2 February, 2023
DAL BAATI CHURMA | Rajasthani Delicacy
Dal Baati Churma | Rajasthani Delicacy
The most popular dish of Rajasthani cuisine “Dal Baati Churma” is a trio of Sweet and Savory flavors. This delicacy is popular in the regions of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra also. Sold at every junction, this dish is rightfully Jodhpur’s (Rajasthan) own.
How To Eat ?
Fried or Baked crispy ‘Baatis’ broken into pieces then drowned in piping hot ‘Dal’, topped with ghee (clarified butter), onions and accompanied by sweet delicacy ‘Churma’. Traditionally, this is how this dish is served and eaten. Also, at some places, this is served with a spicy garlic chutney or pickles on the side. This is such a delightful and wholesome meal. Isn’t it ?
About Its Three Components:
This nutrient dense dish is a combination of three components: “Dal”, “Baati” and “Churma”. All the three components in this dish consist of lots of ghee (clarified butter) which provides a wholesome rich flavor and enhances the taste.
“Dal” of ‘Dal Baati’ is prepared using a mixture of five types of dals (Lentils) Masoor Dal (split Orange Lentils), Toor Dal, Green Moong Dal, Split Urad Dal, most important Chana Dal (split Bengal Gram) with a tempering of dried ‘Mathaniya Chilli’ and other spices. The combination of these five different types of Lentils is also called “Panchmel Dal”. Traditionally a smokey aroma is added to the Dal using coal and ghee but this is not mandatory.
Generally this dal is not sweet and sour but at some places like Indore of Madhya Pradesh, sweet and sour flavor is preferred for this dal recipe. For the sour flavor, we can add tamarind water or lime juice and for the sweet taste we can add jaggery to it.
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“Baati” which acted as the shield of Marwar and protected its soldiers during wars has always been popular in Jodhpur. Baatis are round in shape and its stiff dough is made of coarsely ground wheat flour and semolina. It can be plain Baati or masala Baati with various stuffings. Traditionally, Baatis are cooked on coals. But these can be baked in the oven also until they turn crisp and golden brown in color from outside and well cooked from inside. Baatis are very hard indeed but when soaked in Dal, it turns completely soft.
“Churma” is sweet in taste and made of wheat flour, dry fruits, powdered sugar and lots of ghee. Also, this is made by crumbling or grinding the Baatis to a finely coarse powder, then cool it down and mix well with some chopped dry fruits, cardamom powder and powdered sugar (or Boora/Demerara Sugar). Never add sugar to the hot churma as sugar will melt or release its water.
The Softer Version of Baati : ‘Bafla’
There is a softer version of ‘Baati’ which is also very famous and called ‘Bafla’.
‘Bafla’ is soft because it can either be steamed or poached before deep frying in clarified butter. This soft texture can not be obtained if we directly bake or fry the Baflas without steaming or poaching. Baflas lose all the moisture in direct baking and become very hard like ‘Baati’. ‘Baati’ is very hard because we bake it directly.
Curd is also added to the Bafla dough which makes it fluffy.
‘Bafla’ and ‘Baati’ both are dipped in ghee after cooking and always eaten with dal.
Why “Baati” Became So Popular ?
Dishes which require minimal quantities of water and can be stored for days are highly accepted in desert areas.
Baati, which is high in nutritional content but requires less water for its preparation and has a long shelf life, is considered a suitable dish in desert areas like Rajasthan with barren land, hot climatic conditions and scarcity of water.
Also, ‘Baati’ was the source of energy for the armies during wartime in the regions of Rajasthan. They reached the battleground energetic and fresh every morning after eating these Baatis and fought fierce battles. Since then, it has become the staple diet in Rajasthan.
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