Besan Dhokla

Dhokla is one of the snacks I learned from my neighborhood aunty from Gujarat.  Last week we were busy celebrating their daughter's engagement party and I think I should publish this recipe at least now. My hearty wishes and congrats to the couple!

Every evening I would crave for something spicy, easy to make and light as air. Having some dhokla in fridge is my comfort zone, so sometimes I make it in a batch and keep in fridge for a week. Hubby presented me this dhokla stand (plates) almost 6 months back during New year, on seeing me making dhokla in cake pans. Since then it became my pet among my vessels.

Dhokla is a less oily, protein rich , spicy snack popular among Gujarat people. We can see this Indian snack in many restaurants, grocery stores etc. This would resemble the idly of Tamilnadu in texture, but spicy and easy to prepare. Though people make it authentically by fermentation like idly batter, I was suggested to use a fruit salt called ENO fruit salt. Try this and enjoy!

Instant Besan flour dhokla.

My dhokla stand:)

This is the fruit salt I got for dhokla.

For making 2 plates of dhokla:

Main ingredient:
Besan flour (kadalai mavu) - 1 1/2 cup
sooji (ravai) - 2 tsp
water - 1/4 cup
curd - 1/2 cup
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
sugar - 1 tsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
green chilly -2
ginger - 1 inch
ENO fruit salt - 1 1/2 tsp
baking soda - 1/4 tsp

Tempering:
oil - 2 tbsp
hing - a pinch
mustard - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
green chilly - 1 (finely chopped)

Topping:
lemon - 1/4
sugar - 2 tsp
salt - a pinch
water - 1/2 cup
coconut - 2 tbsp
cilantro - few

Method:
Grind green chilly and ginger to a coarse mixture.
Put everything under main ingredients in a mixing bowl except ENO.
Grease the dhokla plates with oil.
Mix ENO to the besan mixture and mix gently without lumps.
We  can see the batter rising immediately.
Immediately pour the mixture to the plates till half way (as dhokla will rise like idly).
Keep this arrangement inside an idly cooker or ordinary cooker without weight or in a closed vessel with some water. Steam cook the dhokla for 15 minutes or till an inserted tooth-pick comes clean.
Let it cool for a while, cut into desired shapes while it is in the plates itself.

Heat oil in a separate vessel, add mustard and after it crackles add hing, curry leaves, finely chopped chilly and pour over the dhoklas.

In the same tempering vessel, now add 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil. Switch off. Add sugar, salt, lemon. Mix well and pour over the dhoklas. Some people pour this to the tray on which we are going to arrange the dhoklas. But I pour it over.
Sprinkle finely chopped cilantro and shredded dried  coconut.

Besan dhokla is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve warm as tea time snack with Indian green chutney.

Note:
We can see instant dhokla mixes in Indian grocery stores, which would be great for starters. But making it from scratch is economical and free of any preservatives.
Also readymade dhoklas are also available in freezer sections of Indian stores.
I would suggest making it from scratch.
Homemade dhoklas stays good for a week in airtight containers in fridge. We can microwave the required pieces as per need.

Mixed dhal Dhokla

I learned this recipe from my neighbor, shukla Aunty. Mostly she prepares everything from scratch and would be more than happy to share her detailed recipes. I would immediately memorize and write down, while we swap our best dishes on weekends. On the other day she taught me to make dhokla from scratch. As I wanted to try on my own, she suggested using my 6 inch cake pan to steam this dhokla (as I wanted to try it first before buying a proper dhokla maker). Believe me this is a very easy one, just like idly. The dhoklas came out very soft and fluffy, but little bigger than the usual:) we can arrive at the correct thickness if using lesser batter or  a dhokla plate.

Ingredients:

Rice - 3/4 cup
Channa dhal - 1 cup
(Bengal gram)
urad dhal - 1/4 cup
(black gram lentil)
moong dhal - 1/4 cup
(green gram lentil)
salt - to taste
Indian plain yogurt - 1 cup
ginger - 1 inch
green chilly - 2

Garnish:

lemon - 1/2
sugar - 1 tbsp
Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
sesame seed - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
cilantro (chopped)- 2 tbsp
green chilly - 3
asafoetida - a pinch
ENO fruit salt or baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Soak the dhals and rice together for 4 hours.
Grind together, add salt and curd / yogurt.
Let it ferment in room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.
Grind ginger + green chilly and mix with batter.
Keep refrigerated till we need.

Steaming the dokhla:

Take out 1 1/2 cups of batter in a separate vessel.
10 minutes before steaming the dokla, add the ENO or baking soda.
(I added ENO's fruit salt. Actually the authentic version won't call for ENO or baking soda. Just the plain fermented batter is enough).
Coat the dokhla pan or a small cake pan with a tsp of oil
Finely chop the chillies and mix few with the batter.
Pour into the pan.
Steam cook for 20 - 30 minutes or till a chop stick comes clean.
(see the photo for steaming technique. we can do it inside pressure cooker without placing the pressure valve also).

Garnish:

Take out the dhokla and place on a serving plate.

In a wok heat oil and let mustard splutter. Then switch off and immediately add sesame seeds,hing (asafoetida), finely chopped cilantro,curry leaf, chillies. Saute for a minute. Mix lemon juice, sugar, salt and add to garnish. Now pour it over the prepared dhokla. Slice and serve.

Alternatively, we can slice the dhokla and add to the fried seasoning.

Serving suggestion:

Serve as snack with tea.
Makes a good breakfast also.
Cilantro chutney is a good side dish.
The next day, I sauteed the left over dhokla like idly uppuma and that too tasted yummy with  a dash of idly podi:)

Note:
 In this recipe instead of the mixed dhals, we can just use channa dhal alone to get the traditional dhokla.
Very good dish for people looking for protein rich , less oily spicy snacks.