Khaman Dhokla - chickpea flour steamed savory snack cakes. glutenfree vegan

Its not like I am on a gf diet.. A lot of indian meals and snacks just happen to be naturally glutenfree. If you are on a gf diet, you would love all the meals from south India and most snacks from Northwest states like Gujarat.

There are different types of Dhoklas, the instant Khaman with chickpea flour like this one, the fermented one made with whole lentils like chana daal(bengal gram), urad daal(black gram and rice, which are soaked, ground and fermented overnight. The one on this post is the instant version.

Serve these for breakfast or snack.. another nutritious Gameday Snack! You can even make a dhokla sandwich. Put some favorite chutneys and roasted veggies between 2.

Video for Instant dhokla(non vegan version).- uses Eno fruit salt and citric acid like most dhokla recipes.

Chickpea flour along with some other lentil and bean flours is used to make a variety of Gujarati snacks, baked, fried, fermented, steamed. Fafda, Kachori, Kahndvi, Muthiya, Khakra, Khaman dhokla, Handvo and lots more(you dont need to pronounce these to enjoy them:D). You can find some recipes here and on Sanjeev Kapoor's site here, mostly vegetarian and but easily veganized.

More Snack/breakfast options on my Facebook Snack album here.

Ingredients: makes a 6 by 3 inch pan

1/4 cup chickpea flour(besan)

1/3 tsp salt

1/2 teaspoon raw sugar, ground

1/4 scant teaspoon baking powder

pinch of asofetida(hing)

generous pinch of turmeric(optional, just for a brighter yellow color)

1 teaspoon grated ginger or 1/2 tsp paste

1/2 teaspoon grated green chili

3 Tablespoons non dairy yogurt (I used SoDelicious plain coconut milk yogurt)

2+ Tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

a generous pinch of baking soda

Tempering/Tadka

1 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

4-5 curry leaves

pinch of asofetida(hing)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 Tbps water

1 teaspoon raw sugar

1-2 Tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1 Tablespoon shredded coconut(optional)

Sesame seeds(optional)

Method:

Whisk all the dry ingredients of the dhokla well.

Add in the grated or paste ginger and chili and mix.

In another bowl, Whisk the yogurt, water and vinegar to remove lumps and combine well.

Add the yogurt mix into the dry ingredients and mix/whisk to form a lump free flowy, not too watery, batter.

Add the pinch of baking soda into the dhokla batter when ready to steam, mix well.

Immediately pour the batter into the parchment lined baking pan and steam it in any way you find comfortable.

Start up the steamer.

I usually use my 6 inch round steel pan and steam in a pressure cooker without whistle. But not everyone has a pressure cooker, I used a deep pan(steamer set up) with a well fitting lid, the lid has a hole. I used a non stick 6 by 3 inch baking pan lined with parchment for the dhokla cake.

This baking pan can be put in any steamer and steamed for 22-24 minutes.

I filled up the deep pan with water that reached to about 2/3 the height of the baking pan.

Once the water starts boiling, add the pinch of baking soda into the dhokla batter and mix well.

Immediately pour the batter into the parchment lined dhokla pan.

Place dhokla pan in boiling water, cover and steam on high flame for 18-20 minutes.

Check on the 18 minute mark, a tooth pick from the center should come out almost clean. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and switch off.

After a minute, Take the dhokla pan out of the steamer pan and let rest for 5 minutes.

Remove parchment from pan and rest for another 5 minutes before peeling off the parchment. You can also use a greased pan, and using a knife loosen the edges.

Cut the dhokla into squares or rectangles.

Tempering:

Heat oil in a small pan on medium heat.

When hot add the mustard seeds and wait for them to sputter.

Add in the asofetida(hing) and curry leaves and reduce heat to low. You can add the chopped cilantro now and cook it for a few seconds, or use it uncooked as garnish.

Add half a teaspoon of chopped green chili(optional)

In a bowl, mix the lemon juice, water and sugar and add this carefully to the pan.

Mix well and turn heat off. Pour this over evenly the cut dhokla.

Garnish with coconut, sesame seeds, cilantro. Serve, with sweet tamarind date chutney or green cilantro mint chutney.

I used less garnish for the pictures so that you can see the texture and such of the dhokla. Use as much or as little tadka and garnish as you like. We like a good amount of mustard seeds and cilantro and chili, and not as much coconut.

If you use a pressure cooker, it will be ready in 15-16 minutes. If you double the recipe, increase the cooking time by a few minutes. Also use 2 pans if making a bigger batch. Smaller and less deep pans will get cooked faster and evenly.

This dhokla is headed to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays,Ricki's wellness weekend, Allergy free Wednesdays