Dal bati

Daal bati is an Indian dish of dal (lentils) and bati (hard wheat rolls). It is popular in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh (especially in Braj, Nimar and Malwa regions), Maharashtra's Khandesh and Vidarbha region, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh.
Daal is prepared using tuvaar dal, chana daal (prepared by removing the skin of split chickpeas), mung dal, moth dal, or urad dal. The pulses or lentils are cooked together after being soaked in water for a few hours. First, a small amount of vegetable oil is heated in a frying pan and then the seasoning rai-jeera (mustard and cumin seeds) is added to the hot oil. Then green chilli, garlic and some spices including asafoetida, red chilli, turmeric, coriander, and ginger are added. There may be a sweet and sour version of the dal in some regions. Finally, the boiled daal is added and cooked.
Baati is a hard bread made up of wheat flour commonly known as aata. Wheat flour is kneaded with little bit of salt, dahi (yogurt) and water. Tennis ball-sized round balls of this dough are cooked in a well-heated traditional oven or in an earthen stove. When the Baati becomes golden brown in colour, it is greased with ghee and is then served with daal, rava laddoo, rice, pudina chutney, kairi (raw mango) chutney, garlic chutney, green salad with much onion, and fresh buttermilk.
'Dal Baati Churma' is a traditional delicacy from the state of Rajasthan. It is associated with the festivals of Makar Sankranti and Diwali in the Dhundhand region. It is also prepared on special occasions like marriage ceremonies and housewarming.
Dal Baati is eaten with Churma popularly in regions of Rajasthan and Haryana. Churma is a sweet delicacy made of coarsely grounded wheat flour, bajra (millet) flour, or semolina. It is made by grinding the fire-baked or fried dough balls and mixing them with ghee, powdered sugar or jaggery and dry fruits.
Bharta, made with eggplants is also a popular companion of Dal Baati.
Information regarding the origins of the dish is scarce: however, it has long been a part of cuisines from the western region of India, i.e., Rajasthan, Haryana, and parts of Gujarat.
Baati made of unsalted wheat, ghee and camel milk was first mentioned during the time of Bappa Rawal—the founder of the kingdom of Mewar in Rajasthan. They were known as a nomadic warrior tribe before they settled into the tapestry of a kingdom and got Chittor in form of dowry from Maan Mori, Baati was the Guhilot's official wartime meal.
Baati, a traditional dish, is said to have originated with soldiers who would break the dough into chunks and bury them under thin layers of sand to bake under the sun. According to anecdotal accounts, upon their return, soldiers would find perfectly baked roundels, which were then dunked in ghee. On occasion, curd or buttermilk might also have been added. Initially, Baati was paired with ghee and curd, but over time, Dal and Choorma became additional components of the meal.
Some anthropologists suggest that at a grassroots level, Baati was still commonly paired with ghee and buttermilk or curd made from camel or goat milk, while the combination of Dal and Baati was more common among the upper caste. This shift may have been influenced by the presence of traders in Mewar or by culinary practices from the Gupta period, during which Panchmael Dal was considered a delicacy. These connections are largely speculative, and the extent of their historical accuracy remains uncertain.
The inclusion of Choorma, now regarded as an integral part of the meal, is often attributed to the House of Mewar. Folklore holds that Choorma was discovered when a cook accidentally poured sugarcane juice into the Baati during wartime. Other stories suggest that homemakers soaked the Baatis in sugar or jaggery water to preserve them for their husbands, which eventually evolved into Choorma. These origins are also anecdotal, and there is no definitive evidence to confirm the precise development of Choorma or its association with Dal Baati.
Dal bafla (Hindi: दाल बाफ़्ला) is a variation of Dal Baati, where the normal Bafla is boiled before baking it in a traditional Baati oven. Baati is replaced by the bafla, a softer version of it. It is native (Malwa region) of Madhya Pradesh. Although, parts of Rajasthan have been consuming Bafla and claim it to be native to the place.