Hi Friends,
I am back with great, healthy & quick snack item - sooji dhokla. In a gujarati household, Dhokla is a very common food item. Dhoklas are steamed & most commonly served as an appetizer or tea time snack. They are soft, fluffy in texture & awesome in taste. They are very filling & healthy as well.
My mom makes lots of different kinds of dhoklas like
-Mixed Dal (Yellow Mung Dal, split mung dal, Channa Dal) Dhokla
-Khaman (Besan - Chickpea flour) Dhokla
-Rice Dhokla
-Sooji Dhokla
Today we will go over on how to make Sooji Dhokla
Serves 2-3 people
1 Cup Sooji (Cream of wheat)
1/2 Yogurt + 1/2 cup water
2 tsp of oil
1 tsp salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp of sugar
1 tsp ginger/chili paste (to taste)
1 tsp of Eno Fruit Salt Or 1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of Lemon juice
few sprigs of cilantro for garnishing.
1/2 tsp ajwain / Carrom seeds (optional)
Oil Tempering
2 tsp of oil
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
1 /4 tsp of sesame seeds
1 green chili (slit lengthwise)
3-4 curry leaves
Step up used to steam the dhoklas
If you already have a Dhokla stand with the plates, then you are already set. If don’t have one no need to worry you can still make these spongy goodness without any problem.
All you need is a
-container with a lid
-a round plate that has some depth to it that fits in the container above.
-a small stand that can give the round plate an elevated platform when placed inside the container.
1. Take the container & fill about 1 inch of water in it or the amount which is lesser than the height of the small stand.
2. Place the stand in the container filled with water.
3. Place the greased round plate filled with Dhokla batter on top of the stand. Such that it is little high above the water level. Make sure that water should not enter the dhokla batter. Water is used to steam the dhoklas.
4. Cover the container with the lid & leave very small room for steam to escape the vessel.
5. You can use Pressure cooker with its lid as a container but make sure not to put its whistle while steaming the dhoklas.
Now let’s get started with the basic dhoklas
1. Mix the sooji with oil nicely so that it’s well coated with the oil.
2. Add ajwain seeds, ginger/chili paste, salt.
3. Add Yogurt, mix well. And add water little at a time up to 1/2 cup till you get required consistency (thick but pour-able batter).
4. Rest it for about 20 minutes. This is a very important step to get nice soft dhoklas. Sooji will nicely absorb the liquid & swell up. And hence won’t taste raw or crispy after it’s steamed.
5. After 20 minutes, add water in the Dhokla container. And let the water come to a simmer.
6. Only when you are ready to steam the dhoklas, add the Eno Fruit salt & lemon juice into the batter and mix it really well. Eno Fruit salt acts as a leavening agent, which gives the dhoklas a nice rise & softness. This always has to be the last step before we pour the batter into the plate.
7. Grease the round plate into which you will pour half of the batter. Fill the plate up to 3/4th of its depth leaving some room for it to rise.
8. Put the plate in the setup container for steaming & close the lid.
9. Check after 15-20 mins. Insert the tooth pick or knife & it should come out clean.
10. Remove the plate from the container & cool for 5 minutes.
11. Repeat steps 6 through 10 for the next batch.
Measurements above can make 2 plates of dhoklas. Once both the plates of dhokla is steamed & cooled. Gently tap the dhokla plate to remove the dhokla from the mould like cake.
Layering Dhoklas with Chutney (OPTIONAL)
Just like how we layer the cake & pile up with some frosting in between - spread some Cilantro Chutney on 1st layer of dhokla. Top that with another layer of dhokla.
Oil Tempering
1. Heat up 2 tsp of oil. When it’s hot add mustard seeds & pinch of hing (asafoetida)
2. Once mustard seeds crackle, add sesame seeds. Be careful when you add Sesame seeds, they splutter a lot so cover the vessel with a lid.
3. Add curry leaves, green chilies.
5. Put this mixture on to the top layer of dhokla & garnish with cilantro on top.
Cut the dhokla into diamond shapes & enjoy with a cup of tea :).
VARIATIONS
You can completely omit the layering process with chutney & directly go to the oil tempering step. If you wish, you can omit the oil tempering as well.
Vegetable Sandwich Dhokla - You can cut up some thin slices of Cucumber, onion, tomatoes & put it into between the 2 thin layers of dhoklas & enjoy it like a proper Indian style vegetable sandwich except of course replacing bread with dhokla :).
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