The Dal Bati Churma Thali Shop, Jaipur Rajasthan
Before I say anything else, once upon a time I have studied for five years near Jaipur (my graduation and post graduation). But at that time I hardly explored Rajasthan. But the Rajasthani Thali (plate) of Dal Bati Churma was not new for me. We asked Gopi (the auto driver) to take us to a place for lunch, Brat 2 (my younger nephew) wanted to remain with Punjabi Thali whereas I wished to sample Dal Bati Churma again. So Gopi took us to a shop near the station and we ordered our stuff. You can see a picture of my plate below.
The Delicious Dal Bati Churma, Rajasthani Dish
For a while I was left wondering what the hell had I ordered, there was nothing to eat apart from the side dishes. I said so aloud to Brat2 and the people at the next seat laughed. So I searched more closely and found the missing Bati, it is the round ball in the right hand corner. It had been that long since I had been to Jaipur, I had almost forgotten what Bati looks like. And yes, once you have finished your first Bati, they will bring you more till you tell them that you had enough.
You have to break it, dip it in the Dal or Kadhi (the two Yellow gravies in the center, Kadhi in the larger bowl, Dal in the center of the plate) and eat it. I find it delicious. The thali concept is that for a certain amount of price (60 rupees in this case) you can eat as much as you desire but subject to certain rules. The rules were displayed on a board and those of you who can read Hindi, would find the way they are expressed hilarious! For those who can’t read Hindi, I will try translating it, but much will be lost in translation.
The House Rules for Thali Meals in Jaipur
*For children of over six years of age should please take separate token (what is implied here is that a child of less than 6 can eat with the parents, remember you pay for the plate and not the dishes)
*One person per thali please
*Please take food according to your need
*There is only one bowl of churma (sweet dish in the smaller bowl in the picture) per plate, no extras please
*Please take care of your belongings
*After 11 at night only Rajasthani Thali is available please
*Please do not wash your hands in your plate
*Please do not waste food
*Drinking Liqueur is strictly prohibited please
*One person per thali please
*Please take food according to your need
*There is only one bowl of churma (sweet dish in the smaller bowl in the picture) per plate, no extras please
*Please take care of your belongings
*After 11 at night only Rajasthani Thali is available please
*Please do not wash your hands in your plate
*Please do not waste food
*Drinking Liqueur is strictly prohibited please
No doubt, Brat 2 and I had a good meal. In fact the Rajasthani thali is the background image on the Nokia N96 as of now.
ये लेखन् लिख्नने के लिये धन्यवाद् जी।
Bati is an equivalent of Roti is it? जी?
Shrinidhiji, I wish I could manage Hindi fonts ji, and the equivalent of bati, is Litti ji. But roti too would do as a distant cousin.
Ah.. i was initiated to Daal Bhati Churma early this year by a friend. I liked it. But it was too rich and heavy.
Ah, Mridula! You make me hungry 🙂 I am just glad you translated those hilarious rules. I am sure I would have offended everybody by washing my hands in the plate 🙂
Lovely write up as usual ! Brings up memories of greasy hands, overfull tummy. And of course the polite way of doing everything, insisting on having just one more Bati……
देवनागरी लिपि मे आसानी से लिख्नने के लिये आप इस् पते का इस्तेमाल् कर् सक्ते है जी | http://service.vishalon.net/pramukhtypepad.htmइस्के अलावा http://www.quillpad.in भी अच्छा है जी| कोशिष कर्के देखिये जी।
im desperate to some right now..im stranded in my own house (in chennai-my house has become an island) and all i have is some daal chaval right now..
Ravi once in a while rich food is OK :DFida, I know, even I am feeling hungry again! And of course washing hands in the plate is a very Indian thing!Rajeev thanks for sharing!Shrinidhi would surely give it a try.Lakshmi, how are things now? So sorry to hear that.