Instant Khaman Dhokla....Gujarati Delicacy

This is the first time I am trying a gujarati dish....Being here in a colony full of North Indians I happen to hear the name Dhokla very often.I love the colour and the texture of these dhoklas.After attending a photography workshop I crave for some vibrant colours.I felt these dhoklas can be a food for my camera as well as for my stomach;)

So last week I gave a try to this dhokla and it turned out perfectly well..The softness and the taste is unexplainable..My daughters loved having them as an evening snack and very happy that they liked it..

 

Dhokla is a vegetarian food that is made using chickpea and rice.I made dhokla with the chickpeas flour and hence the name Khaman Dhokla.They usually grind rice and chickpea and then ferment it ..But the one that I had given is Instant Dhokla recipe.I will post the authentic dhokla recipe when I visit my SIL who is in Gujarat..

 

INGREDIENTS:


Makes: 3
Recipe source:Sharmis passions


1 Cup of gram flour/Besan/kadalai maavu
1/4 Cup of thick curd/Yogurt
1 Tbsp of Sooji/Rava
1 Tsp of ginger-green chilli crushed (1 chilli+5 cms length ginger)
3/4 Cup of Water
1.5 Tsp of lemon Juice
1 Tsp of Eno (Plain)salt/Fruit salt (MUST USE THIS)
Salt to taste
1 Tsp of oil to coat the pan

For garnishing:
Grated coconut
chopped coriander leaves

For Seasoning:
1.5 Tbsp of oil
1/2 Tsp of Mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp of Cumin seeds/jeera
1 Tsp of Sesame seeds
2 nos of green chillies,chopped finely
A pinch of asafoetida/Hing

THIS IS HOW I MADE IT.....

Grind 1 green chilli and small piece of ginger to a coarse paste.Keep it aside.

Coat the tray or the plate in which you are going to pour the batter with oil and keep it aside.Coat it well.Or else you will have problem in taking out the cooked dhokla from the tray.

 

 

 

In a mixing bowl add gram flour,coarsely grinded chilli-ginger mixture,rava.

Add salt,thick curd,water.

Mix it well so that there are no lumps in the mixture.

After mixing the mixture well add lemon juice.

 

Add eno salt/fruit salt.I used a regular variety of eno salt.If you have lemon flavoured one then don't add lemon juice.

Mix them well .Don't mix it too much too after adding eno salt.

Also don't rest the batter for long time after adding eno salt.

 

Pour the batter to the tray in which we had coated with oil.

 

You can use any stainless steel plate (instead of the cake tray ) also to cook the batter..

 

 

 

 

Pour about 2-3 cups of water in a idli pan and heat it.

I kept a tray of idli pan too to balance the dhokla tray..

 

 

 

Place the tray inside the pan and steam cook it in medium flame for 15 minutes or until the tooth pick/knife/fork when inserted in the dhokla comes out clean..

Cool the tray for 5 minutes and then scrap the edges of the tray with a blunt knife/backside of a spoon .Then invert the dhokla to a plate.

Heat oil in a tempering pan.

Add mustard seeds,cumin seeds,sesame seeds,asafoetida,green chillies(chopped finely).

 

Add them on the top of the dhokla and spread it evenly all over the dhokla.
Garnish it with freshly grated coconut and finely chopped coriander leaves.
Cut them into squares.


Serve it with green chutney..

HANDY TIPS:

• The dhokla mixture should not be too thick nor too thin.The batter should be in dosa batter consistency.
• If the batter is too thick or thin it will not raise when steam cooked
• Don't whisk the mixture too much after adding eno salt.
• Don't delay the time to cook the dhokla after adding eno salt to it.Or else you will end up in an unraised dhoklas
• Cook it in medium flame rather than in low flame..If cooked in very low flame the mixture will not raise.
• Use only plain Eno salt.If you have lemon flavoured salt and want to add it then don't add lemon juice.
• Sesame seeds give a nice flavour to the dish.So don't skip using them.
• If you want a bright yellow colour then you can add a pinch of turmeric powder to the batter.I didn't add any powder.
• U can use thali plate too instead of tray for steam cooking the dhoklas
• Instead of Eno salt you can use baking soda too but the texture will vary!!