Farali Dhoklaફરાળી ઢોકળાં
Soft steamed cakes of samo flour and curd. When you want to avoid fried food on a fasting day, this is the lightest thing you can make.
Ingredients
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- 1 cup samo flour
- ½ cup sour curd
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp ginger-chilli paste, rock salt
- 1 tsp Eno or a pinch of soda
- Tempering: ghee, cumin, sesame, slit chillies
- Coconut and coriander
Method
- Whisk the samo flour, curd and water smooth and rest 15 minutes.
- Stir in the ginger-chilli paste and salt.
- Fold in the Eno and pour straight into a greased plate.
- Steam 12-15 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.
- Cool a little, cut into squares and pour over a tempering of cumin, sesame and chillies in ghee.
- Finish with coconut and coriander.
Tips
- Resting the batter lets the flour swell, which makes softer dhokla.
- Steam immediately after adding the Eno.
Storing and reheating
Farali dhokla are best on the day. Made from samo flour, they dry out and firm up faster than besan dhokla. They hold two days in an airtight box in the fridge; steam them for three or four minutes in a sieve and pour over a fresh ghee tempering before serving. A microwave leaves them dry.
What you can swap
- No samo flour? Rajgira (amaranth) flour works, though the dhokla come out heavier and darker. Half samo and half water-chestnut flour gives the best texture.
- No sour curd? Stir a teaspoon of lemon juice into fresh curd, or leave the curd out overnight to sour.
- No Eno? A pinch of baking soda with a little lemon juice, added at the very last second.
- If you are not fasting, ordinary salt instead of rock salt and oil instead of ghee are both fine.
What to serve with it
This is the reliable snack of an Ekadashi, Shravan or Navratri fast. It is eaten with farali green chutney made of coriander, peanut and coconut, and in many homes with farali kadhi or just a bowl of plain curd.
Mistakes to avoid
- Check the batter again after the fifteen-minute rest. Samo flour drinks water and thickens, so loosen it with two or three spoons of water and whisk again if needed.
- Do not forget to grease the plate. Samo flour batter sticks badly and the squares tear when you lift them.
- Do not over-steam. Past fifteen minutes the moisture cooks off and the dhokla turn dry and rubbery.
- Do not cut them hot. Let them settle for ten minutes, then cut with a sharp knife wiped with water.
Questions people ask
Why did my farali dhokla turn out dense?
Nearly always because the batter was too thick. Samo flour swells while it rests, so a batter that looked right at the start is heavy fifteen minutes later. The other usual causes are old Eno or steamer water that was not boiling.
Can I make them with rajgira flour?
Yes. Rajgira absorbs more water, so add two or three extra spoons. The dhokla will be darker and more solid, with a slightly nutty, faintly bitter edge to the taste.
Can I mix the batter the night before a fast?
The flour, curd and water can sit in the fridge overnight, but add the ginger-chilli paste, salt and Eno only at the moment you steam. Eno added early will be spent and the dhokla will not rise.
