Dal bati Churma

Introduction
Beside the imposing forts, lavish palaces, barren desert and colorful fairs and festivals, Rajasthan has much more things to offer. Rajasthani people are fond of their tasty cuisines which are mostly vegetarian in nature.

Dal bati churma is the most renowned Rajasthani cuisine. It is special cuisine that is only served on some special occasions' It is an amalgamation of three items namely dal, bati and churma. Dal is basically prepared with lentil, Bati is a baked wheat ball and Churma is a sweetened powered prepared with coarsely ground wheat crushed cooked with ghee and sugar. Earlier, mashed wheat flour batis or left over rotis are mixed with jaggery and fried in ghee. It is mostly served during lunch or dinner.

Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer cities are famous for this relishing Rajasthani delicacies.

Ingredients:
This is a recipe which is a blend of three items. So, its require various ingredients as well as more time to prepare it. Some of the ingredients that are the major components of this cuisine are:

For dal:
1.Rajma beans, Whole black gram((soaked in water overnight with a pinch of soda bicarb).
2. Tomatoes, Onions, Coriander leaves finely chopped
3.Gram Masala Powder, Chilli Powder, Turmeric Powder,
4.Ginger-garlic paste
5.Green Chilli slits lengthwise
6.Cream, ghee, Oil and salt to taste.

For bati or dumplings:
1.Sieved Wheat Flour
2.Melted ghee
3.Curd
4.Salt to taste

For Churma:
Wheat flour
Ghee
Khoya / Mawa
Soaked Almond
Cardomom and dalchini

Method Of Preparation
At first to prepare the dal, pressure cook the rajma and black gram, till they become soft. Than fry the finely chopped onions in oil till they get brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and tomatoes to it. Fry them for some time. Add all the masalas, beans and salt. Simmer till well blended. The gravy should be thick.

Pour over cream and ghee to this. Garnish the dal with coriander laves and slit green chillies.

To make bati, knead a soft dough with wheat flour, ghee, curd salt and just enough water. Make lemon sized balls. Cover and keep them from 1 hour. Then roast them in batches on hot coals or oven for 20 minutes and microwave oven for 15 minutes till they become double their actual size. Try to bake them till they become puffed and golden from outside and spongy from inside. Serve hot with the dal.

Now, to make Churma, take wheat flour mix cardamom powder, almonds, sugar, ghee to it. Mix them well and make a soft dough using water. Now make small ping pong balls. Once the balls are made. place them one by one on a flat surface and make small circular plates or bread out of them. As soon as the breads are made, put some oil in a deep frying pan. Now fry all the breads in this oil till they become slightly brown. While still hot, crush the breads to powder to make the Churma. This Churma is now ready to be served.

Serve the three servings along with each other.