First, soak all the lentils for 30 minutes. Then rinse and add them to a pressure cooker. Add salt, curry leaves, bay leaf, all the powdered spices, and enough water. Cook until one whistle, then simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Once the cooker cools, mix the dal well. In a small pan, heat mustard oil or ghee, add cumin seeds, garlic, and asafoetida, and pour this tempering over the dal. Add chopped cilantro and mix.

Remove the lid and check each bati. As the bottoms brown, flip them. Keep turning until all sides are evenly browned and cooked through. When the center batis are done, move the side ones to the center. As soon as you remove the batis from the pan, dip them in a bowl of ghee or drizzle 2 teaspoons of ghee over each. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Now your dal bati is ready. You can serve the bati at room temperature, but serve the dal hot. Add ghee to the dal as desired. I like to add lemon juice to the dal. Serve the bati dipped in melted ghee, as you prefer.