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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Indian Cooking Challenge - Dhokla

When Valli sent out a mail saying that she has started a new blog called Indian Cooking Challenge and that she'd set out recipes for us to make each month, I was a bit apprehensive 'coz I have great difficulty following instructions to the T - I almost always make little changes to recipes that I come across, but I was definitely interested as this is one great way to learn a variety of new dishes.
The first task that she has set out for us is to make dhoklas. The recipe is an authentic one, lent to Valli by one of her Gujarati friends. I have not made any changes to the recipe that she has on her blog. The blog is a private one....so if you want to view the recipe, mail her or join the Challenge.

The experience
This is a pretty easy-to-do recipe. Inspite of not having made dhoklas before, I was able to turn out pretty decent ones by following the recipe and instructions. I steamed the dhoklas in regular idli plates and then cut each one into four before serving. Next time around, I would add more lemon juice and more chillies to the batter as I felt it could have been a tad spicier. The dhoklas turned out to be soft and spongy......though not as spongy or for lack of a better word, as juicy as the ones that you get at some of the typical chaat places. Any ideas, why???
The green chutney was delicious......I loved it......and plan to make it quite often.

13 comments:

Pari Vasisht said...

Your dhokla are looking nice. Regarding your querry about juicier Dhoklas check out my post and the read the simple changes that I incorporated. I am sure that will help. My Dhokla just melted in the mouth.I agree it needs a little more citric acid.But this is my personal liking. There are people who do not like very sour dhoklas..this ones a perfect for them.

jayasree said...

Steaming it in idli plates is a good idea.

Anonymous said...

Dhokla looks perfect Jaya...

Bharathy said...

The dhoklas turned out to be soft and spongy......though not as spongy or for lack of a better word, as juicy as the ones that you get at some of the typical chaat places. Any ideas, why???

The eno makes it dry..so addition of HOT water + sugar + oil is a must along with the Thadka...I have made these changes and came out Perfect,Jaya..Hope you have already gone thru..:)

Renu said...

dhokla looks yummy !

Srivalli said...

Lovely Jay, the lack of sponginess could be because the water was less in the batter or the water that needs to be added after steaming was not done right away. Aunty did tell me that it tends to get a bit dry if you allow it to stand for more than 5 mins. I think pouring the tadka along with the water is the trick. Lets try it next time...:)

Medhaa said...

they look good, my guju friend told me to use a steel dhaba flat round one or a thali, since it needs lots of room to cook, if not the texture will not be good. Maybe that was the reason.

Priya Narasimhan said...

nice mini dhoklas

Vani said...

I had one a-ha moment when I read someone's instant khaman dhokla post y'day. They add water to the tadka with salt and hing. I think the dhokla absorbs the tadka flavors too and gets softer (at least that's what I think!)

Renus Kitchen said...

nice clicks!!! I love dhoklas....

Unknown said...

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Jayashree said...

Pari, thx. I did check out your post.
Jaya, it is so much easier to just steam it in one batch in an idli plate.
Sangi, thx.
Bharathy...did chk out your post...will try out those changes next time.

Jayashree said...

Sangi, Renu, thank u.
Valli, Vani, Medhaa....seems like the tadka should have had more water. Will try that next time.
Sireesh, thank you dear.