Khaman dhokla is a popular Indian snack, though it is a Gujarati food but it is also popular in other parts of the country. It is available at many sweet shops in the Kolkata & some other major cities in West Bengal. But if you ask them for Gujarati khaman dhokla then they may raise their eyebrows, haha because, in West Bengal, it is known as only dhokla.
The first time, I have tried this at a Ganguram sweets shop (a popular sweet food chain in West Bengal). But nowadays there are many local sweet food stalls who also sell dhokla. A sweet & sour red colored chtani & grated coconut are also used to serve along with spongy dhokla. When I was in Delhi, I used to notice that people had this Gujarati khaman dhokla with mint leaves & coriander leaves based green chatni too. It proved that Delhi people love those green & red chatni with almost everything. But here in West Bengal, probably nobody prefers that mint & coriander leaves based green chatni with khaman dhokla.
In fact, very less Bengali people actually use mint leaves (pudina patta) in cooking or making any chatni or sauce. I have even observed mint leaves are used to make pani for panipuris in Mumbai and golgappa in Delhi. But here in Kolkata, spicy tamarind water along with the mouthwatering aroma of gandharaj lebu is used as pani for panipuri (known as puchka in Kolkata) in Kolkata. So Gujarati khaman dhokla is not an exception in Kolkata, I mean, it is also served with red colored sweet & sour chatni & grated coconut but mint based green chatni is absent here again.
Most people like Gujarati khaman dhokla with jalebi (a very popular Indian sweet), particularly Gujarati people love khaman dhokla & jalebi for their breakfast. Did you ever try this combination too?
Okay, now I think that I am deviating from the main topic that is magic of Gujarati khaman dhokla.
Though most people prefer dhokla for their breakfast but not all people can buy this in the morning because not all sellers open their shops so early and secondly, most people sell khaman dhokla in the evening in West Bengal. Even if a dhokla seller sells it in the morning then also it may be far away from your residence, haha. So if you want to have it for breakfast then you need to make it in the morning or buy it in the evening and have this next day morning. But I chose the first option.
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If you want to make this first time at your kitchen then your result may be not as good as you expect because thickness & consistency of the batter is the key of soft & spongy khaman dhokla. I tried this three or four times that finally this one was as good as I expected. It was magical & surprising to make such soft & spongy khaman dhokla with besan & a few other ingredients.
Gujarati khaman dhokla recipe
- 200 gm sunflower peas flour/besan
- 1.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 2.5 tsp baking powder
- 3 tsp lemon juice
- Salt as needed
- ⅔ cup normal water
- 10 curry leaves
- 1.5 tsp mustard seeds
- 6-7 green chilies, whole
- ½ tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp water
- Hand full grated coconut, optional
- Some fresh mint leaves, optional
- Take besan, turmeric powder, lemon juice, baking powder & salt in a large bowl mix those properly
- Now add water and stir continuously with hand blender (anything else) and make smooth consistent batter (batter should not be too thin or too thick)
- Now grease a pan/bowl with oil and pour that batter into it
- Now place it in a steamer (I prefer to use rice cooker), steam it for 25 minutes
- Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chilies and fry till mustard seeds starts cracking, curry leaves turns to dark green & chiles become soft
- Now pour water and boil till it reduces to half of its quantity
- Then spread it over khaman dhokla & serve
Also read: What do Indian people eat for breakfast?
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