Marwari Dal Baati Stuffed Sweet Version

Method

1. 1

   Make the sweet filling: Lightly fry crumbled paneer in 1 tsp ghee for 2 minutes until slightly golden. Mix with finely chopped cashews, raisins, pistachio, sugar, cardamom and dry ginger powder. Taste — should be sweet, fragrant and slightly nutty. Cool completely. Divide into 8 portions.

2. 2

   Make the baati dough: Combine wheat flour, 4 tbsp ghee and ajwain. Rub ghee into flour until crumbly. Add water gradually — about 1/2 cup — to form a very stiff, firm dough. Divide into 8 balls.

3. 3

   Stuff the baati: Flatten each ball in your palm into a disc. Place one filling portion in the centre. Seal edges firmly. Roll back into a smooth ball.

4. 4

   Bake: Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Place stuffed baati on a tray. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until deep golden and hollow when tapped. Turn once halfway.

5. 5

   Dunk in ghee: While still hot, dunk each baked stuffed baati in a bowl of hot melted ghee for 1 minute.

6. 6

   Crack open: Press each ghee-soaked baati from the top to crack it open — the sweet filling inside is revealed.

7. 7

   Serve warm: The sweet filling inside will be fragrant, slightly melted from the heat and fragrant with cardamom.

8. 8

   Serve alongside plain dal baati as the sweet course in the same meal.

9. 9

   Optional topping: Drizzle a little more ghee inside the cracked open sweet baati before eating.

10. 10

    Store leftovers: Sweet baati can be stored at room temperature for 2 days.

11. 11

    Note: The sweet stuffed baati is made by the Marwari community of Rajasthan specifically for occasion meals — weddings and festival celebrations where the dal baati meal is served. Having both the savoury and sweet version at the same meal table is a Marwari tradition. The Marwari community, known across India as traders and merchants, has a distinctive food culture that uses large amounts of ghee and dry fruits as markers of generosity.