An Ode to Rajasthani Cuisine - Dal Bati and Churma ni ladu / PANCHMEL Dal and STUFFED Batis

RCI Rajasthan.. the minute i read about this event what clicked my mind was dal baati churma... but d next question in mind was do i really have the patience to indulge in this hectic task ... what the heck ... coz if i dont try it now.. well i dont think ill ever give it a shot.... so here i was.. but swati deary could not compromise with just dal baati .. the foodie swati insisted.. dal baati and churma are inseperable.. cook swati got scared.. humbly tried explaining it to foodie swati that dear.. its a long long process.. and the cook is me... i will have to take all the pains.. anyhow i missed RCI Bengal for silly reasons like i have already posted d bong dishes i know and out of laziness it was gone.. so another RCI... lets compromise on it...foodie swati started pestering.. my tastebuds started pleading .. cook swati started convincing.. lets compromise on gatte ki sabzi or rajasthani style mixed veg.. foodie swati insisted.. somebody has already prepared gatte wale pulao or sorts.. this would not b upto your mark... you can definitely deliver something better... etc etc etc... and cook swati finally got convinced... (senti ho gayi faaltu mein... thinking that shes a great cook..yu ha hahaaaaa..)



Seriuosly this is literally what happened yesterday .. a good long argument between my foodie and cook self... the palates had to win... and there i was preparing churma ni ladu in the morning and then dal bati in the evening.. and it was not all... i wanted to have some variations... so i tried the stuffed version of bati and added onions and tomato to the authentic style dal.. but alls well that ends well... i could not have come up with something better... it was my bestest of my trials..


My first stint with Rajasthani food was when i met my fren anjali maheshwari from udaipur during my graduation days.. never knew a particular regional cuisine could be so diverse and unique.. the more she used to mention about them the more i used to fall in love with it... i still remember the numerous varieties of snacks she would get from home after vacations... be it mathri .. sev.. chivda..kair sangri..churma... aahhh.. nights discussing how different things are in our respective hometowns jamshedpur and udaipur.. having chilgoze.. she inviting me to her room when her roomies were not around.. for a chit chat and offering me her snacks.. and i can bet .. all her snacks got over courtesy swati raman coz mam used to have food like a chidiya.. and yeah not to forget the much famed panchkute ka achaar.. am sorry if i have named it incorrectly but it was an achar made from some 5 wild fruits or herbs.. and it was amaziiing... hey anjali missing you... (ur food to be precise ;)).. ok ok then i had daal bati for the first time at a very good frens place.. at my first night out of my life... i was all excited.. anchal being a jain.. and aunty knowing that iam a close fren treated me with the desi dal bati which is served to special guest in rajasthan.. thanks aunty didnt know abt it then.. now i know how much efforts it takes ... hats off to all those rajasthani folks who effortlessly come up with this lipsmacking dish .. hats off to you..
the much acclaimed Rajasthani thali is incomplete without the Dal-Baati-Churma. It consists of baatis or round wheat flour dough dumplings baked over firewood or over kandas, cow dung cakes, as done in villages till date. Baatis can be baked in a gas tandoor or an electric oven as well. I dont have an oven so my version different but didnt seem different..
The one thing common for baatis, irrespective of their cooking technique is that they are always served dipped in ghee, clarified butter accompanied with panchmel or panch kutti dal(consists of 5 dals) and churma.
The dal is cooked with ghee, the masalas in the dal are fried in ghee and more ghee is mixed into the dal before serving. So all you calories consious folks this is just not your dish..
Often a large batch of baatis is made and part of the dough is left unsalted. This unsalted dough then shaped into rounds and deep fried in ghee. Later these deep fried baatis are crushed and sugar or jaggery is mixed into them to make a sweet dessert- churma. I have the churma ka laddu for you guys.. The three together make a very filling and rich meal.


This goes as my entry for RCI Rajasthan hosted by Padma of Spicy Andhra. Thanks a ton dear, otherwise i would have never thought of making it myself. So here we go..


Ingredients:

For the panchmel dal

1/3 cup split Bengal gram (chana dal)
1/3 cup toovar (arhar) dal
1/3 cup green moong dal (split green gram)
2 tbsp urad dal (split black lentils)
2 tbsp whole moong (whole green gram)
1 big onions paste
1 medium tomatoes puree
1 tbsp ginger finely chopped
1 tbsp 3 teaspoons chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 teaspoon coriander (dhania) powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
2 green chillies, slit
2 pinch asafoetida (hing)
2 tsp amchur (dry mango powder)
3 tablespoons ghee
salt to taste

For the baatis (for approx 10 baatis)

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)
2 tbsp rawa
4 tablespoons Bengal gram flour (besan)
1/2 cup milk water mixture
5-6 tbsp melted ghee
1 tsp chilli pwd
1/2 tsp ajwain
salt to taste



For the stuffings

1 cup boiled peas
1 big onion finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chilli pwd
1 tsp coriander pwd
1 tsp kitchen king (optional)
salt to taste

For the Churma Laddu

1 1/2 cups (200 grams) whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)
2 tblspn rawa
1/4 cup grated dry coconut (copra)
3/4 cup (150 grams) jaggery , grated
2 tablespoons ghee
ghee for deep frying
poppy seeds (khus khus) and dry coconut powder for coating the laddus



Method:

For the panchmel dal

1. Clean the dals and Pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles in medium flame or till the dals are cooked.
2. Combine the chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala with 3 tablespoons of water and keep aside.
3. Heat the ghee in a pan and add the cloves, bay leaves, cumin seeds, green chillies and hing. When the cumin seeds crackle, add onions paste ans saute till golden brown. Now add the prepared masala paste and saute for another minute or 2. Now add the tomato puree and let it cook till the mixture starts leaving oil from the corners.
4. Add the cooked dals, amchur, and salt and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Adjust the consistency of the dal before serving and if required, add some water.


For the Stuffing:

Heat 1 tblspn of oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, let it splutter, once done add the ginger saute it for a minute, now add the onion and fry till it turns light brown, now add all the spices and saute for a minute. Now add the boiled peas, and 1/2 cup of water, cover the lid and let it cook for 10 minutes, just check in between that the it doesnt stick. Let all the water evaporate and see to it that the peas have got the flavor and are cooked. Set it aside and let it cool before you add it as a stuffing.


For the baatis

1. Mix all the ingredients and knead into a firm dough. Knead well, it should be much harder than the regular chapati dough.
2. Divide the dough into equal portions and shape each portion into an even sized round, Flatten the rounds lightly using chakla belan and hold it as a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of the stuffing and seal it from the top shaping it as pedas or golgappas:)
3. Boil water in a vessel and drop the baatis in the boiling water. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes over a high flame. Once the baatis are done they would start floating. When the baatis are done, drain and keep aside.
4. Heat a gas tandoor or oven, well i dont have one so i went the gas stove way, heat a thin tawa and place the batis on it, roast it for 10 to 15 minutes, it will become light brown from both the sides, keep turning sides to have this. Roast them on a medium flame to ensure that the baatis are cooked on the insides also.
5. Once they are slihtly done remove and deep fry in ghee.



For the Chorma Laddu:



1. Make a stiff dough of the whole wheat flour and rawa using 1/2 cup of milk water mixture. Knead very well making a hard dough as in bati.
2. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Shape the portions into the shape of your fist and press with your fingers or nails here and there to make indentation to ensure even frying.
3. Heat ghee in a large kadhai and deep fry the dough portions on a very slow flame for approximately 15 20 mins until they are brown in colour. Drain on absorbent paper and allow them to cool.
4. Break it into small peices you may even use a mortar pestle in this case. And then grind the pieces further in a food processor to get a fine powder (churma). As coarse as rawa powder.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in a pan, add the grated coconut and saute for about 2 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
6. Heat the jaggery with the remaining tablespoon of ghee and 2 3 tbsp of water on a medium flame till the jaggery dissolves. let it cool slightly.
7. Mix the ground churma, coconut and nuts powder (in between break some cashew, almonds and pista into peices, fry them for not more than a minute on medium flame and grind them just once so that you have a mixture of powdered nuts and some small peices.) with the melted jaggery. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
8. Divide into 10 portions and shape into rounds. Roll each laddu in poppy seeds and coconut. Store the laddus in an air-tight container.


How to have it:

Arrange the baatis on a serving plate, break each baati into 4 pieces and pour melted ghee on the baatis. Pour hot panchmel dal over the baatis. Serve hot with churma, papad, salad and pickel:)