Vaati Daal na Khaman

Dhokla is a very famous Gujarati snack. There are many types of Dhokla people make e.g. Khatta Dhokla or Nylon Khaman (as it is called in Bombay), Khaman Dhokla, Vaati daal na Khaman, Corn Dhokla, Mag ni Daal na Dhokla etc etc.

I like almost all types of dhokla, except Nylon Khaman, or Khaman Dhokla. I know I am one of the very few people who don’t like Khaman Dhokla.

But I like vaati daal na Khaman, which are a cousin of the regular khaman dhokli (Nylon Khaman). Vaati (or Vateli) daal means ground lentil.

Here is the recipe for making vati daal na khaman:
Ingredients:
1 Cup Chana Daal, Soaked For 3-4 Hours,
Water as Required to Grind the Daal
½ Cup Yogurt,
Salt to Taste,
1 Teaspoon Chili Ginger Paste,
1 Teaspoon Eno Fruit Salt,
1 Teaspoon Sugar, Optional (I don’t add it)
1/8th Teaspoon Turmeric Powder,

Tempering:
3 Teaspoon Oil,
1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds,
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds,
1 Teaspoon Sesame Seeds
1 Chili, Cut into Small Pieces,
2 Whole Dried Red Chilies, Cut into 2 Pieces Each

Method:
Drain the water from the daal and keep aside. If you are using cold yogurt from the fridge, take it out in a bowl and microwave for 20-25 seconds so that it gets warm. Add the yogurt to the daal and grind it to a coarse batter. Add a little water if necessary. The batter should have a consistency of pancake batter. If you are using sugar, add it now. Cover and leave it in a warm place to ferment overnight or atleast for 6-8 hours.

The next day, add salt, turmeric podwer and chili ginger paste to the batter and mix well. Place a dhokla steamer on the stove. Just before pouring the batter into the container, add the Eno fruit salt and mix well. Pour the batter into the container. The batter should cover about 1 inch of the side walls of the container. Place the container in the steamer, and steam for 15-20 minutes, or until a knife when inserted in center, comes out clean.

If you don’t have a dhokla steamer, you can use a pressure cooker. Just make sure to remove the whistle from the lid.

I don’t have a dhokla steamer. Here is how I steam dhoklas. I have a deep bottom steel vessel that has holes in the bottom (more like a strainer). I use fill up a deep kadai (a deep pan) half way though with water. Then I place the steel strainer over the kadai, just making sure that the bottom of the strainer doesn’t touch water. I place the dhokla batter in a steel container, or a thali (a deep dish) and place the thali in the strainer and cover the strainer with a lid. I put the whole assembly on the stove and start boiling water and cook it just like any other dhokla steamer. In 15-20 minutes, hot and fluffy dhoklas will be ready.

For Tempering:
Heat the oil in a pan. When it’s hot, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds stop spluttering, add the cumin seeds, sesame seeds, green chili and whole red chilies. Cook for a minute or two and then take off of the stove. Spread the tempering over the dhoklas and let the dhoklas cool. When it cools down, cut into small pieces and enjoy with green chutney and sev. The picture here shows how it is served in Bombay, i.e. with onion and green chili.

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