Dhoklaઢોકળા
White dhokla is made from a fermented batter of rice and split black gram (urad dal). It is thicker and gently sour, unlike the sweeter besan khaman that most people outside Gujarat know. The batter needs time to ferment, so it is usually soaked in the morning and steamed the next day.
Ingredients
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- 1½ cups rice
- ½ cup split black gram (urad dal)
- 2 tbsp split bengal gram (chana dal)
- ½ cup sour yoghurt
- 1 tsp ginger-chilli paste
- Salt to taste
- For the tempering: oil, mustard seeds, sesame seeds, curry leaves
- To finish: coarsely ground black pepper
Method
- Soak the rice and both dals separately for 4-5 hours.
- Grind them to a slightly coarse batter, mix together with the yoghurt, cover and leave in a warm place for 8-10 hours to ferment.
- Once risen and bubbly, fold in the salt and ginger-chilli paste gently.
- Pour into a greased plate and steam for about 20 minutes.
- Cool a little, cut into squares and sprinkle with crushed black pepper.
- Pour over a tempering of mustard seeds, sesame seeds and curry leaves, and serve with green chutney.
Tips
- In cold weather, keep the batter in an oven with the light on, or any warm spot.
- Stir as little as possible once fermented, or the dhokla loses its lift.
- Leftovers are excellent pan-tossed with a mustard-seed tempering as vaghareli dhokla.
Storing and reheating
Dhokla keep two days in the fridge. They firm up cold, so steam them for three or four minutes. Fermented batter itself keeps three days, so one batch can give you fresh dhokla on two or three mornings — useful for breakfast.
What you can swap
- No time to ferment? Use Eno, though what you get is closer to khaman than dhokla.
- Ready idli batter works in place of grinding rice and urad dal.
- For more sourness, stir a spoon of sour curd into the batter.
What to serve with it
With green chutney and fried chillies. Many homes also serve them in the evening topped with sev and coriander.
Mistakes to avoid
- Under-fermented batter will not rise. In winter, keep it somewhere warm.
- The steamer water must be boiling before they go in.
- Do not cut them straight out of the steamer; let them settle 10 minutes or they stick.
- Over-steaming dries them. Stop when a knife comes out clean.
Questions people ask
Are dhokla and khaman the same thing?
No. Dhokla are made from fermented rice and urad dal batter, white and faintly sour. Khaman are gram flour, yellow and slightly sweet. Shops sell them as 'khaman dhokla' together, which is where the confusion comes from.
Why won't my batter ferment?
Cold is the usual reason. Keep it in an oven with the light on, or near a pot of warm water. Old dal also ferments slowly.
Why are my dhokla dense?
Under-fermentation, batter that is too thick, or water that was not boiling. The batter should fall slowly off a spoon, not sit on it.
