Dhokla is a nutritious, steamed vegetarian gram flour snack from Gujarat in Western India, but it is popular all over the country. It is sometimes served at breakfast like coffee cake, often with tamarind and mint-coriander chutneys. Some prefer to make sandwiches of it with chutney in between two slices of Dhokla.
Ingredients
1 (500-gram) bag Bengal gram flour (Besan)
1 1/2 cups sour yogurt
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon green chili paste, add more if you like it spicier
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice
2 tablespoons fruit salt or baking soda
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola or sunflower cooking oil, for tempering
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
6 to 8 curry leaves
2 green chiles, slit lengthwise
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, for garnish
Method* Sieve the gram flour. Mix it with the yogurt and keep aside for 2 hours.
* Add the ginger and green chili pastes, turmeric powder salt to taste, lime juice and sugar and enough warm water to make a batter of pouring consistency. Mix well.
* Divide the batter into 3 equal portions.
* Prepare the steamer and grease a square or rectangular pan to steam the Dhokla in.
* Divide the fruit salt/baking soda into three equal portions and add one portion to a portion of the batter. Mix well. Pour this batter into the greased dish and put it into the steamer.
* Cook till done—when you touch the surface of the Dhokla your fingers should come away clean.
* Repeat with the remaining batter, adding the fruit salt/ baking soda to each batch of batter just before steaming.
* Allow the steamed dhokla to cool slightly and cut into 2-inch squares.
* To temper, heat the oil in a wide, thick-bottomed pan and add the curry leaves, mustard and sesame seeds and green chiles. Fry till the seeds stop sputtering. Pour these into the warm water. Sprinkle this mixture all over the prepared dhokla. Keep aside for 10 minutes.
* Garnish with the chopped coriander and serve with tamarind chutney and mint-coriander chutney.