Masala Bati

I heard about dal bati from my colleagues while on a work trip. The apartment that were put up in had the built-in hob and oven unit. They mentioned this Rajastani dish where the same atta we use to make roti can be baked and dunked in ghee to be served with dal. That was more than 10 years back.

I wanted to try this since then. But I as apprehensive and kept postponing. Finally after 10 years, I decided to bite the bullet and bake it one weekend. But I decided I should try a stuffed bati recipe. And boy was I wrong for not trying this out earlier. They were delectable. 

The internet has made culinary experiments a lot easier. There are tons of recipes out there, that we don't have enough days to try all these out. Thanks to one such recipe I came across for Masala bati, I had no trouble baking these. But while trying recipes for the first time I am always a nervous wreck. I kept my fingers crossed and waited for 40 minutes while these were baking in the oven. I was able to catch my breath only when I was able to dunk the baked batis in ghee, and taste one of them. Finally a sigh of relief while I called out to my food taster (my elder daughter). And she downed two of these immediately. 

Recipe (makes 12 batis)

Ingredients

Masala Bati 

Whole wheat flour -  2 cups

Semolina (Sooji) - 1/4 cup

Ajwain - 1/2 tsp 

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Water - 1/2 cup warm for kneading dough

Masala stuffing for the Bati

Oil - 2 tbsp

Potatoes - 4-5 medium sized peeled, boiled and cubed

Green peas - 1/2 cup (cooked)

Roast and Pound together:

Cloves - 5

Peppercorns - 8

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Asafoetida (hing) - 1 pinch

Ginger - 1/2" piece

Green chillies - 2 finely chopped

Spices:

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Amchur (dry mango powder) - 1 tsp

Method

For the Bati dough:

For making the dough, add whole wheat flour, semolina, salt, baking powder, baking soda, carom seeds (ajwain), oil/ghee to a bowl. If using ghee, melt the ghee and let it cool down before using. 

Mix it by rubbing and massaging the flour and ghee using your fingertips. You need to keep mixing until it resembles breadcrumbs and retains its shape.

Add warm water and knead into a firm dough. The dough should not be soft like roti dough. It should be like the puri dough. 

Apply little oil/ghee on the prepared dough and keep it covered for 30 minutes.

For the Stuffing:

Boil the potatoes, peel the skin, dice and keep aside. Boil the green peas, drain the water and keep aside.

Dry roast cloves, peppercorns, coriander and cumin seeds and allow them to cool down. Pound the roasted spices into a coarse powder. Add a pinch of hing to the pounded spice mix. 

Pound ginger and green chilli into a coarse paste. 

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a heavy bottomed pan. When the oil is hot, add the pounded spices and when the mix crackles, add the ginger and chilli paste. 

Next add the chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric and Amchur. Mix and saute well for a minute or so. 

Add the potatoes and green peas and mix well with the spices. Saute until well combined. Transfer the masala to another plate and let it cool completely. 

Once cooled, roll the masala into 13-14 uniformly sized balls and keep aside. 

Shaping the Batis:

Once the bati dough has rested for 30 minutes, make 13-14 uniform sized balls. Roll into a 2-inch diameter circle. Place the stuffing in the center and close the disc, pinching the edges to make a ball. 

Repeat this with the remaining 13 balls of bati. Place the batis in a bowl covered with cling wrap. 

Baking the Batis:

Preheat the oven to 170degrees C. Arrange the batis in a tray or roasting plate. Brush the batis with some melted ghee. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the tops are golden brown and crisp.

Pull the tray out of the oven and dunk the batis in melted ghee for a minute and place on the serving tray. 

Serve hot with Dal. Or just stuff your face with one or two when they are piping hot :). It is upto you. 

Verdict

I really regret not trying this out earlier. These make such awesome meals, let the size not fool you. It is dunked in ghee remember? and stuffed with aloo too. So just a couple of these bad boys with dal will fill you up. My elder one preferred eating the batis plain. She has requested me to make this again. I plan to make this occasionally for a change from the usual stuff.