flour, ghee, milk and sufficient water. Let it rest for 30 minutes. Make small dough balls for deep frying.
After deep frying let them cool down and break them in a fine powder in a grinder. Add sugar, cardamom powder, ghee and dry fruits. Make churma balls out of this mixture! Churma is ready.
For Dal
Soak dal for 2 hours and pressure cook with some salt. Heat some oil in a pan. Once hot, add in the cumin, hing, ginger, garlic, green chilli. Cook until brown. Add in the onions, salt.
Add in the tomatoes, stir and cook until tomatoes are cooked. Add in the chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder. Cook for another minute, then add in the cooked dal, and water. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add in the kasuri methi, coriander. Adjust the consistency by adding more water, let it boil! Dal is ready.
Recipe Notes:
You can reduce the ghee in the baati if you wish, but the more ghee you use, the more delicious it tastes! Instead of dipping the baati into ghee after it’s made, you can pour in 2 tsp of ghee in each baati. You can also serve this delicacy with garlic chutney.
