Dal Bati -a traditional dish from the state of Rajasthan in India. Hard wheat balls are baked and then eaten a spicy mix of lentils. It’s topped with lots of ghee which makes it extremely flavorful.
India has a very rich culture, that is of course well known all over the world. However I think how rich and diverse our food is not really known. Indian food in the west is synonyms with curry and naan. And that actually is just a fraction of our food. Each state in India has it’s own cuisine, which is totally different from one another. It’s so different that growing up in North, I would have hardly even eaten anything from say Gujarat or Assam or Rajasthan. Simply because the food is so different! I am sure if you are an American or British, you would have probably never eaten/or heard of dosa (rice-lentil crepe) or khandvi (chickpea flour rolls) or dal bati. That’s why I always say to my American friends, the food you eat in Indian restaurants doesn’t represent our real food, nope not at all.
Indian cuisine has always been a paradise for vegetarians. It’s amazing the variety of vegetarian recipes we have. Rajasthani food is one of my favorite and I have mentioned this before when I shared the recipe for Gatte Ki Sabzi. I am always amazed by all the delicious vegetarian food people created in Rajasthan without any fresh produce. Today I am sharing probably one of the most famous recipes from the state- Dal Bati. It’s usually Dal Bati and Churma but I did not make the 3rd part of this dish so just sharing the recipe for Rajasthani Panchmel Dal and Bati.
Now what exactly is Dal Bati? Dal of course you already know is Indian term for all kinds of lentils. This dal however is called Panchmel Dal. Panch means five so we mix 5 types of lentils in this dal. It’s seasoned with lots of spices. The dals that I have used here are – arhar/toor dal [split pigeon peas lentil], chana dal [split garbanzo beans], green moong dal, urad chilka [split black gram lentil] and urad dhuli. A lot of people also use masoor dal (red lentils) in this recipe so you can use that too.
And what is bati? It’s a hard whole wheat roll/dough ball which is baked and then flavored with lot of ghee. There’s also a third part to this dish – “Chruma” which is almost the same dough as bati (minus the spices and salt), the balls are fried then crushed and mixed with ghee, nuts and sugar. And how you eat it? You crush the bati coarsely, add dal and then add lots of ghee on top and then eat it with chruma on the side. Also chutney, papad and chaas (buttermilk) are usually served along with. So yum! Yes there’s lot of ghee in this dish and that’s what makes it so flavorful.
So if you are feeling a little adventurous in the kitchen, it’s time to make some Rajasthani Dal Bati!
Method
First we will see how to make bati. To a bowl add atta, sooji (semolina), besan (chickpea flour), ajwain (carom seeds), fennel powder, red chili powder, salt and pinch of baking soda. Mix till well combined.
To this add 1/3 cup melted ghee.
Mix ghee into the flour, rubbing with your fingers till it resemble crumbs.
Now add little milk as needed to form a stiff dough and set it aside for 10-15 minutes.
After the dough has rested for a bit divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Make a ball out of each dough ball, press it and then make a dent in the center.
Place all the bati on a baking sheet and brush them with ghee using a pastry brush. Bake at 375 F degrees for 15-18 minutes or till the bottom surface turns light golden brown in color. Then take out of the oven, flip all the bati and bake again for 15-18 minutes from the other side till done.
Make the panchmel dal while the batis are in the oven. To make the dal, first add all the dals in a bowl and add enough water to soak it for around 3-4 hours.
Once soaked, drain the water and add dal to a pressure cooker. Add 4 cups water , salt and turmeric powder and mix.
Pressure cook at high for 2 whistles and then lower the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes till dals are completely softened. Set aside.
Now heat oil and ghee in a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let them crackle.
Then add chopped garlic, ginger and green chili and saute for few seconds or till they start turning golden brown.
Then add chopped onion and cook till the raw smell goes away and they turn translucent.
Now add the tomatoes for cook for a 2-3 minutes.
Then add coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and salt to taste. Cook the spices for 1 minute.
Add the cooked dal to the pan now and mix. Adjust the consistency of dal at this point, add water to make it thinner. Let the dal simmer for 5 minutes and then add fresh cilantro.
Sprinkle cardamom powder and garam masala powder on top and serve immediately with bati and extra ghee. To eat crush the batis a litte in a plate, top it with lots of panchmel dal and ghee and enjoy Rajasthani Dal Bati!
* Do not reduce the amount of ghee in this recipe for real flavor. Trust me, you need all that ghee!
* I would have ideally used masoor dal (red lentil) in place of urad dhuli in this recipe however I didn’t have masoor dal when I made this. You can use any other dal too!
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Rajasthani Dal Bati
Dal Bati, a traditional dish from the state of Rajasthan.
Author: Manali
Serves: 4
Prep time:
20 mins
Cook time:
30 mins
Total time:
50 mins
Ingredients
for Bati
1 cup atta, also known as durum whole wheat flour
¼ cup sooji, also known as semolina
2 tablespoons besan, also known as chickpea flour
¼ teaspoon ajwain, also known as carom seeds
¼ teaspoon fennel powder
⅛ teaspoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
pinch baking soda
⅓ cup melted ghee
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon milk, as needed to form a stuff dough
ghee, to brush on top
for Panchmel Dal
1 cup mixed dal [equal amount of toor, chana, green moong, urad chilka and urad dhuli]
4 cups water
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
for dal tempering
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ghee, also known as clarified butter
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1.5 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1.5 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 green chili, finely chopped or adjust to taste
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2-3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1 teaspoon coriander powder
¾ teaspoon cumin powder
¼ teaspoon garam masala , more to sprinkle
salt, to taste
green cardamom powder, to sprinkle
To serve
¼ cup melted ghee
Instructions
Make bati
Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
To a bowl add atta, sooji (semolina), besan (chickpea flour), ajwain (carom seeds), fennel powder, red chili powder, salt and pinch of baking soda. Mix till well combined.
To this add ⅓ cup melted ghee.
Mix ghee into the flour, rubbing with your fingers till it resemble crumbs.
Now add little milk as needed to form a stiff dough and set it aside for 10-15 minutes.
After the dough has rested for a bit divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Make a ball out of each dough ball, press it and then make a dent in the center.
Place all the bati on a baking sheet and brush them with ghee using a pastry brush.
Bake at 375 F degrees for 15-18 minutes or till the bottom surface turns light golden brown in color. Then take out of the oven, flip all the bati and bake again for 15-18 minutes from the other side till done.
Make dal
To make the dal, first add all the dals in a bowl and add enough water to soak it for around 3-4 hours.
Once soaked, drain the water and add dal to a pressure cooker. Add 4 cups water , salt and turmeric powder and mix.
Pressure cook at high for 2 whistles and then lower the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes till dals are completely softened. Set aside.
Now heat oil and ghee in a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let them crackle.
Then add chopped garlic, ginger and green chili and saute for few seconds or till they start turning golden brown.
Then add chopped onion and cook till the raw smell goes away and they turn translucent.
Now add the tomatoes for cook for 2-3 minutes.
Then add coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and salt to taste. Cook the spices for 1 minute.
Add the cooked dal to the pan now and mix. Adjust the consistency of dal at this point, add water to make it thinner.
Let the dal simmer for 5 minutes and then add fresh cilantro.
Sprinkle cardamom powder and garam masala powder on top and serve immediately with bati and extra ghee.
Serve
To eat crush the bati a litte in a plate, top it with lots of dal and ghee and enjoy!
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Rajasthani Dal Bati