New Delhi: Actor Rajkummar Rao was in Jaipur to promote his movie Maalik, which will hit the theatres on July 11. However, he is not only generating buzz around the movie trailer but also for relishing ghee-drenched dal baati churma, a Rajasthani comfort food. For this not-so-fancy and exotic food, the national award-winning actor left aside everything in the world for a moment that was purely filter-free and desi. This wasn’t any op moment but a moment of pure bliss. The actor thoroughly enjoyed it like any other common person.
What’s so special about this delicacy? Well, the baati is baked till it’s got a crunch, then cracked open and drowned in ghee. The dal is a slow-cooked, deeply spiced mix of lentils. And churma? It’s sweet and grainy.
Places to explore for Daal Baati Churma in Jaipur
Your mouth may already be watering while reading about Daal Baati Churma. So, here’s a list of a few places to relish this comfort food in Jaipur.
- Chokhi Dhani: This place is absolutely perfect for devouring the delicacy. While pleasing your palate, you can enjoy the vibrant traditional Rajasthani dances like Kalbelia and Ghoomar along with music, puppet shows, magic shows, and other cultural activities in a rural set-up with hut-shaped structures, mud walls adorned with mandalas, and brightened by lamps and lanterns. This place is so famous, even Bollywood celebrities Vicky Kaushal and Ammy Virk visited the resort while promoting their movie Bad Newz.
- Handi Restaurant: This restaurant, known for its delectable and well-prepared Dal Baati Churma, is very popular among food lovers, including politicians, cricketers and actors. Its special features are spacious arrangements, availability of a varied range of dishes other than authentic Rajasthani delicacies, and quick serving of piping hot food.
- Jaipur Pavilion, ITC Rajputana: This particular delicacy is prepared with an authentic method, using perfect colour and flavour, steering the senses, with beautiful presentation. Here, baatis are available with masala and potato stuffing as well as the plain smoked baati with a soft interior and crisp exterior.
- Zoya at the Fairmont Jaipur: Here, food enthusiasts love the use of hand-ground spices and pure cow ghee to prepare the dish. Other mouth-watering delicacies such as gulab jamun ki sabzi and Ameri ki gunji accompany the platter. These side dishes are inspired by Rajasthan’s royal kitchens.
- Santosh Bhojnalaya, Sindhi Camp: The special feature of dal baati churma here is that the recipe has been passed down through generations over five decades. The dish has a delicate balance of flavours with perfectly crispy baati, and not so dependent on sweet churma.
Daal Baati Churma’s History and Glory
Dal baati churma has an interesting battlefield history related to Rajput soldiers. To survive in the hard conditions, these warriors would bury balls of dough under the hot sand to bake while they were away fighting the enemies. And after returning, they would devour the cooked baatis along with dal, some ghee, and sweetened churma. In their times, baatis were baked in the sand using only the heat of the sun and fire embers, sans stove and oven. In the modern era, it’s available everywhere from weddings and festivals to roadside dhabas.
So, if you haven’t tasted it yet, just do it.