There is an unmistakable but not overpowering green pea flavor in this dhokla. My family could not guess they were made with peas though they thought it tasted different than the regular version. I also found these to be not very light / airy as the regular chickpea flour / besan version. They are lightly on the denser side though it is not an issue while eating them. It may be because of the addition of green pea puree. To make it more fluffier, I am guessing adding some semolina and increasing the quantity of chickpea flour or reducing the peas quantity by half might help.
Ingredients for dhokla batter:
1/2 tsp. citric acid crystals + 1 tbsp. water
1.5 cups green peas (I used frozen peas.)
1 green chili
1 inch piece ginger
1 cup sieved chickpea flour / besan
Salt to taste
2 tbsp. sugar ( I used two 1 oz. packets of stevia+ monk fruit blend sweetener.)
1/2 cup water
1 and 1/2 tsp. Enos fruit salt
2 tbsp. water
Oil to grease the dhokla plate
Ingredients for seasoning:
2 tsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 - 2 green chillies, finely minced
2 pinches of asafoetida powder
1 tbsp. water
Ingredients for garnishing:
Chopped Cilantro
Shredded coconut (Fresh/ Frozen coconut can be used. Just thaw the coconut if using frozen one.)
Directions:
1. Dissolve the citric acid crystals in the water.
3. Add the ground paste, chickpea flour, sugar, salt, citric acid water in a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup water and mix well without any lumps. (I added the ingredients to the blender and pulsed to combine.)
4. Heat water in a steamer or the base of a pressure cooker.
5. Brush a 7 inch thali with oil. (Use any plate / container with at lease one inch depth.)
6. Add fruit salt to the prepared batter just before steaming.
7. Sprinkle about 2 tbsp. water over fruit salt.
8. Gently combine the mixture.
9. Pour the mixture into the greased plate. Shake the plate gently to even the level of the batter.
10. Place the batter in the steamer / pressure cooker and close the lid. (There is no need to put the whistle on if using the pressure cooker.)
11. Steam until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. (It took me about 30 minutes on low flame though the original recipe mentions the steaming time as about 12 minutes.)
12. Remove the dhokla plate after about 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the plate and reverse the dhokla plate onto a wider plate and unmould the dhokla.
13. Heat oil in a small pan for seasoning. Add mustard seeds and when they start to sizzle and sputter add green chilies and asafoetida. Saute for about 10 seconds or so and add water.
14. Turn off the stove and pour the seasoning over the dhokla.
15. Cut into squares and serve them warm with green chutney.
Suma the mattar dhoklas are really delicious , they have risen well , but besan dhoklas are dense .
ReplyDeleteI feel you could temper them the way we do Nylon Khaman. After adding the tempering ingredients add water to it and boil , pour this water over the dhoklas , they will become spongy . Adjusting the ingredients could help too , but you could try adding water .
Vaishali, I followed exactly the same steps you mentioned and I think the water proportion was right too. I need to try them again later and see. We liked them and they were not dense like one needs to complain. However I couldn't stop myself comparing with the regular version since we are more used to it. :).
ReplyDeleteI like dhoklas in any combination. These look like something I would love too.Dense or not its not a deal breaker for me :)
ReplyDeleteLove the texture of the dhokla. They look so delicious and perfectly made.
ReplyDeleteThe texture of dhokla is amazing and great way to add peas in dhokla. Doesn't look denser in the picture though. But as you said may be we can with more semolina.
ReplyDeleteI make besan dhokla, but never made with green peas. This looks interesting and healthy. Loved the soft spongy texture of the dhokla
ReplyDelete