Fauzia's Kitchen Fun

Instant Dhokla

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Instant Dhokla

Dhokla/Khaman is a steamed super-soft spongy cake-like dish made mainly from semolina and gram flour. It is normally served with a delicious spicy sauce. A quick and very easy, healthy snack! 🙂
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • 1 An 8" baking pan, greased well (with a tight fitting lid)
  • A big pot that can hold the baking pan without it touching the sides
  • 1 A wire rack on which to place the baking paHot water for the steaming

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for Dhokla

  • 1 ¼ cups fine semolina
  • 2 tbsp channa flour/gram flour/besan flour
  • 1 ¼ cups warm water
  • 5 tbsp yoghurt
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp garlic paste
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp fresh coriander chopped
  • 2-3 tbsp green chilies chopped
  • 1 tsp Eno salt

Ingredients for Sauce

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1/4 tsp rai/mustard seeds
  • 1/4 tsp garlic paste
  • 2 tbsp ketchup/tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp tomato paste/puree
  • 1-2 chopped green chilies
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • juice of half a lemon
  • a few limro/curry leaves chopped finely
  • chili powder to taste
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • First, prepare the Dhokla.
    Put all the ingredients except for the water in a big bowl, then add warm water and beat very well using a fork. Really whisk it properly at this stage.
    Then, heat 2 tbsp. oil and add a pinch of chopped limro/curry leaves and half tsp. rai/mustard seeds. Turn off the heat and add this oil/tarka mixture into the batter and mix it in very well.
    Now the Dhokla/Khaman batter has to be steamed.
    Put the wire rack inside the big pot and add water into it. Then place the 8″ pan whilst it is still empty on the wire rack. Take care that the water does not go into the 8″ pan, it should be at a lower level but not too low that it will dry out during the cooking process. Turn on the heat and cover the big pot with a tight lid. Heat until the 8″ pan is very hot, it needs to be heated like this before the batter goes into it for best results.
    While it’s heating, add the 1 tsp. of Eno salt into the prepared batter. It will froth very quickly. Carefully remove the heated 8″ pan from the pot, add the batter into it, level it carefully, then put it carefully back in the pot. Cover the pot tightly once more and keep the heat on high. Steam for about 15 minutes.
    Once the 15 minutes are up, open the pot and stick a sharp knife into the Dhokla cake. If it comes out clean, your dhokla cake is ready. If there is still some batter sticking to it, cover again and keep steaming for a few more minutes.
    Once ready, remove the Dhokla pan carefully from the big pot, and place it on a wire rack to cool slightly. In the meantime, prepare the sauce.
    DHOKLA SAUCE
    Heat the oil, add the rai and sesame seeds, followed by the limro leaves, garlic paste, tomato paste, ketchup, salt, sugar, chili powder and lemon juice. Stir for a couple of seconds then add quarter cup of water. Simmer together on low heat for a few minutes, then turn off the heat. Your sauce is done!
    Pour this sauce over the Dhokla. Once the Dhokla has cooled completely, careful slice into it using a sharp knife and remove the pieces.
    Serve warm and enjoy! 🙂

Join the Conversation

  1. hello amazin just neeed to ask u tat u havnt use fruit salt in dhokala does it make any difference…thx

    1. Hi Urooj, I have used Eno Salt, which works like fruit salt. 🙂

  2. loving your recipes!!! bt wenever i made dhokla they never turned out light and spongy!! any tips to where im going wrong?? thanks

    1. Make sure the Eno salt is fresh, if it is old the will not swell properly therefore you will loose out on the fluffiness.

  3. I always loved khaman dhokla..and used to buy the glitz ready to use one…coz otherwise the method of cooking looked very risky…wud lov to try ur recipe…but i dont have eno…is there any substitute for it plz…thx fauzia..ur recipes alwayz have been wonderful,simple and delicious….

  4. Why have u used so much of suji n so less of besan, isnt it supposed to be the other way or is this another version of dhokla.

  5. Salaam….I am inspired by the recipe but totally at a loss as to the utensils needed to make it….would you be able to post a picture of the dishes you used to make this should? So I can get a visual idea of what kind of dishes are needed….I am having a hard time trying to picture what is needed!

  6. Cn v bake this in oven or
    Cn v bake this in oven or pressure cook, if yes hw??? Plz help

  7. Salam. Had a few qs plz. Is
    Salam. Had a few qs plz. Is it okay to use low fat yoghurt? And can we add more sugar if we want or that will alter the texture? Also for the suji measurement, should we use your cup measure for flour which is 1 cup=120 gm and for the water it should be 1 cup = 200 ml. Am I right ?

    1. W/Salaam, yes low fat is fine
      W/Salaam, yes low fat is fine. Am not sure about the sugar but it should be ok. And yes same cup measurement. 🙂

  8. Sorry one more qs. Is this 5
    Sorry one more qs. Is this 5 tblsp whipped yoghurt ? Also does the yoghurt have to be at room temp or straight from fridge is okay ?

  9. Thank you so much for the
    Thank you so much for the reply!! Will try this recipe and let you know how it turns out

  10. Salam fauzia. I tried the
    Salam fauzia. I tried the dhokla and came out well:). So thank you very much for the wonderful recipe and the tips !! Just a qs, my dhokla was soft but it wasn’t light and fluffy the way dhokla is. Is there something I’m doing wrong ?

    1. W/Salaam, thank you! You
      W/Salaam, thank you! You could try checking if the Eno salt was new/fresh. Also do not add it in until you are just about ready to pour the batter into the pan.

  11. Hmm okay. Will try that next
    Hmm okay. Will try that next time. I think the ENO was fresh because as soon as I added it, it started fizzing. Unless there’s another way of checking for freshness. But yeah, after adding the ENO I waited a couple of mins before adding in the pan so maybe that made the difference. Will remember your tip for next time. Thank you for your reply and jazakallah for sharing another great recipe with us 🙂

  12. Hi.. I made this recipee
    Hi.. I made this recipee ,this is the second time I made this
    But it comes sticky first I thought May be because I used soda by car
    But today I used fresh eno it was active
    What went wrong
    Or this Dhokri is sticky as we use semolina that’s why

    1. Hi, am not sure what you mean
      Hi, am not sure what you mean by sticky. Does the batter feel sticky or do you mean it is sticky after baking?

  13. Even I poured it on time Ddnt
    Even I poured it on time Ddnt delay I mixed it at the end and quickly
    Poured into the pan and steamed..
    I don’t knw what went wrong

    1. Hmm am not sure why yours
      Hmm am not sure why yours turn out sticky. Could be that the steam trapped is falling back on the dhokra during steaming? Try covering the big pan with a cloth before placing the lid on top. The cloth will help absorb any excess moisture.

  14. Hi,sticky as in, the way
    Hi,sticky as in, the way Dhokri is dry and spongy type..mine was
    Like not well done as I I have taken out quickly and Hw the cake seems inside ..that type
    And Mine took 45mins to b done to cum out clean toothpick when I plucked inside ..
    yea that’s true the steam bounces to inside the pan..
    Thank you dear inshaalah I wil try back with cloth

  15. I appreciate thank you very
    I appreciate thank you very very much for the kind and favourable reply
    Love you

  16. Hi,
    Hi,
    If I wanted to make another tray, would I need to make another batter fresh or just double the quantity and then divide?
    I was told that sooji batter can’t few left around too long.
    Thanks:)

    1. Hi, yes I would not recommend
      Hi, yes I would not recommend letting the batter sit too long before steaming as the texture will not be as light and fluffy. Best to make a fresh batch for the second round.

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