Vati Dal Khaman Dhokla
Vati Dal Khaman Dhokla is a tempting dhokla made from soaked and crushed chana dal (lentils). Vati dal means soaked and crushed lentils (vateli dal). Generally when people try to make this traditional Gujarati snack at home, it does not come out fluffy and soft. The secret of making them soft and fluffy lies in preparing perfect batter and using right amount of eno fruit salt (baking soda or sodium bicarbonate). With carefully measured ingredients of this recipe, you can very easily make fluffy and mouth watering dhokla at home.
| Ingredients: |
| For Batter: |
| 1 cup Chana Dal (Split Bengal Gram) |
| 1 teaspoon Lemon juice |
| 2 tablespoons Sour Curd |
| 1 tablespoon Green Chilli-Ginger paste |
| 1 teaspoon Eno Fruit Salt (or 1/3 teaspoon Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)) |
| 1/8 teaspoon Turmeric Powder (haldi) |
| 1 teaspoon Oil (to grease) |
| 1 cup Water |
| Salt |
| For Tempering: |
| 1 tablespoon Oil |
| 1 pinch Asafoetida (hing) |
| 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds |
| 4-5 Green Chillies, chopped |
| 2 tablespoons finely chopped Fresh coriander leaves |
Directions:
- Wash chana dal and soak it in water for 6 hours.
- Drain water and grind it coarsely. Add 1 cup water (or little less or more) and grind again until medium coarse texture.
- Mix crushed chana dal, lemon juice, sour curd and salt in a large bowl. Cover with a plate and keep it in warm place for 5-6 hours to ferment. Add green chilli-ginger paste and mix well.
- Grease steamer plates with oil. Pour 2-3 glasses water in steamer and heat it on medium flame. Mix Eno fruit salt in batter and stir it for a minute in one direction.
- You can notice the batter is increased to almost double.
- Pour it into greased plates until half of its height and place them the steamer.
- Steam it for 10-15 minutes over medium flame.
- After 10-15 minutes, open the steamer and insert a knife or toothpick into dhokla and check if it comes out clean. If it does, then dhokla is ready otherwise cook it more for 2-3 minutes.
- Take out thali from steamer and let it cool for few minutes and cut dhokla into small squares.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds begin to crackle, add green chillies and sauté for few seconds. Turn off the flame and pour it over prepared dhoklas.
- Garnish vati dal khaman dhokla with chopped coriander leaves and serve.
Tips and Variations:
- Do not keep batter idle for long time after adding eno salt.
- Steam dhokla on medium-low flame to make them spongy.
Taste: Sour
Serving Ideas: It can be enjoyed with green chutney or served with a tea/coffee as a perfect breakfast or evening snack.