Daal Bhaati

I hail from a small town in Gujarat which is 3-4 hours away from Rajasthan and so some of the Rajasthani food is available in our town... Daal Bhaati is very famous. My mom makes fabulous daal bhaati. It is made very frequently during winter. Sometimes when we are not in the mood for cooking we just order the daal bhaati from small restaurants which serve spicy garlic chutney along with it.

In November'11, I decided to make daal bhaati at home for the first time. Generally, bhaatis are made in a special cooker but I made it in the microwave and it was just as good.

How do you eat it? Break the bhaati into small pieces, pour the daal over and eat with hands/spoon.

Bhaati- nos 7 small ones

• Add 1.5 cups flour (regular one), lots of oil (triple the quantity you would use when making regular chapattis), some salt and little haldi. Knead the dough with little water. It has to be very, very hard... as hard as you can make it. Make flat oval shapes (you can even make round ones)


• Boil water in a big vessel. Put the bhaatis in them. They will be done once they come on top. It takes around 10-15 mins. Ensure that the water completely covers the bhatis


• You can either cook them in a tandoor (available everywhere) for 10-15 mins. Heat a tandoor, put the bhaatis on the grill, cook covered. Once the top becomes firm and brown, turn and cook the other side till they also become brown


• For microwave, mine has an automatic setting and cooked in 15 mins. For others, I guess the convention mode will have to be used. Put bhaatis on a tava, place tava on high grill and cook on high for 7-8 mins. Turn the bhaatis and cook for another 7-8 mins

Dal (serves 3-4 people)

• Boil 1/4 cup tuvar dal, 1/4 cup urad dal and 1/2 cup moong chilke wali dal. The idea is to use 3 types of dal in this ratio
• Crush the dal once boiled. Add the water leftover from boiling bhattis (why throw away nutrients?)
• Add 1 chopped tomato, salt, green chillies, salt. Boil
• In another pan, heat oil. Add jeera, hing, 1 small chopped onion, red chilli powder, haldi.
• Add the mixture to the dal and let it boil
• After 5 mins add nimbu/tamarind paste

Serve the bhaatis with ghee.