Dal Baati – Pigeon Pea Soup with Stuffed Pastries.

Dal Baati – Pigeon Pea soup with Potato Stuffed savory pastries. Serve the bati pastries w/ dal or as is. Rajasthani Marwari Indian Recipe. Vegan, Dairy-free, Soy-free

This is what happens when I have too many pictures to edit. I forget some in the camera. Well I found these beauties yesterday. 

Dal Baati (lentil soup with wheat balls) is a dish popular in the state of Rajasthan, Madhya pradesh, and some regions in other northern and eastern states in India. It is also popular in Marwari cuisine. Hubbs is a Marwari. I remember being served Dal baati with 2 bowls of ghee and not knowing what to do at the wedding:).

I made these to surprise him on our anniversary. Dal Baati is served with Churma or Ladoo. I made Gond ke Ladoo which are Whole wheat ladoos with fried gum crispies added to them. Those ladoos will be posted on another day. you will know why when you scroll to the recipe. 

The Baati or balls of wheat dough are generally baked in a a traditional Indian oven until golden. The balls get hard on the outside. They are then broken, drizzled generously with ghee (clarified butter) to soak and served with a dal that can made with toor dal or a mixture or chana, urad, mung and toor.

For the vegan version I used olive oil to glaze the Baati. The dal is made with split pigeon peas (toor). You can use split yellow peas or petite yellow lentils (mung dal) as well. I also stuffed the Baati with spicy mashed potatoes so it became a whole meal. It sounds like a lot of work, but it actually comes together quickly if you plan and work in parallel. 

So who is game to cook up some Dal Baati with me?

yums! Served up with Gond Atte ke Ladoo.

Each of the dishes can also be served individually. The dal makes a great soup like any Indian Dal/Dahl. The potato filling is delicious as is. Use it to stuff savory french toasts, grilled sandwiches or wraps. Stuffed Baati-Potato stuffed pastries also make a great snack by themselves with chutneys, ketchup or dips of choice.

The pastries can be filled with other stuffing of choice like spicy chickpeas or sloppy joes.

More Indian options from the blog. 

• Bisi Bele Bath Pressure Cooker Split Pea Brown Rice Soup
• South Indian Quinoa with Tamarind & Pumpkin
• Kashmiri Dal – Split Pea & Yellow Lentil Soup…
• Crunchy Spicy Potatoes
• Palak Tofu – Tofu in spinach sauce.

Make dal, Bake the Baati. Break the Baati pastries in half. Drizzle with olive oil or melted vegan butter. Then drizzle with the dal soup. Garnish with cilantro and lemon juice and serve. 

And while you are here, check out the final cover of my book! Pre-order now, send me your receipt by email at richahingle at gmail, so I can add you to the list to the giveaways that will happen at launch!

Dal Baati
Allergen Information: Free of Dairy, egg, corn, soy, yeast, nuts.

Ingredients:
For the Baati – Pastry
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white flour (unbleached white or all purpose flour)
3 tbsp semolina flour
1/3 tsp carom seeds (ajwain) or use cumin seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp vegan butter
1 tbsp non dairy yogurt
1/4 to 1/3 cup water

For the Baati filling: 
3 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed well
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 inch ginger minced, 2 tsp
1 hot green chili minced
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne/red chili powder
3/4 to 1 tsp dry mango powder (amchoor) or use lemon juice to taste
1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup thawed or fresh green peas

To serve:
Melted vegan butter or olive oil as needed

Method:
Make the pastry dough:
Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl. Whisk well. Add the vegan butter, non dairy yogurt and mix in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Use a large spoon or hands. Add water a few tablespoons at a time to make a smooth dough. not too soft and not too stiff. Cover and let it sit for 15 mins.
Make the filling:
Mash the potatoes really well and set aside. 
Heat oil in a medium skillet. when the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant. 1 minute. Add ginger and chili and cook for a minute. Add the rest of the spices and peas and mix well. Cook for a minute. Add potatoes, mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add a tablespoon or so water if the potatoes are too dry. Cool and proceed to make pastries. 
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Divide dough into 6 to 8 equal parts. Roll into balls. Roll out each ball into 4 inch diameter circles. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling inside. Fold and seal on top. Place the pastry on baking sheet sealed side down, cover with a towel and repeat for the rest. 
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. flip and bake for 4 minutes or longer until golden. Cool slightly before serving. 

For the Toor/Arhar dal:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Split pigeon peas or Split yellow peas, soaked for an hour
2 medium tomatoes
1 inch ginger, chopped
1 green chili
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
10 curry leaves *
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp lemon juice
cilantro for garnish
 
Method:
Drain the split peas and keep aside.
Blend tomatoes, ginger, chili, garlic, salt into a puree and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker or saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add cumin and mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop. about 1 minutes.
Add curry leaves, cilantro and spices and mix well. Add blended tomato mixture and cook until it thickens a bit, stirring occasionally. 4 to 5 minutes. 
Add drained split peas. Cook with 2 cups of water in pressure cooker for 10 minutes after the pressure has reached (Manual 10 mins in Instant Pot with natural release) . (1 whistle at medium high, 2 whistles at medium-how heat).

Saucepan: Cook with 3 cups of water in saucepan over medium heat, cover and cook for 45 minutes or until tender. Mash some of the split peas. Taste and adjust salt and spice. 
Garnish with lemon juice and cilantro,

To serve
Break a pastry into two. Drizzle melted vegan butter or olive oil generously on a pastry. 
Ladle hot dal and a tsp of vegan butter on the pastry. Garnish with cilantro and Serve. Serve with mint cilantro chutney for variation.

To make the Baati pastries gluten-free, use a gluten-free biscuit dough of choice or use my Jalapeno cheese gf biscuits without the Jalapenos and cheese. 

*Curry leaves have nothing to do with curry. They are fresh leaves that you can find in an Indian store or order online on amazon(both fresh or dried). They can be omitted.