Khaman Dhokla, Instant Besan Dhokla, Healthy Dhokla
Soft, juicy, spongy – this khaman dhokla can be made with easily available ingredients with a recipe that’s a breeze to follow.. Eat this for breakfast, lunch or a light dinner – comfort food that packs in a healthy punch too!
I come from a family that loves its Dhoklas, although we’re not even remotely connected to where these originated from, ie Gujarat. While Sooji Dhokla was our preferred variant for several years, she found a recipe for Khaman Dhokla that didn’t seem cumbersome at all and required ingredients and basic steps.
Khaman stands for freshly milled chana flour, also known as gram flour or besan in Gujarati. Did you know that a cup of our good ‘ole besan packs as much as 21g of protein, 10g of dietary fiber and has negligible fat content? Not to mention the rich mineral content in the form of copper, magnesium, manganese, folate, thiamine and Vitamin B6. The next time you feel guilty about resorting to dhokla as a meal option, don’t! It’s just about as healthy and nutritive as any other meal option perceived as a better alternative!
RECIPE: KHAMAN DHOKLA
Serves 4
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups besan/ gram flour/ chickpea flour
- 3 tsp sooji/ semolina
- ½ cup curd
- 2 green chillies, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp carom seeds
- 2 packet Eno Salt, plain
- 2 tsp sunflower oil
- Salt, to taste
FOR TEMPERING
- 8-10 green chillies, slit lengthwise
- ¼ tsp mustard seeds
- 10-12 curry leaves
- 4-5 sprigs coriander, chopped
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 cup water
FOR GARNISH
- ½ cup coconut, freshly grated
- 2 tbsp sev/ bhujiya (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Add besan, sooji, curd, salt, carom seeds, sugar and turmeric in a bowl. Mix well. Now oil, finely chopped green chillies and water as you mix to achieve medium consistency for the batter. Ensure that no lumps are formed.
Set aside for 20 minutes. Grease a bowl. Add water in a pressure cooker and let the water boil.
Add Eno Salt with water to the batter so bubbles start to form and mix lightly (do not mix vigorously). Spoon the batter into the greased bowl and place the same inside the pressure cooker. Close the lid and allow to steam for 20 minutes on high flame without the whistle.
Insert a knife into the batter to check if cooked. Turn the flame off and allow cooked batter to cool. Once cooled, remove them from the bowl, transfer on a plate and cut into cubes.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add green chillies, curry leaves, sugar and water.
Pour the tempering over dhokla cubes, ensuring that it spreads uniformly through the gaps. Sprinkle coriander leaves on top and set dhokla aside for 10 minutes so it soaks up the tempering mixture and acquires the much-coveted spongy texture.
Garnish with grated coconut and sev.
Devour while hot!
I’d love to hear how this recipe turned out for you, if you tried it. Do post a pic on Instagram and tag #fitfoodiediary in the picture!
NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving)*
| Energy | 257 calories |
| Protein | 13.8 g |
| Fat | 9.3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 27.9 g |
| Of which, Fiber | 5 g |
*Recipe is for 4 servings; all values in grams.
