Dal Bafla (Baked) with Panchmel Dal
Madhya Pradesh's answer to Rajasthan's dal baati: wheat dumplings boiled first, then baked, served with a five-dal mix. This version brushes the bafla with ghee rather than soaking it.
- Region
- Madhya Pradesh (Malwa)
- Status
- Traditional; ghee brushed on rather than poured over
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Soak 1 h · Prep 25 min · Cook 50 min
- Serves
- 3 (2 bafla plus about 250 ml dal each)
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Good for
- Weekend lunch, festive meal
- Tags
- Good source · High fibre · Soy-free · Whey-free
- Allergens
- Gluten (wheat), milk (curd, ghee)
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 21 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 12 g
Headline values are for the full plate.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bafla and panchmel dal | 420 | 18 g | 61 g | 11 g | 6 g | 12 g | 4 g | 4.0 g |
| With 100 g curd | 480 | 21 g | 66 g | 14 g | 8 g | 12 g | 8 g | 4.5 g |
Good source. Traditional bafla is dunked in ghee; that adds 100–200 kcal per serving. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- Panchmel dal: 30 g each of toor, chana, moong, urad and masoor dal (150 g total) · 60 g onion · 100 g tomato · 10 g ghee · 1 tsp cumin · pinch of hing · 2 dry red chillies · ½ tsp turmeric · 1 tsp red chilli powder · 1 tsp coriander powder · ½ tsp garam masala · 5 g salt
- Bafla: 135 g whole-wheat atta · 15 g fine rava · 30 g curd · 10 g ghee (in the dough) · ½ tsp ajwain · ¼ tsp turmeric · 3 g salt · about 70 ml water · 5 g ghee to brush
- Plate: 300 g curd (100 g each)
Method
- Soak the dals together for 1 hour. Pressure-cook with turmeric and 600 ml water for 4 whistles.
- Knead the bafla ingredients into a firm dough. Rest 15 minutes. Divide into 6 balls; press a thumbprint into each.
- Boil a large pan of water. Drop in the bafla and boil 15 minutes, until they float and look slightly translucent. Drain.
- Bake at 200 °C for 20–25 minutes, turning once, until golden with small cracks. (Or cook in an appe pan, covered, on medium-low, 15–20 minutes.)
- Meanwhile, heat ghee for the dal; add cumin, hing and red chillies, then onion for 4 minutes and tomato with spices for 5 minutes. Add the dal and 200 ml water; simmer 10 minutes.
- Crack each bafla open, brush with ghee, and pour dal over. Serve with curd.
Protein optimisation
- Panchmel dal supplies 12 g per serving; bafla 6 g. Wheat and five dals complement each other's amino acids.
- Boost: add 25 g besan to the bafla dough (+2 g protein per serving), or serve with 150 g hung-curd raita instead of curd.
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: Rajasthani dal baati — bake without boiling; serve with churma (not counted here).
- Substitution: any equal mix of dals works; keep chana and urad for body.
- Storage: dal keeps 3 days refrigerated; bafla 2 days refrigerated, re-crisped in the oven.
- Food safety: reheat dal until boiling.
- Meal prep: good — boil the bafla ahead and bake before serving.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com