Dal Dhokliદાળ ઢોકળી
Dal dhokli is a whole meal in one pot: spiced wheat-flour diamonds simmered directly in Gujarati dal until soft. Sweet, sour and savoury at once, it is classic Sunday lunch food and an easy, satisfying dinner.
Ingredients
Tap an ingredient to tick it off while you shop or measure.
- For the dal: 1 cup toor dal, tamarind pulp, jaggery, turmeric, salt
- For the dhokli: 1 cup wheat flour, 2 tbsp gram flour
- ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp red chilli powder, coriander-cumin powder
- 1 tsp oil, salt
- Tempering: ghee, mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves, dried chilli
- Peanuts, coriander and ghee to finish
Method
- Cook the toor dal, whisk it smooth and thin it with water. Add tamarind, jaggery, turmeric and salt, and bring to a boil.
- For the dhokli, mix the flours, spices and oil into a firm dough. Rest for 10 minutes.
- Roll thin and cut into diamonds.
- Drop them into the boiling dal one by one and simmer, stirring now and then, for 12-15 minutes.
- Add peanuts. Temper ghee with mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves and dried chilli, and pour over.
- Finish with ghee and coriander and serve hot.
Tips
- The dal must be boiling when you add the dhokli, or they stick together.
- Keep the dal thinner than usual; the dough soaks up a lot of liquid.
- If leftovers thicken, loosen them with hot water rather than cold.
Storing and reheating
Dal dhokli keeps two days in the fridge, but the dhokli go on drinking the dal, so it thickens overnight. Loosen it with hot water when reheating; cold water dulls the taste. Many people prefer it on the second day, when the spices have soaked into the dough pieces.
What you can swap
- Two spoons of gram flour in the wheat flour makes a tastier dhokli.
- No tamarind? Kokum or dried mango powder works; add lemon only at the end.
- Sugar can replace jaggery, though jaggery changes both colour and taste.
- Cashews instead of peanuts, which is how many Gujarati homes make it.
What to serve with it
Dal dhokli is a whole meal in one pot. Rice, papad, kachumber and a spoon of ghee is all it needs. Raw onion and a squeeze of lemon on top is how it is properly eaten.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not drop the dhokli in all at once. Add them one at a time to boiling dal or they stick together.
- Do not stir much once they are in; they break.
- Keep the dal thin. The dhokli absorb liquid, so whatever looks right now will be thicker by the time you serve.
- Do not dust with too much flour when rolling, or the dal turns cloudy.
Questions people ask
Is dal dhokli the same as dal dhokla?
No. Dal dhokli is wheat-flour diamonds simmered in sweet-sour tuvar dal. Rajasthan has a version called dal dhokli too, spicier and less sweet. Dhokla is an entirely different dish.
Why are my dhokli hard?
A stiff dough, or too little fat in it. Add a spoon of oil and a pinch of turmeric, knead soft, and drop them into the dal soon after rolling.
When is this dish made?
When there is no sabzi in the house, or when one unhurried pot is all anyone wants. It belongs to the monsoon and to winter evenings, being warm and filling.
