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

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 :)

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.

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 .

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...

baati chokha

first of all i regret the poor picture quality as i made this baati chokha for dinner , so it is night time clicking, secondly i always click pics with my cellphone cam..............:D:D:D

i am really very exited to post this recipe on the blog........already regretting why i didn't post it right when i cooked it........it's only last week i made this exotic baati chokha n have been trying to post but......due to some or the other reason it got stalled..............now when i am ready to write about it................it gives me the taste of baati again.........i can smell it again.........

this is a famous and much in demand eastern utter pradesh dish, which i got to taste when we went for a picnic at sarnath.........i remember we were recently tranfered to banaras from chandigarh n we kids were unaware of this strange looking delicacy...........thpse were the days when friends n family used to go for picnic almost every sunday...........in chandigarh rose garden was the sunday venue but in banaras there were not many places where a good picnic can be arranged........my dad was still so enthusiastic about picnics that he used ti arrange them in sarnath, which was a far away place from our home.............but one very special thing about sarnath was that this baati chokha was the favorite picnic food there, and people used to prepare this on the spot.........yes , that was new for us kids, we had ony saw our parents packing homemade food baskets n carrying to rose garden or rock garden in chandigarh.............we didn't have any idea then that food can be prepared on the spot.............so i was telling that sarnath had this unique thing and one could get all the paraphernalia of baati making there .........the dungcakes to light up fire (to bake the baatis on fire), the brinjals , potatoes n all the ginger garlic etc. needed for the chokha..........also the atta , ghee , sattu , achar n what not..........even you could get helpers ( men n women both) who would light the fire n make everything in front of your eyes............of course they would charge for thier labour and expect generous tip ........but it was an awesome experience.........it was only then we kids were introduced to baati or litti as it is called there...............we came to know that when it is being prepared, the aroma of sattu being mixed n baati being baked was enough to make anybody hungry...............we used to eat enormous amount of these littis......

we all so used to love it that we demanded it being made in the home............my mother then started making fried baatis at home ............and when our home was being constructed........we found a lot of open space and wood shavings to light up fire............my grandmother was so efficient at lighting up a fire suitable for this........she used to make awesome baatis.........as these ball shaped baatis have to be cooked in such a way that they don't get burnt and become hard.......not everybody can make soft n perfectly baked baatis........that taste is still in my memory n it has become kind of a comfort food for me.......now i make it in a more healthy n convenient way..........


i have done a lot of hit n trials to perfect my baati making and now i have become famous for my microwave baatis.......they are easier to make n healthier as i use least amount of ghee.....

it is worth mentioning that i have been in the state of jharkhnd after marriage for 6-7 years and this baati is thier cuisine too.........so i learnt a lot of things there about it's masala n all.........a boiled version of baati also i learnt there............

i made the boiled as well as microwaved baati this time with chokha which is a classic accompaniment to baati........usually brinjals and potatoes are roasted over fire or grilled in ovens for making the chokha , but i ususally make it by boiling the veggies..............a little difference of taste is there but it is light n tasty in it's own way.........

ingredients for baati

whole wheat flour
water to make a dough
ghee for rubbing in the dough ( i didn't use any ghee, it is optional)


ingredients for the masala filling

sattu ( roasted gramflour) 2 cups
masala from mango pickle 2 tbsp
ajwain seeds ( bishops wed) 1 tsp
nigella seeds 1 tsp
salt to taste
onions finely chopped 2 nos.
ginger 2 inch piece chopped finely
garlic 20 cloves chopped finely
green chillies 10 nos. chopped finely
coriander leaves chopped finely 1/2 cup

all these ingredients in bold are to be taken in equal quantities for the chokha also

apart from these( for chokha)
brinjals medium sized 2 nos.
potatoes medium sized 2-3 nos.
tomatoes large sized
1 tsp of mustard oil
salt to taste

preparation

1. a stiff dough has to be prepared by mixing wheat flour and water........traditionally ghee is also rubbed into the dough to get soft baatis but i don't use ghee as these come out soft even without ghee when cooked in microwave..........the dough will rest for about 1/2 an hour.

2. a mixture of the sattu is prepared by mixing all the ingredients for it, rubbing it by palms , so that a homogenous crumbly texture is formed......traditionally mustard oil is rubbed into this mixture too but i don't do that.......alter natively i add 1/2 a cup of water and rub it with hands to amke a crumbly mix........this mixture or masala can be stored into the fridge for 3-4 days and can be used in several ways..............like i mix it with other boiled veggies to make instant kababs.....

3. make small portions of the dough and stuff equal amounts of the sattu masala into each portion and shape like a round ball......it can be flattened for convenience ..........make stuffed balls from all the mixture and arrange 10-12 balls on a greased ceramic plate and microwave on high for 6 minutes.......this is for the roasted version........just after taking them out from the microwave, roast them on direct gas flame like this....

actually the batis are cooked in microwave and the roasting is to spot them n bring that roasted aroma.........after this apply ghee on each baati n serve immediately....

for making the boiled version water is boiled in a large pan and all the stuffed batis are thrown into the boiling water...........they will come on the top ( float) when cooked .......just keep moving them lightly untill they float on the water.........take out and proceed for a tadka..............heat ghee in a pan.......it can be 1 tbsp to a cup of ghee.........throw in some asafoetida and cumin seeds n let them crackle........now slowly slip all the boiled batis into it and keep turning till all of them are coated with jeera flavor.........if more ghee is used it can be made crisp by frying till pinkish brown........as required..........these pics demonstrate the process....these are boiled batis frying in the pan.....

and now the finished batis with cumin seeds .........

for making the chokha just boil the brinjal, potatoes and tomatoes in a pressure cooker together............remove the peels n mash them all together with chopped onion, ginger, garlic, green chillies, coriander leaves............season with salt and a dash of raw mustard oil n it is ready to serve....