Dhokla

"Tum Gujarati log kitne cute hote ho! Par tum logo ka khana khatar naak kyon hota hai? Dhokla! Fafda! Handva! Thepla! Khakhra! Aise laga hai kae jaise missiles hai!" 

-- Pia (Kareena Kapoor) from the movie "3 Idiots"

I love the movie "3 Idiots". I also love Dhoklas (or as some Gujarati's pronounce, "dhokras"). And I love th above dialog. Moreover, I love making dhoklas and feeding friends!

My Mother is a fantastic cook! In fact, my Mother is a very talented woman, and credit goes to her for my all that I have learned.  However, being the person I am, I do tend to add a little twist to recipes. Or as I call it - I Dipafy them! :)

I describe dhoklas as "steamed semolina savory cakes". Don't they look yummy! I will try and upload a clearer photo when I make them next time.

The recipe follows. The recipe is also precise. If you follow it as it is, it will taste delicious. However, adjust the spices and seasoning according to your taste.  For the record, I had friends over, and for the record, Prashant said "These are better than my Moms!" Now that is one great compliment!

I serve these with a tamarind chutney (will one day post it up). However, traditionally, dhoklas are served with a "Lili chutney" -- where "Lili" simply means Green, and the green comes from the fresh coriander (cilantro). So, you could also call it cilantro chutney!

The only special equipment I have is a idli steamer which has 4 round dhokla trays (7 ¾ diameter x 1" high). If you don't have one, you just need to to have a vessel in which you can steam what looks like brownie pans in.

For the Batter

3 cups semolina

¼ cup chick-pea (garbanzo bean) flour (also known as besan or gram flour)

3 tbsp oil

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp citric acid

½ tsp sugar

1 ¾ tbsp salt

¾ tsp ginger paste

1 tsp green chilli paste

¾ cup sour cream (or yogurt) -- the sour cream is my twist! My Mother's recipe uses yogurt.

2 cups water

2 ½ tsp Eno

Red chilli powder for sprinkling

Oil for spraying/coating the pans/trays

For the Vaghar/Tarka (tempering)

4 tbsp oil

1 dry red chilli (if these are small, add a few)

2 tsp black mustard seeds

1 ½ tsp cumin

Pinch of hing/asafoetida

Chopped coriander for garnishing

1. Mix semolina, chick-pea flour and oil together
2. Add water to your steamer pot and heat on medium (you should have enough water to boil/steam for 30 minutes).
3. Spray/coat the pans/trays with a little oil
4. Add all the remaining ingredients except the Eno and red chilli powder (The above recipe goes into my steamer of 4 trays at the same time, If you think you will need to split the batter into two or 3 times to get it into your Idli trays, then split the batter up now).
5. Add the Eno to the batter you are going to steam, whisk quickly and pour into trays. Sprinkle a little red chilli powder. If you are only using ½ the batter, add only 1 ¼ tsps of Eno - adjust accordingly.
6. Steam on medium heat for 30 minutes.
7. Be careful when taking the lid off the steamer! We don't want any scalds!
8. Take the dhoklas out of the steamer and let the pans/trays cool for 10 mins. 
9. Score a knife around the edge and cut the dhokla whille still in the tray.
10. To make the vaghar/tarka (tempering), heat the oil in a pan
11. Add a few mustard seeds, and when these pop, add the hing/asafoetida, red chilli, remaining mustard seeds and cumin. Everything will start popping, so cover your pot, and take it off the heat.
12. Drizzle the oil over the dhoklas with the rai and jeeru mixture. You just want to make sure that the dhokla is covered and not wet. The oil helps because the dhokla is very dry! If there is any oil left, you can throw it away, but try and get all the rai and jeeru on the pieces.
13. Garnish with the corriander on top, then move the pieces into another container.

If you've used your Idli container and need to steam another batch of batter, then you can do the vaghar/tarka at the end. Just take these round dhoklas out on a plate and let them wait for the remaining batches to be steamed!

Enjoy!