Dhokla (Gujarat)

A real tasty breakfast from the state of Gujarat is Dhokla. We know that the name sounds funny – at least it was funny to us when we listened to it first time from a Gujarati aunty who was our neighbor in Somalia. However, we really loved the stuff when she prepared it for us during our initial days in Bosaso. First time when we tasted Dhokla from her it was our first Indian food in Somalia, after two weeks of eating Pasta and vegetable gravy in some spices. May be a hundred times she served us the food later on, but the taste remained perfectly same.

Ingredients

Besan 1½ cups

Suji 2 teaspoons

Curd 1 cup

Turmeric powder ½ teaspoon

Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon

Chopped green chili 2

Chopped ginger 1 tablespoon

Fresh coriander a few leaves

Fresh grated coconut ½ cups

Baking soda 1 teaspoon

Vegetable oil 2 tablespoons

Salt as per taste

Lemon 1

Lukewarm water to mix

Method §  Beat curd well in a bowl; add besan and lukewarm water to the bowl and whisk well to remove all lumps (Only add water to make the mixture to a thick paste). §  Add salt to the mixture and leave it covered for 3 hours to 4 hours for fermentation to take place. §  Make a paste of ginger, green chilies, and turmeric powder. Add the paste to the fermented mixture and blend well. §  Add 1 teaspoon baking soda, lemon juice of a lemon, and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the mixture §  Pour the mixture in to a greased Dhokla Mould and steam it for 10 to 13 minutes in a pressure cooker with water below the level of mould. Make sure that when boiling water is not touching the mould or the mixture. §  Once the mixture is boiled let the preparation cool for some time, and then cut it into squares and arrange in a serving plate. §  Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds to it. Take out the oil and mustard seeds once the seeds crackle, and spread over the baked Dhokla. §  Serve the tasty dish after garnishing with coriander leaves and grated coconut on it Including a few curry leaves to the crackled mustard may increase taste, but depends on your taste buds. If you love the taste of Asafetida, you may include a pinch of that to the flour mixture, before steaming.