Monday, December 27, 2010

How to eat Daal Baati Churma

Daal Baati Churma. Sometimes it's just called "Daal Baati". Its a staple dish from my home state of Rajasthan. A state which is mostly desert, a lot of its dishes are made from hardy lentils with very few vegetables. Wikipedia puts it eloquently when they say that "(Daal Baati Churma ) is prized there for its long shelf life and high nutritional content, as well as the minimal quantity of water required for its preparation."
So why have I picked this for the first post of my blog? I remembered a discussion I once had with a friend (fantastic blogger and co-marwari) who reminded me that what Daal Baati brings to us is not just taste and nostalgia for our roots. Every Marwari of our generation, who hasn't truly lived in Rajasthan has a story about this dish. It usually involved family get togethers, lots of cousins, picking the Baati out of the ghee and lots of finger licking.
I wasn't personally a big fan of it in my early years. But I remember going for a family function. I remember complaining about how I do not want to eat Daal Baati and stamping my feet. My Mother was just about to give me a verbal lashing about being a brat, when a kindly Uncle took my shoulder and told me he would teach me the right way of eating it.

As the name suggests, the dish consists of :

1) The Daal



2) The Baati



3) The Churma


There are a number of ways that people eat it. Most people do a dipping thing where they dip a piece of the Baati in the daal and then maybe dip it in the churma and then munch away. Thats boring. When you are 7, sitting on the floor in a room full of 15 kids you learn to eat daal baati the right way.

1) Smash open the Baatis with your hands. Break them into pieces on your plate.


(Caution: Baati is normally served hot and dipped in Ghee. The Uncle who fed me this dish had to put burn ointment on his fingers for the next few days. A shout out to him!!!!!)

2) Heap on the Churma. Be liberal.


3) Pour in the Daal.



(It absorbs a lot of the liquid, so you might want to get a little extra poured in.)

4) Mix it all together. (This is especially fun when done by hand)



5) A lot of people add powdered sugar, and (sinful considering how much ghee its made in) spoonfulls of ghee on top of this. For the sake of my heart I shall refrain (since its made often enough in my house) But if its your first time trying this, I recommend you add them. It adds to the richness of the flavours.

ENJOY!!!!!!

(P.S. This was not going to be my first post. Credit goes to The Purple Foodie for reminding me about Marwari Cuisine )

14 comments:

  1. Whoaaa...I never knew there was a *method* to eating Daal Baati. I actually just break pieces off the baati with a spoon, dip it in the daal and eat (without the churma, which I just coudn't figure out.)
    Thanks. Super post. Daal-baati shall be given another chance just because of the above!

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  2. I've never actually had it, even after endless opportunities during my Rajasthan trips. This post makes it seem much more tempting than those restaurants :) and I regret not trying it out sooner. Next trip! :)

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  3. Such a great first post! LOVE it. I got acquainted with dal bati churma only a few years ago at Rajdhani and it became my instant favourite. In fact, I'd make sure I went to eat there only if it was Dal Bati Churma Day. I haven't had it in the longest time and now I'm so tempted.

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  4. I don't think I can be more proud! You are a fantastic writer, and have a great way with words. And by being a big time foodie as well, I can see this blog munching its way to a lot of minds that will digest post after post! Congrats! And the next time I come across Daal Baati Churma, will eat it the right way for sure! Awesome stuff Pranav :)

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  5. Natasha: Heap lots of churma on it. tastiness and yumm comes from that.

    Anjali: Do let me know how you liked it after having it. P.S.. dont schedule any hard acivity afterwords, its nice, rich and heavy.

    Shaheen: Will call you next time its being made at my place then. thank you for inspiring this post

    Shruti: :D thank you so much for the nice words. Means a lot coming from you.

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  6. I don't know whether to hate you for this graphic description of such a yummy looking dish or kill myself for having never tasted it. I'm hitting your residence next time I'm in Mumbai. Pizza ko maro goli, daal baati hogi humaari humjoli!:D well written, the photographs have caused severe hunger pangs!

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  7. Cannot wait to be back home and devour it. Thank you for giving me a reason to think about the trip home. :p

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  8. Good Job,Pranav.Bhook lag gayi thodi thodi.Though the excessive ghee part has already made my tummy heavy.
    More foodie stuff!

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  9. I can't believe I did it the right and fun way the very first time :) I am a Bengali and went to try Rajasthani food in a Kolkata restaurant and had it exactly the way you mentioned. I thought of breaking and dipping the bati in daal first, but then thought making it like a chaat might be better. Nice post :) We have a great Rajasthani restaurant here in Kolkata. I reviewed it here - http://www.sumitsurai.com/2010/08/teej-royal-rajasthan/ . Would love your comment there.

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  10. Great post! An enthusiastic omelette walla in jodhpur told me try dal bati at this tiny dingy restaurant and when the plate arrived, I did it all wrong. Thanks for making this more fun!

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  11. NIce post..!! thanks for sharing...

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  13. I went little experimental and ordered thali from one rajastani restaurant. To my surprise, there is neither rice nor roti. I immediately called the restaurant guy, thinking that he might have forgotten to put them. But he made me realize that i need to eat with bhaati (whatever).

    I started off my meal by finishing that powder kind of sweet chowrma (whatever) and then i was puzzled how to finish rest. Got one spoon, crusted bhaati and dipped them in to daal and felt the awfulness.

    Now after reading this post, its worth another try. hopefully i will like it.

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  14. nice blog with awesome recipe. thanks for sharing.

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