Coconut and semolina dhokla are light, fluffy savoury bites. These are steamed and finished with tempered spices and chillies.
I grew up on this stuff, a weekly visit at my Nani’s (grandmother) house meant a guaranteed plate of these. Even to this day this is still our go-to snack in our house. Purely because of how quick and easy these dhokla are. As this recipe was passed down from my Nani, I’ve stuck to the original way that she made it. I’ve never diverted away from it and it works… EVERY TIME.
There’s various ways to serve these dhokla, and ultimately it’s your choice. We serve them with a coriander chutney, a garlic chutney (my recipe is on the site), chilli sauce, or even ketchup. They’re honestly great even just served with some chai (spiced Indian tea).
Dhokla Tips:
-Try and use coarse semolina rather than fine semolina. I always noticed a better rise and better texture for the dhokla with coarse
-The amount of boiling water will vary dependent on the consistency of the yoghurt. Therefore a more runny yoghurt will require less water in comparison to a thicker yoghurt
-After adding the raising agent (Eno/baking powder) do not let this sit, steam immediately. The agent will start reacting immediately
Eno:
Eno is a mix of sodium bicarbonate (alkali) and citric acid (acid). These two react together which causes some effervescence. Hence, this is what provides the leavening in the dhokla. For this reason I advise using baking powder as a replacement rather than baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Baking powder is already a mix of aid and alkali in the appropriate ratio. Hence it will react more readily and evenly, any unreacted alkali will leave a bitter aftertaste, and sour for any acid.
-Eno is a fruit salt, I purchase mine from my local Indian supermarket, but it’s also available on Amazon. However, I would recommend familiarising yourself with your local Indian supermarket if you have one
-If you don’t have Eno you can use use 1tsp baking powder as a replacement
Coconut and Semolina Dhokla
Equipment
- 1x 9″ round tray
- Any steamer set up
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 150 g coarse semolina
- 20 g desiccated coconut plus extra for garnishing (can omit if you want to keep the dhokla plain)
- 200 g natural yoghurt/vegan yoghurt
- 1 tbsp flavourless oil sunflower/vegetable/rapeseed/peanut
- 1/4 tsp asofeoetedia
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp Eno fruit salt)
- Boiling water add a few tbsps at a time
Instructions
Method:
- Start by greasing the 9″ tray
- Mix all the ingredients above except for the Eno/sodium bicarbonate and the boiling water
- Once the ingredients are incorporated, add the Eno/sodium bicarbonate and the boiling water
- Mix swiftly and pour into your greased tray
- Steam for 15 minutes
- Allow to cool before cutting into
- Optional: temper mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies to place on top of the dhokla. Garnish with desiccated coconut.
Notes
Add boiling water just until your batter is thick but pourable, the amount will vary dependent on the consistency of your yoghurt
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