RAJASTHANI DAL BATI CHURMA | राजस्थानी दाल बाटी चूरमा

Rajasthani cuisine is rich, colourful and unique just like its culture. Milk, lots of clarified butter (ghee) and local spices are the prerequisites of many local dishes. From a range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, to sweet and savoury delicacies. Rajasthani cuisine is among those rare cuisines boasting of a never-ending platter with a plethora of dishes, ranging from tangy drinks to spicy starters, mouth-watering sabzis and crunchy bread along with added delights of chutneys, achars, papad and chhach.

If there has to be a national dish of Rajasthan, Dal bati Churma would be the one. Made with whole wheat flour that is roasted over firewood, the batis are hard round-shaped dumplings that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The dal is made up of spices and different varieties of lentils that are soaked in water overnight.  Bati is a bread that is crispy from outside and soft from inside and authentically cooked over low heat simmer of cow dung cake. Batis can be made plain as well as stuffed, known as masala bati.

The churma is the crushed bati doused in ghee and mixed with sugar or jaggery. The three combined together – baked bati, dal and jaggery mixed churma make a hearty and scrumptious meal.

INGREDIENTS RAJASTHANI DAL BATI CHURMA –

FOR DAL YOU NEED –

• 1 cup Toor Dal (Arhar / Yellow Dal )
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• 8-10 cloves garlic, chopped (lahsun)
• 2 table-spoon oil
• 1 table-spoon coriander leaves, finely chopped to garnish (dhaniya patti)

• 4 cup water

• salt to taste

Spices for Dal –

• 1/4 t-spoon cardamom powder
• 1/4 t-spoon black pepper powder
• 1/4 t-spoon cinnamon powder
• 1/4 t-spoon clove powder
• 1/2 t-spoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 2/3 t-spoon coriander powdered (dhaniya)
• 1/4 t-spoon Red Chilli Powder (Lal Mirch Powder)
• 1/4 t-spoon garam masala
• 2/3 t-spoon turmeric powdered (haldi)

FOR BATI DOUGH YOU WILL NEED –

• Wheat flour – 3 cups
• Almond flour – 1/4 cup
• Semolina (suji) – 1/4 cup
• Chickpea flour (besan) – 1/4 cup
• Coarse wheat flour – 1/4 cup
• Carom seeds – 1 tsp
• Oil (Clarified butter preferred) – 3/4 cup
• Salt – as per taste
• Water or cold milk to knead – 1.5 to 2 cups

FOR BATI FILLING YOU WILL NEED –

• Potatoes – 3 boiled and crushed
• Peas – 1 cup
• Cashews -1/4 cup chopped or broken
• Ginger – 1 tbs finely chopped
• Green chilies – 3-4, finely chopped
• Oil for sauteing and tampering (not in picture)
• Spices
• Asafoetida (hing)– 1 pinch
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Crushed coriander seeds – 1/2 tbs
• Dry mango powder – 1 tsp
• Garam masala – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – as per taste 

FOR CHURMA YOU NEED –

• 1 cup Whole Wheat flour
• 1/2 cup Khoya
• 1 cup Ghee (Clarified butter)
• 1 cup ground Sugar
• 10-12 pieces Almond soaked and chopped
• 5-6 pieces choti ilaichi (Small cardamom)
• 1/2 t-spoon Dalchini powder (powdered Cinnamon)

MAKING INSTRUCTIONS DAL BATI CHURMA –

 MAKING BATI –

1. Mix all the flours, add oil and knead a stiff dough.
2. Divide into small balls. Cover and keep them aside.
3. While the dough is resting, prepare the stuffing for masala-bati.
4. Start by heating oil in a pan. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds when oil is hot.
5. When the cumin seeds start to splater and add crushed coriander seeds.
6. Roast them for a few second and then add chopped ginger and green chilies and saute them.
7. Add broken cashews and peas and roast the mixture.
8. While roasting mash the mixture using a masher. Now Add crushed boiled potatoes and mix well.
9. Add spices – dry mango powder, garam masala and salt. Continue to roast for some more time.
10. To stuff the Bati, flatten the balls. Curve them slightly to make a bowl.
11. Put spoon full of filling inside the dough bowl; bring together all the sides and close it. You may also make half plain and half masala baatis.
12. Now repeat the same process for all the balls. Press the balls slightly using a thumb impression.
13. Cook it in a preheat oven at 350 F or you can use a grill of a gas oven to cook it over low-medium flame.
14. For cooking on gas oven keep on rotating the sides in every 3-4 minutes.
    
    
    
15. Cook untill bati turn brown in colour and gives several cracks. Grill the batis over very low heat and make sure to turn from all sides for even cooking.
16. While still hot, crush them slightly and dip them in Ghee or Butter.
    
    
    

 MAKING DAL –

1. Wash Toor Dal 3-4 times with water and soak for 15-20 mins.
2. Pressure cook Toor Dal with 4 cups of water, turmeric powder, and a pinch of salt 15 mins or until Toor Dal gets tender.
3. For tempering, take a frying pan and heat oil over medium flame.
4. After a minute add cumin seeds and chopped green chillies, stir it for 15-30 secs. Then, add onion, garlic and cook for about 3-4 mins. stirring continuously. Add, chopped tomatoes to the pan and cook further on medium flame for 2-3 mins.
5. Now, add all the spices to the pan and Stir well.
6. After a minute add Toor Dal mixture and salt to the large frying pan and turn the heat to high, stir it well.
7. When it starts boiling, turn the heat to low, cover the pan and cook further for 8-10 mins. or until the Toor Dal gets soften and gets little dissolved in a mixture.
8. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves. 

MAKING CHURMA –

1. Mix half of the ghee with wheat flour and knead it to make a dough. Make small balls of this dough.
2. Take a frying pan and heat ghee in it. Fry wheat balls on low heat untill they get golden brown. Cool to room temperature.
3. Grind these fried wheat flour balls and mix it with khoya, ilaichi and dalchini powder.
4. Now again fry this mixture for a minute with the remaining ghee in the pan.
5. Now, add sugar to it and mix properly.
   

Serve the famous Dal Bati Churma hot.

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