Baati (crunchy steamed buns)

These were very confusing to me. I'm used to steamed buns being soft and fluffy, but these are steamed and then baked, leaving them dry and crunchy. They're meant to be used as a curry substrate in place of something like rice, broken up into crouton-sized chunks and then absolutely drenched in warm ghee.

Baati

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer (pp. 739-740)

Ingredients

• 1 C roti flour (atta)
• 2 tbsp chickpea flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• ¼ C warm water

Directions

1. Mix together both flours, salt, sugar, baking soda, and cumin in a medium bowl.
2. Drizzle in oil and mix evenly with your hands.
3. Slowly mix in the water until the dough comes together to form a ball.
4. Knead the ball until it is smooth and stiff. Work in a bit more flour if it's too wet.
5. Roll it into a 12-inch log and cut into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, roughly the size of a lime.
6. Make an indentation in the top of each ball with your finger, cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth, and let stand 30 minutes.
7. Arrange in a steamer and steam until they are opaque and spring back when poked, 15-20 minutes.
8. Remove from the steamer and bake at 350°F until dark brown and crusty, 30-40 minutes.
9. Serve broken into pieces, drenched with ghee, and topped with curry.