We’ve been getting a lot of monsoon rain lately. Rainy days create the perfect opportunity to indulge in yummy snacks and a comforting cup of tea, making the day blissful.
My mom was a culinary wizard. While flipping through her magical recipe book, I stumbled upon the recipe for the entire family’s favourite dish: Gujarati dhokla.
This isn’t just any snack — a steamed sponge cake made by steaming a fermented batter of rice and lentils. Dhokla can turn any rainy day into a celebration.
With friends coming over, I decided to whip up this beloved teatime treat.
Amidst the thundering storms and heavy downpours outside, my tea party with hot dhokla and chai became an instant hit. Who knew battling the rain could be so deliciously fun?
Ingredients for Dhokla
- Ingredients
- Here are the ingredients needed:
- Gram flour – is ground chana dal.
- Eno – fruit salt is added in the batter for fluffy and light texture.
- Curd – Plain yogurt, reacts and gives airy tiny bubbles. It also helps to add taste to the Dhokla.
- Lemon juice – Added for tart to balance taste and this reacts as well with the fruit salt or cooking soda.
Process to make Dhokla
- Crush ginger and green chili to a paste.
- Then take a flat-bottomed vessel and grease it generously with oil.
- Then take besan in a mixing bowl.
- Add the crushed ginger chili, water, curd, lemon juice, turmeric, sugar and salt to it and mix it well by stirring it. Keep it aside for some time.
- Now add the fruit salt to the besan mixture just before steaming it. Make sure to mix well
- Then, cook this mixture for 10-12 minutes.
- Insert a knife to check if it’s done. It should come out clean.
- Keep for 5 minutes to cool down and then invert to a plate. Cut into squares.
- Heat oil in a deep pan add mustard, let it splutter. Then, add asafetida, chilies to it.
- Spread the Tadka over the steamed dhokla
- Cut them into squares, and serve them with green chutney.
“Now the real question is—what’s more likely to stop: the rain or us finishing an entire plate of Dhokla in one sitting?”