Dhokla
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Serves: 4
Steamed Savory Cakes with Rice and Dal (split pigeon peas)
Ingredients
For Dkokla Batter:
- 1 cup uncooked rice and ⅓ cup split pigeon peas (toovar dal) or 1 ½ cups Dhokla flour or 1 package of instant Dhokla mix
- ⅓ cup yogurt or ½ cup buttermilk
- Water as needed
For Dhokla:
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt or to test
- 1 teaspoon sugar or to test
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 jalapeno or serrano chili, finely minced
- 1 inch piece of ginger, finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For Vaghar or Turka:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- Pinch of asafetida
- Pinch of chili powder
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, for garnish
Directions
- Combine rice and dal in a mixing bowl. Wash rice and dal few times until water is clear. Let rice and dal soak fully covered in water (about 3 cups) for 6 to 8 hours or until rice and dal is soft.
- Drain water from rice and dal mixture. Grind rice and dal in a blender in batches of ½ cup to ¾ cup. Add yogurt (or buttermilk) and water as needed to move the contents of blender to make a thick batter. With flour, make a thick batter with water and yogurt or buttermilk. Cover tightly and let it ferment overnight or up to 24 hours in cold weather. For instant mix, prepare batter according to package directions. Omit all ingredients for batter except ginger and green chili.
- To make Dhokla, lightly grease 2 metal pie dishes (or disposable pie dishes) with cooking spray or oil.
- Add chilies, ginger, turmeric, salt and sugar in the batter. Dissolve baking soda in one tablespoon oil and add to batter and mix everything well. Pour the batter into pie dishes until ⅔ full and put it into a steamer two at a time or one by one and cook it for 12 to 15 minutes or until toothpick or knife inserted comes out clean. Remove dish(es) from a steamer and let it stand for 10 minutes. Cut it into 2 inch squares.
- Heat oil in a wok or frying pan on a medium high heat until shimmering. Add mustard seeds let it sizzle. Lower the heat to medium and add asafetida, chili powder and sesame seeds. Add steamed squares and stir the contents until Dhokla are covered with spices. Keep it on low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, covered with lid. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with garlic or cilantro chutney. Can be served as an appetizer.
Tri-Color Dhokla
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
The colors of this recipe reflects the colors of Indian flag which works for making this as a celebration dish for India's republic day which is January 26.
Ingredients
- Double the amount of fermented Dhokla batter
- 2 tablespoons of cilantro chutney
- 2 tablespoons of red pepper chutney
- 1 teaspoon minced jalapeno or serrano chili
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For Vaghar or Tarka:
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- Pinch of asafetida powder
- Pinch of chili powder
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, for garnish
Directions
- To make Dhokla, lightly grease 2 metal pie dishes (or disposable pie dishes) with cooking spray or oil.
- Add salt and sugar in the batter. Dissolve baking soda in one tablespoon oil and add to batter and mix everything well. Divide batter into approximately three equal parts in separate mixing bowls. Add cilantro chutney to one part, red pepper chutney to another, and green chili and ginger to last one.
- Pour green chutney batter into pie dishes in equal amount and put it into a steamer two at a time or one by one and steam it for 5 minutes.
- Uncover steamer, pour white batter over green batter into pie dishes in equal amount and steam pie dishes two at a time or one by one for another 5 minutes.
- Uncover steamer, pour red batter over white batter into pie dishes in equal amount and steam pie dishes two at a time or one by one for another 5 minutes. Check doneness by inserting toothpick or knife. If it comes out clean then batter is cooked, otherwise steam for another 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove dish(es) from a steamer and let it stand for 10 minutes. Cut it into 2 inch squares.
- Heat oil in a wok or frying pan on a medium high heat until shimmering. Add mustard seeds let it sizzle. Lower the heat to medium and add asafetida, chili powder and sesame seeds. Add steamed squares and stir the contents until Dhokla are covered with spices. Keep it on low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, covered with lid. Garnish with cilantro. Can be served as an appetizer.