This is not just a food, it’s an emotion!

Being a part of 100% rajasthani family, I,ve grown up on baatis. It is one dish that’s undisputed-ly everyone’s favorite.

Dal baati churma is one of the most favorite dish of Rajasthan. It also happens to be quite popular in other states like U.P., Gujarat and M.P. It is one of the oldest recipes and is said to be food of the ancient locals. Since Rajasthan is a dry and arid part of India, in older times, it was quite difficult to find vegetables or ant fresh stuff for cooking. Also, given the climate conditons, it was difficult to preserve anything for long time.

Hence, dishes like baati were invented which not only can be cooked with very few ingredients (basic version with just 3 ingredients) but also last long and can be eaten with almost all kinds of condiments and dal.

Best dish to go with baati is n doubt rajasthani panchratani Dal (recipe will be available shortly) but in different parts of state it is paired with various dishes like sukha aloo, ghaate ki sabji etc.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

• Atta (wholewheat flour): 4 cups
• Ghee (melted and warm): 1 cup + 3 cups for soaking
• Baking powder: 1 tsp
• Salt: 2 tsp
• Ajwain (carom seeds): 1 tsp
• water: as needed

METHOD:

• Pre-heat oven on 220 degree C.
• Take atta in a deep dish and add salt, ajwain and baking powder to it. Mix it all well.
• Add 1 cup melted ghee in it and mix.
• Now add water as needed and kneed to form a dough. Keep in mind, dough should not be too soft or tight.
• Make small ball sized pieces of dough and roll into smooth. Press slightly on top with thumb to make a small depression. with 4 cups atta, roughly 15-16 baati should be made.
• Put baati on grilling rack and bake for 15-20 mins turning once in between.
• Once done, baati should crack from surface and should be cooked till center. Final color should be light golden-brown.
• Be careful, if cooked little extra, baati will turn very hard. So keep an eye and don’t let it get overcooked.
• While baati are baked, keep rest of the ghee melted it in a deep bowl ready. Once you take the baatis out of oven, dip them straight in the ghee for a minute and store in a hot case.
• Serve hot with more ghee, dal and lahsun chutney!

Note: Every oven has different settings, keep checking your dish to avoid overcooking.