Khaman Dhokla – Soft Steamed Chickpea Flour Cake
Updated from Original Post March 2014
Khaman Dhokla or often just known as Khaman is a protein packed, sweet, savory and tangy chickpea flour cake/bread from Gujarat. It gets done with about 15 to 20 minutes. It is also called instant dhokla, as the traditional dhokla is made with rice and lentils that are fermented, much like idli or dosa.Here the soft and spongy action is created with the combination of using Eno Fruit Salt and either lemon juice or citric acid. The dhokla is steamed and then finished with a sweet and spicy tempering that also includes some soaking liquid. While my recipe in Instant Indian, uses a small amount of yogurt, this variation works quite well without any yogurt. Hence it keeps that recipe naturally vegan. I was not necessarily trying to do that, it happened.
A little bit about the Sweet and Savory Flavors in Khaman Dhokla
People often wince, when you tell them about pairing sweet and savory flavors. I personally love meshing the sweet and savory. It is not such a novelty. In Indian regional flavors the Bengali cuisine and Gujarati cuisines incorporate a hint of sweetness in their savory dishes. The sweetness is a little more pronounced albeit nuanced in Gujrati cuisine. In making Khaman, the finished dhokla is soaked in a spice infused gently sweetened emulsion. Another variation on this Dhokla is this Semolina or Sooji Dhokla.
What is Eno, and can this be swapped?
Eno is a fruit salt, an antacid made of bi-carbonate of soda and citric acid as it’s main ingredients. If you wish, you can substitute the 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of Eno with equal proportions of baking soda and baking powder. The reaction is acceptable, but not as potent as using Eno.
Can this be made gluten free?
I have swapped out the semolina with fine cornmeal and even idli rice rawa. Both these worked just fine and if needed can be used to keep the recipe gluten-free.
A few more process and technique notes
Despite all the do’s and don’ts Khaman Dhokla is fairly easy to put together. The objective though is to get soft and fluffy pieces of Khaman. To do this, the Besan (Indian Chickpea Flour) needs to be sifted.
The steaming water needs to be boiling. The dhokla needs to be put to steam as soon as the Eno is stirred in. The dhokla can be enjoyed right away, however letting it rest for about an hour after the tempering is added allows for an evenly flavored dhokla.
How to Enjoy your Khaman Dhokla
In our house, we enjoy this with a side of green chutney, and others like it with a side of tamarind chutney. Sometimes make both of the above and add a tomato-based chutney to make it a festive and visual chutney assortment.
My children love it without any condiment, so I will let you decide what works best for you.
A classic savory chickpea flour cake called Khaman Dhokla from the garden state of Gujarat in Western India.
Ingredients
- 1 green chili
- 1/2-inch piece of ginger
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon water, divided
- 1 and 1/2 cup of Besan (Indian Chickpea flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Eno fruit salt
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1/2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon asafetida
- 6 to 8 curry leaves
- 3 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 medium sized lime)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Instructions
- Place the ginger and the green chili in the blender with the 1 tablespoon of water and blend into a smooth paste.
- In a mixing bowl, sift in the chickpea flour. Mix well with a whisk to loosen the flour.
- Add in the ginger and green chili paste.
- Add the salt, sugar, oil and stir lightly. Mix in the water in batches, stirring well until thoroughly mixed. Mix for at least 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add in the lemon juice and set this mixture aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Give the mixture another good mix.
- Prepare a baking pan by greasing it. Keep a trivet handy and a piece of foil to cover the pan.
- Add 2 cups of water in the instant pot and turn the saute mode on and allow the water to come to a simmer.
- Add the Eno fruit salt to the chickpea flour batter and mix in with the whisk in a single direction.
- Cover the pan and place on the trivet and lower into the instant pot.
- Cover the instant pot, turn off the sauté mode and set to 15 minutes of steaming.
- Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.
- Unmold the cake on a large plate.
- In a small skillet heat the oil until smoking, this takes about 1 and 1/2 minutes. Add in the black mustard seeds and the whole cumin seeds and allow the seeds to crackle. Add in the asafetida and the curry leaves and turn off the heat.
- Add the lemon juice, water, salt and sugar and stir well. Pour this over the dhokla cake. Allow this to rest for at least an hour, this will allow the dhokla to absorb the seasonings. Cut into squares and serve with your favorite chutney.