Dal Dhokli

Ingredients:

For Dhokli

• Wheat flour - 1 1/2 cups
• Salt to taste
• Water as required

For Dal

• Moong dal (with or without skin) - 1 1/2 cups
• Ghee - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
• Jeera / cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Green chillies - 2
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Red chilli powder (optional) - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Dhania powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Jeera powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Lemon - 1
• Chopped coriander - 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Wash and pressure cook the dal until it is well done.
• In a bowl, take wheat flour and salt, add water little by little and make a dough of chapatti dough consistency. Set aside for atleast 1/2 hour.
• Make chapattis out of the dough and cut the chapatti into 1 1/2" squares.
• Boil water in a vessel. Add a little oil to the water. When the water begins to boil, add the cut chapatti pieces into it and cook until soft. Drain in a collander. Pour cold water over it and keep aside.
• In a thick pan, pour 1 tsp oil and add mustard seeds and jeera seeds. When they splutter, add turmeric powder and asafoetida. Add curry leaves along with finely ground ginger and chilli paste.
• Mash the dal well, mix with 5 cups of water and add to the pan. Add salt, dhania and jeera powder.
• Let the dal boil for 5 - 10 minutes. Add chilli powder and the dhokli pieces. Boil for another 2 - 3 minutes.
• Remove from flame. Add lemon juice, ghee and chopped coriander.
• Serve hot.

Rawa Dhokla

Ingredients:

• Rawa (semolina) - 1 1/2 cups
• Sour buttermilk - 3 cups
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Green chillies - 4
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
• Sesame seeds (white) - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Eno fruit salt - 10 gms
• Chopped coriander - 1 tbsp
• Water as required

Method:

• Grind 2 chillies and ginger into a fine paste.
• In a bowl, mix rawa, buttermilk, salt, turmeric powder and the ground chilli - ginger paste. Mix well until it is of dosa batter consistency. If required, add some water.
• Keep aside for an hour.
• In a deep bottomed pan, add some water and bring to a boil. Place a small bowl in the centre so that it acts as a stand. Grease a deep plate.
• When the water is boiled and the vapour starts to rise, add the eno fruit salt to the prepared dhokla batter and immediately pour into the greased plate.
• Put the plate on the bowl in the deep bottomed pan and cover with a lid / big plate so that the steam does not escape.
• Let it cook on medium flame for about 10 minutes. Poke a knife into the dhoklas. If the batter does not stick to the knife, the dhoklas are done.
• Remove them from the fire and cool. Cut into squares.
• In a pan add oil, mustard seeds, sesame seeds. When they splutter, add asafoetida, curry leaves and finely chopped chillies. Add 1/4 cup water. (If you like the dhoklas sweet, you can add 1 tsp sugar along with the water).
• Pour this onto the dhokla plate. Garnish with chopped coriander.
• Serve with spicy mint chutney and sweet dates chutney.

Rice Sevai

Thanks to these modern days of instant sevai, this recipe is almost lost. Hardly anyone every makes this except the old puritans who insist that this is better both in terms of texture and taste.

Ingredients

• Salem boiled rice - 3 cups
• Water
• Salt - as per taste
• Sesame seed oil - 1 tbsp

Method

• Wash and soak rice overnight.
• Grind into a fine watery paste.
• In a pan, pour 1 cup water, sesame seed oil and salt. When it boils, pour the batter into it and stir continuously until it becomes a thick paste. Take care to avoid lumps.
• Cool. Make egg shaped balls as shown in the picture and place in the idli plate for steaming.
• Steam for about 20 - 25 minutes. The balls are done if they are not sticky.
• When hot, put into the sevai press and make the sevai.
• Put 1 tsp oil over it and cool.
• When completely cool, they can be cut into smaller strings and used for making coconut sevai, lemon sevai, curd sevai, tomato sevai, puli sevai, etc (refer recipes in the blog).