Dal-Baati Churma, a cuisine of Rajasthan

Dal Baati -Churma

Ingredients

This would make four servings

• 0.5 cup chana dal (split gram)

• 0.5 cup Toor dal(Pigeon dal)

• 0.5 cup moong dal (split with skin)

• 0.5 cup urad dal (split black lentil with skin)

• 0.5 tbsp turmeric (Haldi)

• 4 tbsp ginger grated

• 2-1 tbsp salt

• 2 tbsp coriander powder (dhania)

• 4 tbsp mango powder (Amchoor)

• 1 tbsp garam masala

For seasoning

• 6 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)

• 2 tbsp cumin seeds

• 0.25 tbsp asafoetida (Hing)

• 1 tbsp chili powder

• 4 dried red chili broken in pieces

For Bati

• 2 cup whole wheat flour (roti ka atta)

• 0.5 cup fine sooji (semolina)

• 0.25 tbsp baking powder

• 1 tbsp salt

• 0.5 cup clarified butter (ghee)

• 1 cup milk use as needed

For serving

• About 0.5 cup hot clarify butter (ghee)

FOR CHURMA:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• 1/4 cup fine sooji / rava

• 4 teaspoon melted ghee

• 2 tablespoon almond slivers

• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

• 4 tablespoon powdered sugar

• melted ghee / oil for deep frying

Preparation Instruction

1. Combine all dals (lentils), wash changing water a few times. In a pressure cooker add dal with 4 cups of water, salt, turmeric, coriander powder, and ginger, cook on medium high.

2. After the pressure cooker begins to steam, lower the heat to medium and cook for about eight minutes. Turn off the heat; wait until all the steam has escaped before opening the cooker.

3. Dal should be soft and mushy, consistency of the pourable batter, if needed add hot water. The consistency of the dal will thicken over time.

4. Add garam masala and amchoor, mix it well.

5. Heat ghee in a small saucepan for seasoning; after ghee is moderately hot add cumin seeds as they crack add asafetida, red chilies and red chili powder. Stir for a few seconds. To prevent the spices from burning, you may add 1 teaspoon of water. Pour spiced Chaunk( heated Ghee / oil with some cumin seeds) over dhal. Mix it well and let it simmer for two to three minutes.

6. Dal is ready.

For the Bati

1. Preheat the oven to 350-degree F.

2. In a mixing bowl mix all the dry ingredients together, flour, sooji, salt and baking soda. Add the ghee and mix with fingers, add the milk as needed to make firm dough, knead the dough well. Set aside for about 10 minutes.

3. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts and roll them into balls. They will not be smooth dough ball and will have cracks all over; this will help them to cook all the way through. Arrange the batis over cookie sheet about one inch apart and place the pan on middle oven rack and bake at 350-degree F in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. Turn them over and bake for another 30 minutes until batis is golden brown all around.

4. Break one bati from one side to make sure they have cooked through.

CHURMA:

1. In a mixing bowl -take wheat flour, sooji and ghee, add water to form a stiff dough.

2. Make patties with your palms with a indentation at the centre

3. Heat oil (you can use ghee too) and deep fry the patties in hot oil till golden brown.

4. Turnover and cook for even cooking, cook in low medium flame.

5. Drain tissue paper and set aside to cool down.

6. Once it is completely cool, break them into small pieces and grind it using a mixer.

7. Grind it, a little course. I did it in batches as I used my small blender or food processor jar.

8. Collect the mixture in a bowl, add powdered sugar and cardamom powder and mix well.

9. Chop almonds lengthwise, add it along with ghee and give a quick mix.

How to Serve

1. Break the bati into two pieces and pour about one teaspoon of hot melted ghee over and serve with bowl of hot dal.

2. If you have baked the batties earlier heat the batties in oven for about 10 minutes.