The Veggie Blog

I wrote a recent post about making chai tea and how it can take less than 5 minutes to make gourmet Indian Chai Tea. I have it every day so I know how awesome it is. I honestly think if Americans and Europeans are waiting to figure out how cool this drink it. It’s got only a third of the caffeine that you find in a regular cup of coffee in the US brewed 5-6 minutes. And it’s got milk which is a wholesome food. So, all in all, I really think it’s a great way to reduce caffeine intake while not going all grumpy on Monday mornings

Image courtesy: www.blogger.com

Anyway, this post was about an accompaniment to Chai tea. There are actually many, but I am going to write about them one by one. They deserve the individual attention :).

Khari biscuit is again something you find almost only in the Indian kitchen. It is pronounced “Car - ee”. They are like puffed pastries or croissants really, not very different than that, but crispier. They are typically rectangular in shape, about the size of a small cell phone. You dunk it in freshly prepared tea and bite into it. The crispy, multi-layered texture with the taste of chai tea in it, BOY! I’ve been a fan of it since the day I started drinking tea.

You should be able to find it at any Indian store in the US or Europe. It should be in the crackers isle. Some sites even provide recipes to make this at home - Homemade Khari Recipe. I understand it’s not the easiest thing to make at home. I would stick to the one from the store unless you like to take on some real exotic cooking challenges.

Almost noone other than Indian people would have heard about this extremely delicious dish - Rajasthani Dal Bhati. It is not one of those things that you find in Indian restaurant. I’ve never seen it served at any Indian restaurant in the US or India or even in most restaurants in India itself. But man, are these restaurants missing out on something awesome!

Image courtesy of Surf India

It is popular the central and western parts of India - in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The people there treat this as their ’staple’ everyday dish. The dish’s speciality is its simplicity and appropriateness for daily meals.

If you are still trying to figure out how to say it, it is pronounced “DAAL BHAATI”. The D is said more like “th” in “the”. I hope that makes sense.

It appears like some mixed ground lentils made into a paste and then rolled into a ball, then lightly friend to form something like a ‘falafel’ or ‘cutlet’. It is served dunked in a boul of spinach soup and traditional Indian pickle. Sometimes the ball is mashed inside this boul as well.

I have no clue how its made. I just had it last night at a friend’s place and can’t stop thinking about it.

I found these posts that provide a recipe.

1. Rajasthani Dal Bhati Recipe
2. Dal Bhati Recipe 2

I am not sure how good it is because I haven’t tried it. But if you want to taste what real homemeade western-Indian food tastes like, go for this one!