Daal baati churma, ker sangri, laal maas, and lehsun ki chutney… these are some dishes that will cross your mind when you think about Rajasthani cuisine. However, the region’s peculiarly dry climate and arid terrain have led to the creation of many dishes that have been lost to time but remain deeply embedded in its culinary canon. One such forgotten dish is namak siki or bina paani ki roti.
I tried this local bread, which doubles as a dessert and is baked on a salt bed without using water, during my stay at the very new and lavish Anantara Jewel Bagh, Jaipur.
Executive chef Sunil Jajoria shared a bit about its history and the conditions under which this ingenious way of making bread developed—“The recipe comes from Sambhar in Rajasthan. The larger salt granules from the Salt Lake in Sambhar were sold off and the dust the was left behind was used to create these beds,” he said.
Coupled with the traditional method of baking on a salt bed, the dough of the roti is kneaded using pure ghee, a technique specific to the state’s dry climate. While the recipe is currently almost absent from Rajasthan’s kitchens, historically, it was prepared for souvenir rituals, particularly when daughters would travel to their in-laws’ homes after marriage. At other times, it was also used as a mid-travel snack.
“Some stories tell that people would tuck in funny or wishing messages inside the bread to add a personal touch and an element of surprise,” said Jajoria. Maybe we had something similar to fortune cookies much before the world had it.
The baking process involves placing the dough on a salt bed that provides constant heat and allows the bread to bake with minimal colour. It takes almost two hours to heat the salt and 10-12 minutes to bake the roti to perfection.
Unlike most breads that become mouldy in a matter of a few days, this bread-cum-dessert boasted a longer shelf life because of the ghee-infused dough. “We now live in changed times. Technological developments like the oven and a lack of time in this fast-paced world have led this dish to disappear,” added Jajoria.
If you’re keen to try this unique bread, follow Chef Jajoria’s recipe to bake the bina paani ki roti at home.
