Khaman Dhokla
Khaman Dhokla is the most common dhokla that you will come across!! Note – If you are not a fan of PJs, please move on and let god help you. If you did enjoy the PJ, then let god definitely help you :). Anywho, I never even realised till a year back that there are variants of Dhokla. For me, Dhokla was always this yellow looking one made with besan/ chickpea flour. I now know there is a ‘Khatta Dhokla’ as well which is made using rice flour. I made these healthy kale & sprouts dhokla which is real delish as well. Personally, I now understand Dhokla as a north indian variant of Idli – fermented, steamed & fluffy. Anywho, I like this common dhokla and I now know that my mil & fil really like this too (to the extent, they have asked me to make this again in a few weeks for an evening snack). My friend Divya who loves this wanted me to try this out since the recipe she had attempted didn’t come out well. So, one evening when she was to come over home I tried this out. I followed the recipe from raks kitchen. The minute I saw raks kitchen recipe used Eno salt instead of baking powder, I was all sold on trying this one out. I remember my mom making these dhoklas when were kids & I distinctly remember her adding Eno. And gawd, the dhoklas were indeed soft & fluffy. This recipe is such a keeper and dhokla as such is so simple to make. Just a handful of ingredients and you have a lip smacking snack on your table :).
- 1 cup chickpea flour/ besan
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp eno fruit salt
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pinch turmeric powder
- 1/2 cup curd (whisked)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 nos green chillies
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- a generous pinch asafodita
- 2 tbsp grated coconut
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves
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In a mixer jar, grind the green chilli & ginger by adding a bit of water (inluding this water, we will need a total of 1/2 cup for the dhokla and not more). Set it aside.
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In a wide bowl, place all the dry ingredients - chickpea flour, sugar, salt, turmeric powder, eno salt & some salt. Mix everything.
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To this, add the curd, water & ginger green chilli paste and combine everything.
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Grease the plate in which you will be steaming the dhoklas.
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Pour the dhokla batter into it & steam for 12-15 minutes in medium heat (similar to making idlis).
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Meanwhile, temper the mustard seeds & asafodita in some oil. keep it aside.
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Once the dhoklas are done, let them cool for a few minutes. You can insert the sharp end of a knife or a tooth pick to check if the dhoklas are done - there should be nothing sticking to the surface of these.
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Cut into desired shape/ size & invert the dhoklas on to another plate.
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Garnish with the tempering, grated coconut & coriander seeds.
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Have it warm with a side of red/ green chutney. I like it plain as it is.
- If you don't have eno fruit salt, you can substitute with an equal quantity of baking soda. However, please note that turmeric powder & baking soda combine to form red & your final product might be red in color :). So, maybe you can skip the turmeric all together if using baking soda.
Stepwise pictures
In a mixer, grind ginger & green chillies with very little water.
Set it aside.
In a wide bowl, mix together the dry ingredients – chickpea flour, eno fruit salt, sugar, turmeric powder & a bit of salt.
Now add the wet ingredients – whisked curd, water & ginger green chilli paste.
Mix everything well. You will notice bubbles like this – this is because of the addition of Eno & curd and this will help in getting the dhoklas soft & fluffy.
Pour this batter onto a greased plate.
Steam the dhokla batter for 12-15 minutes. You will know it’s done when you put a toothpick/ knife in the centre of the dhokla and it comes out clean.
Turn off the heat & let the dhoklas cool for a bit. Cut into desired shapes/ size & turn it onto a flat plate.
Garnish with the tempered mustard seeds, coriander leaves & grated coconut. Enjoy as it is or with a side of green/ red chutney. Yummmmmm!!!
