Rajasthan is a land of valor and romance. It is a place very close to my heart. While people love it for its palaces, it has a special mention for foodies. The cuisine has a lot of flavor and color. People also use a lot of millets instead of rice and wheat. Lentils, ghee, yogurt and spices give it a yellowish red hue. Dal Bati churma, mirchi bada, pyaz ki kachori, gatte ki kadhi, ghevar, ker sangri, lal maas, safed maas, bajre ka khichda. The list is endless and yum. In the olden days, vegetables, water and fruits were scarce. Rajasthan is primarily Thar desert and has less vegetation. Thus, recipes involves using less veggies and water. Use of local grains and spices adds to the charm of the desert.
This is a special dish for a Sunday brunch. We serve bati or roasted dough balls along with dal and churma. Nowadays, you can make it in an oven. It is quite similar to Dal Bafla and Litti chokha.
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Ingredients
For baati
- wheat flour/aata 1 cup yields 4 batis
- Semolina/Sooji
- Clarified butter/ghee
- Carom seeds/ajwain
- Baking soda or pinch of baking soda
- Salt as per taste
Choorma
- Use 2 bati made from above mixture.
- sugar
- ghee
For dal
- mixed dal Chana dal,masoor dal,tuvar dal,urad dal
- turmeric
- coriander powder
- cumin powder
- oil
- Pinch of heeng or asafoetida
- onion chopped
- ginger- garlic chopped
- green chillies as per taste
- tomatoes chopped
- Salt as per taste
refer to recipe card for details
How do we eat it?
Litti and bati both are crushed and mixed with loads of ghee. Chokha/dal is poured over it. Pickled onions lemon and green chilly are served along with the meal. Nowadays, you can also make bati in microwave oven.
Dal is also a specialty in itself. Panchmel or Panchratna dal is a combination of 5 lentils-urad, tuvar, masoor, moong and chana. This has a great flavor due to varied textures. Churma is a sweet coarse powder of few dough balls. It is also similar to Dal Bafla in MP and Litti chokha or Bihar.
how to make dal bati churma in oven?
Traditionally, we make the bati on coal/wood. The closest we can get to cooking the bati in traditional method in the modern days is on a grill/barbecue. You can also cook it in a convection oven. Just ensure you cook it from all sides.
How to make dal bati churma ?
- Mix all the ingredients for bati in a bowl.
- Knead into a semi hard dough with warm water. Make small balls of bati from the dough,cover and keep them for 10-15 minutes.
Making bati in oven
Line them in a baking tray. In a preheated oven, Cook at 190 degree C (fan forced) for 18-20 minutes or until they crack open. Alternatively, you may cook them on a grill.
- Take them off the grill/oven once they are brown from sides and crack open. Keep few asides for churma.
- Optionally, Cook them on a grill over a flame, for just a second or 2.
- Brush them with ghee before serving.
Steps to cook bati in air fryer
Make the bati with the wholewheat flour and other ingredients.
In a preheated air fryer (190C/375F) ,cook the bati for 15 minutes at 190C/375F
Once they crack open, turn off the airfryer and brush them with ghee so that they are little moist.
Optionally you can dip them in the ghee for few minutes and take out. this will make the bati very soft.
Steps for churma
- Crack few of the bati from above steps.
2. Coarsely grind them with ghee and sugar . Serve fresh.
How to make Panchratna dal
Ingredients
- mixed dal Chana dal,masoor dal,tuvar dal,urad dal
- turmeric
- coriander powder
- cumin powder
- oil
- heeng or asafoetida
- onion
- ginger- garlic
- green chillies
- tomatoes
- Salt as per taste
- Take mixed dal and soak them in water.
- Cook them with water, tomatoes, salt and turmeric.
- Cook ginger, garlic, chilies with cumin.
- Add onion and cook until golden brown
- Mash the boiled dal using a masher.
- Add onion mix to the dal and let it come to a boil.
FAQ
Litti is stuffed with sattu flour a cereal mix, very popular in Bihar. Chokha is made of brinjal mash. Both dal baati and Litti chokha are eaten in a similar fashion.
Storage
You can cook the bati in advance, to keep them moist for the next few days, dip them in ghee. Store them in the fridge and reheat them in the oven / air fryer for 5 minutes to make them fresh again.
For the dal, keep the boiled dal in fridge for future use. Make the tadka/tempering before serving. If you cook onions and add that to the dal in advance, it won't seem fresh the next day.
Related recipes
Dal Baati Churma recipe
Equipment
- Food processor
- stand mixer optional
- oven/ air fryer
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
For baati
- 2 cup wholewheat flour/aata 1 cup yields 4 batis
- ¼ cup Semolina/Sooji
- ¼ cup Clarified butter/ghee
- ½ teaspoon Carom seeds/ajwain
- ⅛ teaspoon Baking soda or pinch of baking soda
- Salt as per taste
For churma
- Use 2 bati made from above mixture.
- 2-3 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon ghee
For dal
- ½ cup mixed dal Chana dal,masoor dal,tuvar dal,urad dal
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Pinch of heeng or asafoetida
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger- garlic chopped
- 1-2 green chillies as per taste
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- Salt as per taste
Instructions
- Knead the dough with warm water and a little stiff consistency.
- Keep it covered for 10-15 mins.
- Divide the dough in 18-20 portions of round balls.
- Cook baati on a grill until cracks appear and all sides looked cooked.
For baati in oven
- In a preheated oven, it would take 18-20 minutes at 190C / 375F or until they crack open. You will need to rotate the bati after 10 minutes so that they are cooked from all sides.
- Once the baati is cooked, break it into pieces.Add few spoonfuls of ghee.
- Serve it with mixed dal.
For bati in air fryer
- In a preheated airfryer (190C/375F) ,cook the bati for 15 minutes at 190C/375F
- Once they crack open, turn off the airfryer and brush them with ghee so that they are little moist.
- Optionally you can dip them in the ghee for few minutes and take out. this will make the bati very soft.
For the dal(brief steps)
- Pressure cook your choice of dal/lentils with spices and salt.Keep it aside.
- In a pan,heat oil,add ginger-garlic and chillies.
- Add onions and salt.Cook till rawness disappears.
- Now add chopped tomatoes and cook until they soften.
- Add boiled dal to this mix.
- Garnish with coriander. Serve hot
For choorma (quick option)
- Use the above bati(2 bati).
- Break into small pieces.Add 2-3 tsp. of sugar and 2 tsp. of ghee.
- Process in a food processor.
- Serve on room temperature.
Food safety
Never leave the food uncovered.
Keep the kitchen well ventilated while cooking.
Always preheat your air fryer.
Always wash your hands before cooking.
Conclusion: Baati and choorma can be made and stored for a longer time. Dal can be made fresh. This helps you savor the dish even on a weekday.
Mohan says
Thanks for detailed steps
Gaurav says
Thanks a lot