Dal Baati Churma

Dal Baati Churma
 Dal Baati Churma
 
Dal Baati Choorma, comes from the colorful land of Rajasthan. A western desert state of India which is known primarily for it's folk culture and spicy varied cuisine. A platter of sweet Churma, spicy Dal and baked Baati, is one such traditional combination. Fresh Baatis drenched in ghee and drowned in piping hot dal is a perfect accompaniment for sweet Churma. 
 
 
 I will be giving all three recipes separately. Let's start with Churma

FOR CHURMA
 
INGREDIENTS:

Wheat flour- 1 cup 
Clarified Butter/ Ghee- 4 tablespoon (melted)+ 1 tablespoon 
Fennel seeds/ Saunff- 1 teaspoon 
Milk- 1/4th cup
Cardamom powder- 1/2 teaspoon 
Mixed nuts (Almonds, Cashew, Pistachios)(chopped)- 2 tablespoon 
Powdered Sugar- 3/4th cup

Clarified butter or Ghee for deep-frying

DIRECTIONS:

Mix flour,fennel seeds and melted ghee well. 

Add milk as required and knead into a stiff dough.

Keep the dough for ten minutes for resting.

After that knead it again and divide the dough into nine lemon sized balls. 
 
Flatten the balls a little bit and make an indent in the center.
 
Heat sufficient ghee in a kadai and deep-fry the balls on low medium heat.
Remember to keep the flame on low medium heat so that the balls are cooked from inside too.

Fry them till they are well done or turn to dark brown color.
Drain and place on an absorbent paper and cool. 

Coarsely grind the fried wheat balls in a mixer.

In a wok or kadai put 1 tablespoon of ghee and add in the grounded mix. Sauté on low flame for 3-4 minutes. This will ensure that grounded mix is evenly cooked. Otherwise, you can skip this step.
 
Add in chopped nuts and cardamom powder.

Once done, switch off the flame and take out the mix in a deep plate.
Let the mix come to room temperature.
 
Then add in the powdered sugar.

Churma is ready. You can pour more ghee over the churma while serving.


FOR DAL

INGREDIENTS:

Chana dal (split gram)- 1/4th cup

Toor dal (pigeo peas)- 1/4th cup

Moong dal (split without skin)- 1/4th cup

Urad dal (split black lentil with skin)- 1/4th cup

Salt- according to taste

Carified butter (ghee)- 2 tablespoon

Bay leaves- 2

Cloves- 3-4

Turmeric powder- 1 teaspoon

Onions- 2 (medium, chopped)

Tomatoes- 2 (medium, chopped)

Tomato paste- 1 tablespoon (optional)

Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tablespoon

Coriander powder- 1 teaspoon

Mango powder (amchoor)- 1 teaspoon

Garam masala powder- 1 teaspoon

Chilli powder- 1 teaspoon

Cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon

Mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon

Asafetida (hing)- 1/8th teaspoon 

Dried red chili broken in pieces- 3-4



DIRECTIONS:

Clean and wash the dals. Rinse them 3-4 times to remove any dust particles.

Soak dals in clean water for about two hours.

Next, combine the dals, 4 cups of water and salt in a pressure cooker, mix well and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.

Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid.

Do not drain the water and keep aside the boiled dal.

Heat the ghee in a deep wok/kadhai, add the cloves, bayleaves, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida and sauté on a medium flame for a few seconds.

When the seeds crackle, add the ginger garlic paste and onions and sauté on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes.

When onions become translucent add the chopped tomatoes.

Let tomatoes cook on low heat. Cover the pan and let them cook.

Once tomatoes become soft, with the back of the ladle mash them and add coriander powder, turmeric powder, Chilli powder, mango powder, garam masala powder and tomato paste.

Mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally.

Add the cooked dals (along with the water), mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes, while stirring occasionally.

Dal is ready. While serving you can put a tempering of ghee+ broken Chillies over the dal. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.



FOR BAATIS

(Makes 12 Baatis)

INGREDIENTS:

Whole wheat flour/ Atta- 2 cups

Semolina/ Sooji- 1/2 cup

Gram flour/ Besan- 1/2 cup

Carom seeds/ Ajwain- 1 teaspoon

Salt- 1/2 teaspoon

Clarified butter/ Ghee- 1/4th cup

Milk- 1/2 cup (or as needed to make the dough)


DIRECTIONS:

Combine all the ingredients in a deep bowl and knead into a semi-stiff dough.

Keep the dough aside for 10-15 minutes.

After that give the dough a good knead again and divide the dough into 12 equal portions and shape each portion into an even sized round ball.

Make a small indentation in the center of the baatis using your thumb. 

Brush them with ghee.

Bake them in a preheated oven at 180*c for about 7-8 minutes.

After that, turn them and further bake for 7-8 more minutes or till they turn to golden brown color.

I have used Air fryer to bake them. Which gives similar results as of my oven.

Once done pour some ghee over them while they are warm.

Baatis are ready.


HOW TO SERVE

Break baati into pieces and arrange 2 baatis on a serving dish. 

Pour some of the piping hot dal evenly over it. 

Sprinkle some chopped onions and green chutney evenly over it.

Serve immediately with churma.

Enjoy the heavenly meal!!!