Dhokla Recipe | Gujarati Khaman Dhokla
The state of Gujarat in India is agriculturally rich, especially known for its fertile pastures and large cattle population. This abundance of cattle ensures a steady supply of milk, making milk and dairy products a staple in many Gujarati recipes.One common by-product of butter making is buttermilk, which is widely used in Gujarati cooking. A particularly versatile pairing is besan (gram flour) with buttermilk — a combination found in popular dishes like kadhi, khandvi, and dhokla.Dhokla is a light, fluffy, and aerated vegetarian snack, often served as a breakfast item or side dish. It is steamed and later soaked in tempered, flavored water to enhance its taste. There are various types of dhokla, and one often confused variant is Khaman Dhokla.Khaman is also a steamed savory cake, typically made from chana dal (split chickpeas) and curd, and tends to be denser and more spongy than traditional dhokla. Despite their similarities in preparation, dhokla and khaman are distinct, though they are often mistakenly referred to interchangeably.
Ingredients
🫓 For Dhokla Batter
- 2 cups Besan (gram flour)
- ¾ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- 1 cup Water
- ½ cup Curd
- 2 tbsp Sugar (powdered)
- 1 tsp Green Chilli Paste
- 1 tsp Ginger Paste
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Baking Soda or ENO
- 1 small sheet Butter Paper
🌶️ For Tempering
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 3 tsp Mustard Seeds (rai)
- 6 nos Green Chillies
- Handful Curry Leaves (optional)
- 2 cups Water
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Before you start preparing the batter get the steamer ready. Add water in the steamer, cover it and bring water to a boil. Alternatively, you can place a ring into a kadai and use a lid that covers the kadai completely.
- Lightly grease a 8inch round tin on the sides. Place a piece of round butter paper on the bottom and keep it aside.
- For the batter sift gram flour (besan) in a bowl. Sprinkle salt and turmeric on to it. Mix together water, curd, sugar, green chilli pastes, ginger paste and oil. Pour ¾ of this over the besan. Whisk the batter in one direction for about 5 minutes. This will make the batter light and fluffy.
- Once you have worked up the batter add lemon juice and baking soda. If you do not have baking soda you can add fruit salts aka ENO.
- Mix them gently in one direction and wait for 30 secs. Pour the batter inside the ready mould and place it in the steamer immediately. Cover and cook the dhokla for about 30mins. After 30mins turn off the heat and let the dhokla sit covered in the steamer for 10min.
- In the meantime we will get the flavoured syrup ready. Heat a pan and drizzle oil, add mustard seeds and once they pop add in slit green chillies along with curry leaves. Toss them for a minute. Add water, sugar, salt and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
- Now carefully remove the mould from the steamer and let it cool a bit (not completely). Run a knife along the sides of the pan and remove the dhokla carefully on to a deep plate or platter.
- Pour the syrup over the dhokla and let the dhokla soak up the syrup completely. Make sure that the temperature of syrup and dhokla should be Lukewarm (both).
- Wait for 10mins and then serve them, you can also put them in a fridge for 2 hours before serving.
Notes
Tips & Tricks while making Dhokla
1. Traditionally chaas was used to make dhokla. Gujarat is a fairly rich state and after taking our butter there was chaas left at home which was used to make various dishes like kadi and dhokla.
2. Prepare the dhokla tin and steamer before you start making the batter
3. Make sure you whisk together curd and water and add them in small bursts. You need to whisk the batter for at least 5mins to make it fluffy. Post that gives it rest for 5min.
4. Mix the dhokla batter in one direction only, this will make it airy and light. If you try to whisk both clockwise and anticlockwise, then the batter won’t rise properly.
5. Add baking soda just before adding the batter to the steamer. Once the baking soda is added whisk it again in one direction till it gets fluffy.
6. It is imp to sieve the flour to make a soft spongy dhokla. Sifting the besan make it lump free and light there by making it easy to mix.
7. You can also add Eno in the place of baking soda to make it fluffy.
8. Dhokla batter has to be thick but pouring.
9. Don’t tap the tin after adding the batter to it as this will cause the air to escape from the batter.
10. Adding more Haldi will give it a very dark colour and can give it a light shade of brown.
11. When adding water to dhokla both water and dhokla temp should be warm, neither hot not completely cold.
12.Once you steam it do not open it in between and at the same time once you turn off the heat and let it sit for 5-10 mins.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!