Mixed Grain Dhokla

We all know the importance of a good breakfast.  Each day, getting a healthy breakfast on the table can be a task. But with little preparation and planning ahead of time, this is totally possible.

Being a Lacto Vegetarian, I put lot of effort to add protein to my breakfast and daily meal. Earlier I had posted information on proteins in my Khichdi recipe. Check out more information on Complete Proteins below. I have also cited the sources.
"Grains, such as rice, oats, wheat, rye and corn, can act as complementary proteins for legumes such as lentils. They contain the cysteine and methionine that lentils lack, and lentils provide the lysine that grains do not contain enough of. Whole grains are a more nutritious option than refined grains. Legumes and grains are one of the most common pairings for complementary protein. Indian daal with rice is an example of a lentil and grain dish".  http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/foods-mixed-lentils-provide-complete-source-amino-acids-1195.html

This dhokla recipe is a protein rich healthy recipe. I grind grain for fresh flour in my KitchenAid grain mill. The Ingredients I use are good quality and mostly organic. That way I know what I am feeding my family. Check my recipe of homemade Handvo flour. It is fresh and better than the store bought one.You can either dry grind the grains and store the flour till use or soak the grains overnight and then grind and use the batter. We also know the benefits of fermenting food. This recipe is khatta or sour from fermentation and benefits of all the grains: A mixed Grain Khatta Dhokla! Check out all my dhokla recipes.

Ingredients to make Dhokla (serve 2-4 people)
1 cup handvo flour
1 cup sour yogurt
Water (if needed to make batter)
1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1tsp. chana dal
1 tsp. salt
!/4 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. red chilli powder
1/4 tsp. grated ginger
1 chopped green chili
2 tbsp. oil
Pinch of baking soda (optional)

• Mix handvo flour, yogurt, fenugreek seeds, chana dal. Add water if needed to form a thick batter. Cover and leave the batter in a warm place for 8-12 hours up to 24 hours. The batter needs to ferment well and will also get delicious sour taste.
• Mix salt, turmeric, red chili powder, grate ginger, chopped green chilies, and oil. Mix well.
• Add baking soda only if the batter is not fermented well. A well fermented batter will be porous and will make soft dhoklas. 
• Get the steam bath ready.
• Grease a dhokla plate well with oil. Add batter to the plate till it covers 1/4 inch in the plate. Steamed for 5-8 minutes.
• Remove the steamed dhokla plate.
• Let it rest for 2-3 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.
• Enjoy mixed grain, healthy dhokla.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:
To make mixed grain flour

Coarsely Ground grains

Mix handvo flour, yogurt, fenugreek seeds, chana dal. fenugreek and chana dal will provide crunch to soft dhokla. 

Add water if needed to form a thick batter.

Cover and leave the batter in a warm place for 8-12 hours up to 24 hours. The batter needs to ferment well and will also get delicious sour taste.

Mix salt, turmeric, red chili powder, grate ginger, chopped green chilies, and oil. Mix well.

Add baking soda only if the batter is not fermented well. A well fermented batter will be porous and will make soft dhoklas.

Grease a dhokla plate well with oil. Add batter to the plate till it covers 1/4 inch in the plate. Steamed for 5-8 minutes.

Remove the steamed dhokla plate.

Let it rest for 2-3 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.

A Healthy Snack!!

Instant Dhokla

Dhokla/ઢોકળા one of the popular Gujarati dishes! It just reminds me of the funny dialogue from the movie 3 Idiots where Kareena Kapoor talks about Dhokla, fafda, handva :)

Dhoklas are steamed snacks and made of different ingredients. Khaman dhoklas are made of chickpea flour, Moong Dal Dhoklas and made of split moong, White dhoklas are made of rice flour and lentils. Today we will be preparing white dhoklas with sooji or semolina. This is a quick variety of dhokla, steamed and healthy snack with no oil or just 1 tsp of oil used for tempering.

Ingredients (serves 3-4 people)

1 cup rava/sooji/semolina
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. grated ginger and green chillies
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ENO regular fruit salt

For tempering: (optional)
1 tsp. oil
1 tsp mustard seed
Chopped green chillies
curry leaves
Cilantro for garnishing

• Take 1 cup of fine sooji/rava/ semolina in a large bowl. Semolina is made of wheat. It is coarsely ground wheat seeds.
• Mix 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 3/4 cups of water to make a thick batter. Whisk well to avoid lumps and to incorporate air.
• Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile add salt, ginger and chopped chillies.
• Get the steam bath ready to steam our dhoklas.
• You do not need a dhokla cooker. Use a regular pressure cooker without whistle or a deep pan with a steal container with water.
• When the steam bath is ready, grease dhokla thali or steal dish to pour the batter.
• Add 2 tsp of ENO fruit salt to the batter.
• As soon as you add ENO, the batter starts bubbling. Mix well.
• Pour the batter into grease thali or flat dish that can be steamed.
• Sprinkle some red chilly powder  and pepper powder (optional)
• Put the thali over steaming water. thali should not touch the water. The batter cooks with the help of steam. Cover the pressure cooker (do not put the whistle. we do not want the pressure to develop)
• Cut into square of diagonal pieces.
• Serve with green chutney or garlic chutney as it is or temper and garnish before serving.

To temper: 

• In a small pan heat 1 tsp. oil, add mustard seeds, chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Fry till mustard seeds crackle. Pour over dhoklas and spread the temper well.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Take 1 cup of fine sooji/rava/ semolina in a large bowl. Semolina is made of wheat. It is coarsely ground wheat seeds.

Mix 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 3/4 cups of water to make a thick batter. Whisk well to avoid lumps and to incorporate air.

Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile add salt, ginger and chopped chilly.

Get the steam bath ready to steam our dhoklas.

You do not need a dhokla cooker. Use a regular pressure cooker without whistle or a deep pan with a steal container with water.

When the steam bath is ready, grease dhokla thali or steal dish to pour the batter.

Add 2 tsp of ENO fruit salt to the batter.

As soon as you add ENO, the batter starts bubbling.

Mix the batter thoroughly and quickly.

Pour the batter into grease thali or flat dish that can be steamed.

Sprinkle some red chilly powder  and pepper powder (optional)

Put the thali over steaming water. thali should not touch the water. The batter cooks with the help of steam. Cover the pressure cooker (do not put the whistle. we do not want the pressure to develop)

Cover and steam for 5-8 minutes depending upon the thickness of the batter.

Remove the lid and let it rest for 2-3 minutes before you remove the thali/plate from the cooker.

Cut into square of diagonal pieces.

Serve with green chutney or garlic chutney as it is or temper and garnish before serving.

To temper: 

In a small pan heat 1 tsp. oil, add mustard seeds, chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Fry till mustard seeds crackle. Pour over dhoklas and spread the temper well.

Serve with Green Cilantro Chutney or Garlic chutney.

Enjoy this quick Gujarati farsan/snack!

Green Moong Dhokla

Wednesday: eat green lentils and wear green clothes. Yes, I have heard my mom practice this since we were kids. Probably there is an astronomical reason behind this, and this ritual is carried on in our family since generations.  This is also a great way of adding proteins to our vegetarian diet by following a disciplined pattern of eating. You guessed it right... every Wednesday green moong beans are cooked in our home.

Here is some information I found on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budha#In_astrology
"In Hindu mythology, Budha (Sanskrit: बुध) is the name for the planet Mercury.He is also the god of merchandise and protector of merchants.
He is represented as being mild, eloquent, and having a greenish complexion. He is represented holding a scimitar, a club, and a shield, riding a winged lion in Ramghur temple.
Budha presides over 'Budhavara' or Wednesday. In modern Hindi, Oriya, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Kannada and Gujarati, Wednesday is called Budhavara.
Budha or Budhi represents intelligence, intellect, communication, analysis, the senses (especially the skin), science, mathematics, business, education and research. The written word and journeys of all types fall within his domain. Budha has the following associations: the color green, the metal brass and gemstone emerald."

I am sure by now you would have known what dhokla is. I have posted so many recipes and so much explanation about Gujju's favorite Dhokla. Type dhokla in the look up box or click here for the link to search all dhokla recipes on my blog: http://shitals-kitchen.blogspot.com/search?q=dhokla&x=0&y=0

Split Moong dal/lentils... yes, I have used these to make Moong dal fritters too. 

Fiber and Protein rich, and great breakfast for vegetarians.

Take 1/2 cup split moong dal/lentils or whole moong beans. Rinse them well with regular water. Soak in 1 1/2 cup water for at least 2-3 hours.

Moong dal will expand in size.

Discard excess water floating on top of the soaked beans. Add 1 green chilli and 1 inch ginger and grind dal to form a coarse to smooth batter.

Remove into a bowl. Cover and allow it to ferment for 3-4 hours or overnight.

You can also use it immediately too. 

To use: add salt to taste and 1/2 tsp. chilli powder. Mix it well.

Prepare a steam bath:

Fill a big pot with a lid or a pressure cooker with 1 inch water. You will have to place a basket or a colander or a metal container/stand to elevate steaming plate. Place a greased steaming plate inside a colander or on a stand. Turn the heat on.

As soon as you start seeing the steam, prepare the batter.

Add 1/2 tsp. of ENO (optional) to the batter. Mix well. The batter becomes light and fluffy. Pour batter into steaming plate. Fill it half way. Batter will rise on steaming. Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper. Cover and steam the batter for 10-15 minutes. If using a pressure cooker, remove the whistle from the lid. You do not want the pressure to develop inside the pot. You could also use idli moulds or stand to steam the batter.

When done, remove from heat. Let it rest for 2-3 minutes before cutting into pieces.

Beautiful: soft and porous structure.

Enjoy steaming hot dhoklas as is or temper with some oil and mustard seeds.

Serve with green cilantro and mint chutney.

Delicious and Healthy breakfast!
GO GREEN!!!