Dal bati with lahsun ki chatni: the complete Rajasthani plate

If there is one plate that defines Rajasthani food, it is dal bati churma. And the thing that completes it, on the side of almost every plate, is a spoon of lahsun ki chatni.

What is on the plate

• Bati: hard, baked wheat balls, cracked open and drowned in hot desi ghee.
• Dal: a spiced mix of lentils, usually panchmel dal.
• Churma: coarse crushed wheat sweetened with jaggery and ghee.
• Lahsun ki chatni: the sharp red garlic chutney that cuts through the richness.

Why the chutney matters

Dal bati is rich and heavy with ghee. The lahsun ki chatni is the counterweight. Its garlic and chilli lift every bite, so the plate never feels one-note. Skip it and the meal feels incomplete to anyone raised on it.

How to serve it well

• Crack the bati and pour the ghee while it is still hot, so it soaks in.
• Keep the chatni on the side, a little at a time, so each person adjusts their own heat.
• Use real desi ghee. It is the thread that ties the dal, bati, and churma together.

For the full plate at home, our Ghee and Chatni Starter Box pairs our A2 Gir cow bilona ghee with the Rajasthani Lal Mirch Chatni.