A - Z Indian Street Foods ~ W for White Dhokla / Safed Dhokla / Khatta Dhokla

White dhokla aka safed dhokla, khatta dhokla and idada is a classic snack recipe from the state of Gujarat. It is not an instant version like the yellow one that is prepared with chickpea flour. Instead these healthy and nutritious dhoklas are prepared with a ground and fermented batter of rice, black gram, yogurt and spices. These steamed rice-lentil cakes are quite light and airy and make a great gluten free breakfast or snack. 

These can be prepared with black gram and rice used in a proportion of 1:2 or 1:3. Or if you are used to making idli batter, feel free to use it. Any rice will do here. As the title indicates, khatta dhoklas means sour dhoklas and they are sourer and spicier than idlis. Thanks to the use of sour yogurt / lemon juice and spices to the batter. In short, these are like the spongy south Indian idlis with a twist. We have recently become fans of these white dhoklas. 

Ingredients:
1 to 1.5 cup rice (I used idli rice)
1/2 cup urad dal / skinned, split black gram
1/4 cup sour yogurt
Salt to taste
1.5 tsp. grated ginger / ginger paste
1.5 tsp. green chili paste
1 tsp. oil
1 tsp. lemon juice (Use only if needed.)
1 Eno's fruit salt packet / 1/4 tsp. baking soda
Crushed pepper corns / red chili powder
Method:
* Rinse and soak rice and urad dal together for about 3 hours. Drain and grind into a thick, smooth batter adding yogurt. Add water if needed. The batter should resemble the idli batter.
* Transfer the batter to a container big enough to hold it in when raised during fermentation. Add salt to the batter and mix well. Cover the container and leave it to ferment in a warm place overnight. (If you live in warmer places, about 6 hours should be enough for fermentation. If you live in colder places, leaving the batter covered in a lighted oven would help.)
* Check the batter in the morning to see if the fermented batter is sour enough. If not, add the lemon juice and stir. (This step is optional.)
* Heat a dhokla maker / steamer or pressure cooker with water. (It should cover 1 inch of base of the container.)
* Grease a dhokla container or a wide container with 1 inch depth that can fit into the steamer. (Or a container with more depth can be used which will hold more batter and gives the height to dhoklas.)
(I used half of the batter and used a 8 inch diameter container with 2 inch depth.)
* When the water at the base of the dhokla maker / steamer / pressure cooker is boiling, add oil, ginger paste and chili paste to the batter and mix well. Finally add eno's salt and quickly stir. Pour the batter into the greased container up to 1/2 and sprinkle ground black pepper and/or chili powder uniformly. Cover the steamer with the lid. Don't put the valve on the lid if using pressure cooker. 

* Steam on low flame until a knife inserted at the center comes out clean. 
* Turn off the stove and let it rest for about 5 to 10 minutes. Gently run a spoon around the perimeter of the cooked dhokla and demould if needed. Cut into diamonds or squares. 
* Serve with green chutney or any spicy chutney.

Note:
1. One may use container with one inch depth and fill it with half the batter. It may take around 10 - 15 minutes to steam. 
I used 2 containers with 8 inch diameter and 2 inch depth which gave me tall dhoklas, for this amount of batter. It took me around 20 minutes to steam on low flame. 
2. Idli batter can be used to make these dhoklas. I used idli batter and added lemon juice to make it sour.
3. Ginger and chili paste can be directly added while grinding.
3. Skip pepper and chili powder topping and instead, one can do a garnish with spluttering mustard seeds, sesame seeds and curry leaves in hot oil and pout it over dhokla and finely top it with minced cilantro.

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