Saturday, November 5, 2011

daal bati chokha | making sattu wali litti , baingan ka chokha and arhar ki daal

daal bati chokha or litti chokha

Daal bati chokha or litti chokha aur daal as we call it, this kind of meal comes under the most favorite types in my household. A hearty meal with all the rustic flavors to appease the hunger, the taste buds and olfactory nerves all at once. Not to mention the fun cooking process.

For many people it has been an extensive work and a dreaded kind of meal because of long cooking time it is supposed to involve. Let me make it simple for you. I have been cooking baati and litti using my microwave and gas stove and it gets ready within minutes. Actually it is more convenient than making chapatis as it doesn't involve rolling and baking on the griddle. Daal and chokha are cooked conveniently too. Chopping some more garlic than usual would be well worth if you are anticipating daal baati chokha for dinner or for a weekend lunch.

Recently, during my Banaras visit i prepared daal baati chokha twice for extended family and friends and it was a baati masterclass for a few people out there ... I have taught many people to make litti and baati this way and it has become the only way to make it in many families around me since then. Very few of my real family and friends know about a litti post i did long time back on this blog, they get live demonstrations so they don't value written words on these pages...i don't mind that though :)

litti chokha arhar ki daal

We wanted another round of daal baati chokha after coming home too, this is an addictive kind of meal believe me. The more you have it, the more you want.

The pictures are not very god because it was made for dinner and artificial light does make it look dull and lifeless, so do not go by the looks here as the taste is legendary. Time tested, tradition evolved and loved by all. For me, if a particular kind of dish is made in many regions of the country,  it is a testimony to it's being really good. This recipe is different from Rajasthani baati and more close to Bihari litti chokha , daal baati chokha of UP has a different identity of it's own. I have loved daal bafla of MP too, but that is also quite different from this.

Talking about the difficulty level of this recipe, you just need to concentrate over the daal and chokha and both of them are regular kind of recipes.

Daal is a mix of many lentils cooked conveniently in pressure cooker and tempered with chopped garlic, onion and tomatoes. Simple.

Chokha involves fire roasting the eggplants and tomatoes over gas flame but that can be done in an oven conveniently too. I somehow find it more convenient on gas stove as it is quicker and fun. Just some peeling the burnt skin and mashing with some chopped onion and the chokha is done. Simple.

The whole process of cooking the 3 of these for 2 people takes about 30 minutes. Including roasting , chopping , kneading the dough and assembling everything together.

ingredients and procedure for the baati.... 


Whole wheat flour without any shortening is what i normally use but you can go for a 1 tsp ghee shortening per cup of flour. Knead the flour using water and a little salt making a medium stiff dough. Make balls and flatten the balls to make about 1 cm thick batis , these ones are 5-6 cm diameter , you can make smaller or a bit bigger.

Now grease a MW safe plate with ghee and arrange 6-7 baatis in it and microwave on high for 5 minutes. I made 4 baatis and cooked for 3 minutes.

Place a wire rack on the gas stove and cook the baatis directly over the gas stove immediately after taking them out from the MW. This step has been posted with pictures here.

This flame roasting is to ensure those burnt spots on the surface and it gets a nice crust after this , while the insides are soft and crumbly. You can stuff 1/2 tsp ghee in each of the baati to make it softer and more flavorful too.

Smear ghee, keep them in a covered bowl and serve hot.

Cooking the baati should be the last step in assembling this meal but i wrote it first so you would know how easy and quick it becomes with this technique. Otherwise, making baati is the most tedious job, once this process is made easy you can now think of doing it happily. All the steps of making baati can be handled while cooking the daal and chokha simultaneously.

ingredients and procedure to make the daal...
(2 servings)
toor daal (arhar daal) 1 tbsp
mung daal 1 tbsp
masoor daal(red lentil) 1 tbsp
urad daal (skinned and split black lentil) 1 tbsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
salt to taste
 for tempering...
ghee 1 tbsp
asafoetida powder a pinch
cumin seeds 1 tsp
minced (not paste) garlic 1 tsp
diced onion 2 tbsp
diced tomatoes 1/2 cup
red chilly powder 1 tsp or to taste
chopped green coriander to garnish
minced ginger 2 tsp

Wash, drain and cook the daals in pressure cooker with salt, turmeric and 4 times water by volume. Cooking time should be 5 minutes after the first whistle.

Heat ghee and add the asafoetida and cumin and wait till the cumin splutters. Tip in the minced garlic and let it brown lightly.

Now add the onion and fry till translucent. Add the tomatoes and a lil salt and cook till the tomatoes are pulped. Add red chilly powder and let it cook for a dew seconds and pour all of this to the cooked daal, let it simmer for a minute, add the minced ginger and chopped coriander, mix well and serve.


litti chokha aur daal

ingredients and procedure for the chokha...
(2-3 servings)
one eggplant round variety (approx 200 gm)
2 tomatoes
one medium sized potato
finely diced onion3-4 tbsp
minced garlic 1-2 tsp
minced ginger 2 tsp
minced green chillies to taste
salt to taste mustard oil 1-2 tsp
chopped green coriander as per taste

Roast the eggplant and tomatoes over gas flame or in the oven till cooked.
Keep covered for 10 minutes so the skin can be removed conveniently.
Remove skin and mash both eggplant and tomatoes with cooked potato and mix with all the other ingredients.
Serve hot or warm or cold .


litti chokha recipe

If you want to do it within 30 minutes you should start with placing the eggplant and tomatoes on flame the very first thing. It needs to be turned and rotated every few minutes but you can do the daal preparations side by side. Kneading the dough for 2 servings and assembling the baati is a 10 minute job which requires your hands' involvement constantly.


I hope you found a simple way to enjoy a daal baati chokha whenever you want. A few friends have been asking for a recipe and although it is there on this blog since ages, i wanted to put a fresh post about the beauty of this meal.

Enjoy...

14 comments:

  1. Awwwww, this looks so yummmmmmm........ Can I have some please :)? Its been ages since I had these,the only time I get to eat these is when I go home and then to my village... Whenever I visit them, the menu for dinner is fixed it has to be daal baati chokha...........

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  2. Yumm and superb recipe Dear. Wonderfully done.Luv it.

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  3. The plate full of yummy food makes me hungry... Thanks for this wonderful description and recipe.. new to me but I have bookmarked..:)..
    Reva

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  4. I loved eating it as long as we lived in Rajasthan. Never yet tried with my gluten free flours.It is indeed legendary.

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  5. @ Balvinder...baati is great with all the millet flours. Bajra and jowar baati is a treat in itself. I am going to share them whenever i make them :)

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  6. Thankyou for posting this recipe! These rustic meals are perfect for this weather.

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  7. I lived in Rajasthan for 6 years for my medical education and had daal baati choorma whenever a local friend invited us. Ofcourse at that time, we didnot mind the laddleful of ghee poured on baati. Your recipe sounds really simple. Do you have choorma recipe too?

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  8. Thanks Joylife ..
    the choorma is so rich we rarely make it. Although i plan to make it for the blog :-)
    We make a UP version of churma called maleeda , i will post that too this winter , although i have some pictures from past winters too :-)

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  9. I like the DAL.. well put it this way each time i have food there has to be Dal :)


    Bikram's

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  10. I tried this and it was super successful....can you imagine this?? yesterday I was halfway into making baingan ka bharta when I opened this blog of your to check out what all new recipes you have posted.. and what do I find?? daal baati chokha recipe :) :) :) I tried the just one baati in the Microwave there and then..and it came out fine :) :) so my dinner menu was instantly changed from baingan ka bharta and raita with roti to daal baati chokha :) :) enjoyed... and everyone was so surprised at the instant baatis... it hugely helpful that you posted the baati recipe first and assured that it is quick and easy to cook baati in MW... once again a superb recipe :)

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  11. @ Amrita ...everytime someone askss about making baati or i get a comment on my baati post i feel like making it again :)
    Now you know you can change your mind at the last minute too :)

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  12. Dear Sangeeta,
    I made this dal, only had channa dal and udid dal at the time. It turned out fabulous.Fresh tasting, can taste and see the discernible grains of the fresh dal, wonderful ginger flavor.
    I've tried most of your dal,we eat dal with every meal, 14 meals a week. All of them turned out fabulous. it must be that your measurements are just right, cannot go wrong. its your research background, you do all the research and recording accurately.
    you cannot imagine my pleasant surprise, when such delicious dal from simple everyday pantry staples.
    its frustrating when other recipes from other blogs don't turn out well. I'll try the bati sometime, not too keen on it,as I've not had an exceptional bati anywhere. its like the dals, my mother and aunts were not enthusiastic cooks, they cooked the rainbow of veggies and dals and they tend to mimic each other. I remember eating at my aunts and felt that her cooking was even worse than my mothers, I'd decline any invitation to her dinners, unless she catered it from outside. it made for some funny stories narrated amongst friends.
    but your dal, i'm sure is much loved by all.I'm not crazy of sambar , I cannot taste the dal, its all spices.
    -best,
    Kamal.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Kamal for the lovely feedback. Even I have avoided eating at relatives' places for the same reasons :-)
      Keep cooking from Banaras ka Khana and keep letting me know if there is something you like, or even if you don't.

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