Sooji Dhokla ~ Rava Dhokla ~ Semolina Dhokla

Dhokla is a farsan (snack) from Gujarati cuisine. It is a savory steamed cake prepared with fermented batter. The most popular and well known dhokla is khaman dhokla. However, there are many varieties of dhoklas prepared in Gujarat and sooji dhokla or rava dhokla or semolina dhokla is one of them. This reminded me of rava idly. Just like rava idly, even rava (sooji) dhokla is instant and makes a great snack or a light meal. Since it is instant and doesn’t require hours of fermentation, it is a great recipe when cooking for one person.

My theme this week is cooking for one or cooking for one serving. When I cook for myself, I usually end up cooking one pot meals or quick meals that do not require too much of preparation and cooking time. When I signed up for the theme, I had exactly such recipes on mind.

I made sooji dhokla for Gujarati thali. I was not happy with the thickness of the dhokla and the quality of the pictures, hence was going to make it again before posting the recipe. That is when I realized I can post it under cooking for one. I made sooji dhokla again, couple of days ago for lunch. The recipe listed below is perfect for one, if serving it as a meal. If one has a big appetite, the recipe is good for one, even as a snack. This dhokla is addictive that I can eat all of it in one go, even as a snack or for breakfast.

Source: Tarla Dalal
Total Time: 45 - 50 minutes
Preparation: 5 minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 12 - 14 minutes
Serves: 1 or 15 - 18 pieces depending on the size

Ingredients:

½ cup Sooji ~ Coarse Semolina
1 small Green Chili, ground to paste or ½ teaspoon Chili Paste (adjust to heat tolerance level)
Salt to taste (I forgot how much I used, approx. ¼ - ⅓ tsp)
⅙ cup or 3 tbsp. Yogurt
½ cup Water
1 tsp. Oil + more oil for greasing dhokla plate or pan
½ tsp. Fruit Salt (Eno)
¾ tsp. Water
Cilantro ~ Kothmir Leaves, chopped for garnish

Tempering

1 - 1 ½ teaspoon Oil
¼ tsp. Mustard Seeds
⅓ - ½ tsp. Sesame Seeds
Dash for Hing ~ Asafetida
2 teaspoon Water

Preparation:

Take sooji, green chili paste, salt, yogurt, water and oil in a bowl and mix well.
Keep it aside for ½ hour.
Grease a dhokla plate or a container to steam the dhokla. I used a 6 ½” cake pan and it was the perfect size for this quantity.
Bring 1 ½ - 2 cups of water to a boil to steam the dhokla. I started with 1 cup but had to add more water 8 minutes into steaming as all the water evaporated. Place steaming plate in the pot. I used a 2 ½ quart saucepan.
Add fruit salt to dhokla batter, pour ¾ teaspoon water over it and when starts to bubble, mix the batter to incorporate eno into it. Do not over mix and gently stir.
Pour the batter into greased pan/plate and steam for 12 - 14 minutes on medium high flame until dhokla is set. A knife or toothpick inserted should come out clean, almost clean.
Remove and keep it aside for few minutes.
Meantime, heat oil for tempering. Add mustard seeds, sesame seeds, hing and turn off the heat.
Add water listed under tempering ingredients, pour the tempering mixture over dhokla.
Cut dhokla into pieces, garnish with fresh chopped kothmir and serve warm with green chutney ~ mint chutney ~ coriander chutney.

This day in 2013: Aloo Pakoda
This day in 2014: Tomato Basil Loaf

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#70