Besan Dhokla/ Steamed Savory Gram flour Cake

This incredibly tasty savory snack is light, healthy and hit the spot. It is just as good at lunchtime if you can add a salad on side or for breakfast, alongside a cup of tea and fruit. It is a steamed savory cake, called Besan Dhokla in Hindi. When I was a kid, this was one of the frequented item in our house at any given event. Soft, & delicious, mildly tangy and sweet accompanied by the light crunch of  mustard and sesame, and garnished with the herby cilantro!  It’s been etched in my mind.

So what exactly is Dhokla?

This is a delicacy typical to the western state of Gujarat in India, but loved all across the country. There are two types of Dhoklas, one the yellow ones that are made out of besan or chana dal which are called “Khaman or Khaman Dhokla” and the other are the white ones that are made out of rice and urad dal which are called as “Dhokla or Khatta Dhokla”. Today I’ll share with you “Khaman Dhokla” – the yellow one. Again, there are two ways in which you can make the Khaman Dhokla. One is by soaking chana dal for 5-6 hours and grinding it or the instant one with the use of besan/ gram flour. Although my personal favorite is the former one but I will be sharing the instant Khaman dhokla or Nylon Khaman or Besan dhokla recipe today.

This recipe is extremely simple and easy to prepare as its ingredients are very basic and requires very little time for preparation.  It has the texture of a light sponge cake. To achieve this texture you leaven the batter by citric acid and baking soda. You could use sour yogurt, lemon juice or ENO but I strongly suggest to use citric acid for a fool proof result every time. The soda bicarb and acid in the perfect quantities give the dhokla a citrus tang along with a raising agent to make it fluffy. Plus, both of these are easily available in the market. If you still want to play around with other raising agents, do read this post by Anvi Damani on Science behind Dhokla.

Since dhokla is cooked by steaming, not baking; you will need a steamer or a pressure cooker and a round or square cake tin that will fit inside. If you don’t have a steamer or pressure cooker, you can make a steamer by taking a large pot with a tight fitting lid in which the cake tin will fit, filling it about ¼ of the way with water (enough to simmer for 20 minutes), putting something heavy and taller than the water level inside that won’t float up for the cake tin to rest on. The cake tin used should be wide and high enough to allow the rising. You should have at least 1″ of space remaining after the batter has been poured into the tin. I don’t have a proper cake tin that fits in my bamboo steamer so I always use a pressure cooker insert. It puffs up like a souffle and then sink to the level of the tin.

This is the opposite side.

When the dhokla is ready, it should be pulling away from the edges and should spring back when you touch the surface. Let it rest for 5 minutes before you take it out. While the traditional Gujarati recipe uses sugar syrup to soak the dhokla, it’s up to you whether you want to add that hint of sweetness to this tasty snack. I simply top it with the mustard and sesame tempering to which water is added and serve with mint chutney and sprinkled with fresh grated coconut. Trust me it tastes good even without the sugar syrup.

Dhokla is best served freshly made, although it tastes good the next day too. Store it an airtight container in refrigerator if eating the next day.  Make sure that you microwave it for 20 seconds to warm it through and make it soft again before you serve it.

Update November 5, 2017

If you have a sudden desire to eat a snack or unexpected guests drop in at tea time then microwave method of khaman dhokla is the best.

Enjoy!

If you make this recipe please leave a comment so others can see how you liked it. You can also snap a photo and upload it to instagram or Google+.