Instant Khaman Dhokla

After several unsuccessful attempts at making dhokla, I finally managed to find a recipe that gave me fantastic results. The recipe I followed was Daagh's and it can be found here.

Ingredients:

For the dhokla batter:

1 cup chickpea flour/ besan

1 Tbsp semolina/ rava/ sooji

1/2 to 3/4 cup water (I used a little more than 1/2 cup but a little less than 3/4 cup)

Juice of a lemon

1 Tbsp oil

2 green chillies, chopped finely

2 tsp sugar

A pinch of turmeric

Salt

1 tsp Eno fruit salt

For the tempering/sugar solution:

2 Tbsp oil

1-2 tsp mustard seeds

A pinch of asafoetida

2 green chillies, finely chopped

4-5 curry leaves, chopped

2 tsp sugar

Juice of a lemon

For garnishing:

2-3 Tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Method:

Combine the chickpea flour, semolina, lemon juice, oil, green chillies, sugar, turmeric powder and salt in a bowl. Add enough water to make a smooth and lump-free batter.

Just before steam cooking the batter, add the Eno fruit salt and mix.

Steam the batter for 15-20 minutes. (I greased one of the stainless steel containers that came with my pressure cooker and steamed the batter in my cooker without using the weight.)

While the batter’s cooking, get the sugar solution ready. Heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds and asafoetida and let the seeds pop. Add the curry leaves and chopped green chillies and turn off the heat. Then add the lemon juice and sugar and mix.

Once the dhokla is ready (a toothpick inserted should come out clean when it’s done), poke a few holes all over the surface of it and pour the sugar solution all over the steamed cake while it is still warm. Cool for a bit, cut into wedges and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with some green chutney and tamarind-date chutney.