124. instant dhokra

 spongy and light

Dokhras a gujarati snack, is usually made with chickpea lentils and rice which are soaked overnight, ground to a paste and then steamed. Or dokhra flour is soaked overnight in warm water and sour yogurt. However, what do you do when someone wants dokhras for snack and you don't have any soaked lentils ready or dokhra flour? You make instant dokhras like the way my sister Sapna does. Her daughter Krishna, loves dokhras especially for breakfast on Sundays. Not one to wake up early on Sundays even though we would make a lot of noise, the moment she would get a whiff of dokhras steaming, Krishna would be up ready to have breakfast. I learnt how to make instant dokhras from my little sister. Have made a slight change to the recipe. If guests call that they are popping in in sometime, this dish can be cooked up in a jiffy. I have made instant dokhras umpteen of times for Nami's friends as they all loved them.

INSTANT DOKHRAS
Serves about 4 as a snack

For the dokhras :
1 cup chickpea flour (chana flour, besan)
1 cup fine semolina (sooji)
1 to 2 green chillis either finely chopped or as a paste
1 tsp ginger paste
½ tsp garlic paste
¼ tsp carom seeds (ajmo, ajwain)
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
¼ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1¼ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup sour yogurt
¾ cup warm water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp eno (fruit salt)
2 tbsps oil
¼ to ½ tsp red chilli powder

For tempering (vaghar) :
1 to 2  tbsps oil
1 tsp sesame seeds (tal) 
1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
a pinch of asafoetida
10 curry leaves
2 tbsps finely chopped fresh coriander
1 finely chopped chilli (optional)

1. Mix all the ingredients for dokhras except the red chilli powder and eno. Mix it very well till there are no lumps left.
2. Put some water to boil in a dokhra steamer or a wide pan. If you are using a wide pan, fill it with water quarter of the way. Put a small steel bowl or ring in it. This will act as a stand for your plate and keep the water out of the dokhra mixture. 
3. Grease two  8 inch aluminium or steel plates with a rim or one 12 inch plate.
4. Put it in the pan while the water gets ready. This helps to warm the plate and at the same time you have checked whether the plate will fit in the pan or not. 
5. If you are using 2 plates, divide the batter into two.
6. When the water is boiling, add ½ tsp eno to one part of the batter. Whip the mixture very well. It should become fluffy. Add the mixture to the warm plate in the pan. Sprinkle half of the red chilli powder all over it. 
7. Cover the pan and steam the dokhras for 10 minutes.
8. When the first tray gets done, remove it from the pan. Add more water if required.
9. Repeat step 6 and 7 with the remaining batter.
10. To prepare the tempering, heat the oil in a small pan.
11. Add the mustard, sesame seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, coriander and chillis. Let it fry for 30 seconds or so and switch off the heat.
12. Spread the tempered mixture over both the plates of dokhras.
13. Let the dokhras cool down for 5 to 10 minutes before you cut them into squares.
14. Serve with fresh coriander chutney or with garlic chutney.

Tips :

• If the dokhras become cold, warm them up in a microwave oven or steam them again for 5 minutes.
• If you have time, then leave the batter for 10 to 15 minutes before you make the dokhras.This will help the semolina to become soft. 
• I have tried this recipe using soda bicarbonate as suggested by many recipes. The result was that brown specks appeared on the dokhras and it had a strong baking agent taste.
• Can use just chickpea flour instead of semolina. That's the slight change I have made.