Dal Bati

There are many different varieties in making bati recipe e.g. bafla or fried bati, stuffed bati, masala bati. But today’s version is the traditional one. Here panchmel dal (mixture of five types of dal) is served along with baati. In Rajasthani households, it is not restricted to serve this dal only. Every household has their own version. Many use single dal while many use mixture of few dals. Dal bati recipe is indulging and rich delicacy. Because a GOOD amount of ghee is used in making it and also drizzled over before serving. Usually baati are dipped into a bowl of ghee before serving, then broken into small chunks, again ghee is drizzled over along with dal and then served. Also a bowl of ghee is also served on side, if anyone wants to drizzle more in his/her serving. The sweet churma is served on side as a part of meal hence known as dal bati churma.

Step By Step Photo Instructions:

1. Take coarse whole wheat flour in a bowl along with salt and baking soda.
2. Mix well.
3. Now drizzle ghee over it.
4. Using your fingertips, start mixing till everything is incorporated well.
5. The mixture will look crumbly and when you press little amount into your palm it will form a fragile ball.
6. Now add very little water at a time and knead into very stiff and tight dough. The water quantity may vary depending on the freshness and quality of the flour. Also depends on which type (coarse or regular) flour you are using.
7. Cover the dough with damp towel or napkin and let it rest for 20 minutes.
8. While the dough is resting, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C.
9. Also line a baking tray or cookie sheet with parchment paper and keep it ready.
10. After the resting time, you will notice tiny white bubble on the surface. Now knead the dough once again.
11. Divide the mixture into 12 or 13 equal portions. Take one portion and make ball by pressing into your fist.
12. While shaping the ball make a vertical indent as shown in the photo.
13. Next make another cross indent to get the ‘+’ sign and also keep the round shape.
14. Prepare all of them similarly and arrange them on prepared baking sheet.
15. Bake into preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then remove the tray from oven, flip them and bake again for 20-25 minutes.
16. You will notice light brown color on them. You can break one and see if it is not raw from inside.
17. Now traditionally these bati are dipped into the ghee and then served. Here I have skipped that step just because I cannot handle that much ghee. Instead I have break them into small chunks, drizzled couple of teaspoons of ghee on top.
18. Then add hot/warm panchmel dal on top and serve immediately. Many prefer to sprinkle some chopped onions on top, it’s up to your preference. Serving suggestion: Enjoy it as a meal. Usually it is served in combination as dal baati churma. You can serve papad, pickle on side.

Expert Tips

Do not reduce the amount of ghee or Do not replace with oil. This addition of ghee is called ‘moyan’ or ‘moyen’. This helps to make melt in your mouth kind texture of the bati. So the proportion of ghee to flour should be right.The dough should be very tight and stiff (similar to bakhri dough). For that always add very little water at a time while kneading.‘+’ sign indentation is required, so it gets cooked well from inside too. If just round ball is made then it gets crispy and hard from outside, still not cooked from inside.

Did you try this dal bati recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.