Khaman Dhokla

Khaman Dhokla is a steamed savory cake made with spiced gram flour batter. It is finished with a tempering of curry leaves, mustard seeds and green chilies. Lastly Dhokla is garnished with grated raw coconut and coriander leaves. Here is the recipe to make the perfect Khaman Dhokla at home. It is soft, fluffy, spongy and super delicious, just like the one you get in your favorite eateries.

Gujarati Cuisine is very popular for a longlist of yummy snack foods like Khandvi, fafda, Dabeli, khakra and handvo. Khaman is yet another and is more commonly known as Khaman Dhokla across other regions of India, mostly on the restaurant menus and eateries.

What is Dhokla & Khaman

Traditionally, Dhokla and Khaman are 2 different snacks but both are savory steamed cakes. While the former is made with fermented rice and lentil batter, the latter is made with a batter of gram flour and a leavening agent like baking soda or eno (fruit salt).

The difference between these two, is somewhat similar to the traditional Idli vs Rava Idli. While one is made with ground and fermented batter, the other is simply made with an instant batter that consists of a leavening agent, which helps to bypass the fermentation process.

The process of steaming the batter and tempering remains the same. The prepared batter is poured to a mould and steamed in a steamer or a pot to cook up a fluffy Khaman Dhokla. It is aromatically tempered with fresh curry leaves, mustard seeds and chilies. It looks beautiful when garnished with coconut and coriander leaves.

Dhokla is an all-time classic hit that can impress anyone. From tea parties, potlucks to Indian themed dinner, it is a show stopper and everyone falls in love with it instantly. So what are you waiting for, give this a try!

Ingredients & Substitutes

Pantry Staples – You need pantry staples like gram flour (besan), salt, mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilies, ginger, turmeric etc.
Leavening Agent (Eno vs Baking Soda) – This recipe requires plain unflavored Eno (blue pack) also known as fruit salt or it can be substituted with a leavening agent like baking soda. However I have found that Eno gives the best results without affecting the color or taste of your dhokla.
Acidic Ingredient: – Citric Acid or lemon juice is required to activate the leavening agent. You get the best results with citric acid but lemon juice works. Citric acid together with Eno gives the best airy and fluffy khaman dhokla. Choose food grade citric acid that is from a natural source and is Non-gmo.

How to make Khaman Dhokla

Preparation

1. To a mixing bowl or a jug, pour ½ cup water. Add ½ tablespoon ginger paste, green chili paste (from 1 No), ⅓ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice or ⅓ teaspoon citric acid. In restaurants, citric acid is used in place of lemon juice. If using citric acid, look for natural pure citric acid. I am using citric acid here.

2. Add all the ingredients to the water and stir well until the sugar dissolves. Keep this aside.

3. Place a sieve over a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup besan (125 grams) and ¼ teaspoon turmeric to it.

4. Sieve them and then add 1 tablespoon fine semolina (suji). Mix everything well.

Make Batter

5. Pour the spiced water we made at step 2 and mix well to a lump-free batter. At the end of this step you will have a thick batter.

6. Add more water as needed to make a free flowing yet slightly thick batter. The quantity of water to use depends on the texture of flour. You may need 4 to 5 tbsps water at this stage.

7. Beat the batter very well in one direction (clock-wise or anti-clock wise) with your whisk for exactly 50 to 60 seconds.

8. Dip a spoon and check the consistency. It should not be too runny or too thick. But has to coat the back of the spoon well and should not be very thick.

9. This is the consistency of the batter. It should not be of a ribbon consistency. Keep this aside and prepare the steamer.

10. Pour 2½ to 3½ cups water to a large pot or a steamer. Place a steel rack or a ring or a long legged trivet. Cover and bring the water to a rolling boil. Ensure there is enough water in your steamer so it can steam constantly for 20 mins. (I pour about 4 cups as I use a large pot)

Steam Dhokla

11. Meanwhile add half to 1 teaspoon oil and grease a 5 inch box or a cake pan. I used a steel box. Grease the sides as well. If you do not have a pan, you can also use your masala dabba cups.

12. When you see the water in the steamer is about to come to a boil, then add ¾ teaspoon eno (fruit salt) and pour 1 tablespoon water to the dhokla batter. You will see the eno activates and froths up.

13. Quickly mix everything well to incorporate it with the batter. As you mix, the khaman dhokla batter begins to thicken and turns light. Run the whisk around the bowl including the sides to mix it evenly. If you don’t mix the batter evenly all over, dhokla will be dense in some parts.

14. Immediately pour this to the box or pan. It is very common to see uneven surface on top. Optionally using your whisk slightly smoothen the top quickly.

15. Note after adding eno, the batter has to go straight into the steamer that’s ready with boiling water. Place it in the steamer and cover it. Your lid should have a vent for the steam to escape otherwise some amount of moisture may come on top of the dhokla. You can also use your pressure cooker lid without the whistle.

16. Steam it for 18 to 20 mins on a moderately high flame. It has to be steamed constantly. After 5 mins or so I reduce the heat a bit as the water comes out from the sides. This again depends on your stove and steamer. Once done, a knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Turn off the stove and leave it covered in the pot for another 5 mins.

Temper Dhokla

17. Pour 1 tablespoon oil to a tadka pan and heat it. Add ¾ teaspoon mustard seeds. When they begin to crackle, add 1 sprig curry leaves and 2 sliced green chilies. Saute for a while until the curry leaves turn crisp.

18. You can add 1 tablespoon sesame seeds at this stage if you like. But I do not add them here as we prefer to sprinkle the toasted sesame while serving. Turn the flame low and add the sesame seeds. Saute until they crackle. Lastly add ⅛ teaspoon hing, 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix the hing with oil.

19. Next pour ½ cup water. Bring it to a rolling boil and turn off. Stir a few times to dissolve the sugar. Cover this and leave it to cool down a bit.

20. Remove the dhokla pan from the steamer and cool it completely. After it cools down, using a knife loosen the sides if needed. If your tin has even sides, then the dhokla will loosen on it’s own. Since mine has a design/dent on the sides, I had to run a knife.

21. Keep a plate over the pan and invert the dhokla to the plate. Ensure the dhokla has cooled completely before removing it. Cut to squares. Since I doubled the recipe (2x) I got so many pieces.

21. I prefer to pour the warm tempering on the dhokla. Spread the spices all over. First pour half cup of the tempering water and wait for a while. Then pour the rest. All of the water will be absorbed by the dhokla.