Rava Dhokla
Rava Dhokla is a savory, spongy, and soft snack. It is a perfect breakfast or tea time dish and can be prepared in under 20 minutes.
Ingredients
For Dhokla
- 1 cup Semolina/Rava coarse
- 3/4 cup Yogurt
- 1 Green chili grated or crushed
- 1/4 inch Ginger grated
- 1/2 tsp Lime juice * see notes
- 1 tsp Fruit salt/ENO
- 3/4 tsp Salt or as required
- 1/2 cup Water
- 2 tsp Oil
For Tempering
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds/Rai
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds/Jeera
- 1 tsp Sesame seeds
- 1/8 tsp Asafoetida/hing
- 2-3 Green Chillies cut a slit at the center
- 8-10 Curry leaves
- 1 tbsp Oil
For Garnishing
- 1 tbsp Coriander leaves
Instructions
For Dhokla
- In a bowl, mix together rava, yogurt, ginger, green chillies, lime juice, and salt. Add ½ cup water and mix well to make a batter. Adjust the salt at this point. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- To steam the dhokla, heat 2 cups of water in a pan and keep the trivet. Boil the water on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes by covering it with a lid.
- Meanwhile, grease a round or square container with some oil and set aside.
- Now, whisk the rava mixture for 1 minute in the same direction.
- Add oil and mix well. Add Eno and 1 tbsp of water - add water over Eno to activate it. Beat the batter well until it becomes foamy. Do not over mix the batter.
- Pour the batter into a greased container and gently tap the container 1-2 times on the countertop. Carefully place the container in the pan of boiling water.
- Cover the pan with a lid and steam the batter for 12-15 minutes on medium-high heat.
- Switch off the flame and let it sit in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Take out the container from the pan and let it cool down for 15-20 minutes.
- Run a butter knife around the edges of the dhokla to loosen it from the sides of the container.
- Keep a plate over the container and flip it. The soft and fluffy dhokla is ready to serve.
For Tempering
- In a small pan, heat some oil, add mustard seeds, and let them crackle. Now add cumin seeds, asafoetida, and switch off the heat. Add sesame seeds, green chillies, and curry leaves.
- Spread this tempering over a cooked dhokla evenly.
- Garnish it with some coriander leaves. Cut the dhokla into square or diamond shaped pieces and serve.
Notes
- Coarse rava works the best for making a perfect spongy dhokla and it gives a good texture as well.
- Fruit salt or ENO gives the best results for making perfectly fluffy, airy, and soft dhokla. I have tried it with baking soda in the past but ENO works the best for this recipe.
- Preheating the pan with some water is very important before making the dhokla. Keeping a trivet or some stand is very essential - water from the pan will not enter the dhokla batter. It will keep the dhokla from getting soggy.
- You can use a pressure cooker for steaming the dhokla. Make sure to remove the whistle from the lid before steaming.
- The batter should be of a thick dropping consistency. If the yogurt is too thick, you may need to add some more water to adjust the consistency - It should not be too thick or thin.
- If your yogurt is very sour then skip adding lime juice in the mixture.
- Steaming the batter immediately after adding the fruit salt is very important. Don’t allow the batter to sit for a long time or the dhokla will turn hard.
- Steam the dhokla for 12-15 minutes. You can insert a toothpick in the middle to check whether it is cooked. If it is not cooked properly, steam it for another 5-7 minutes.
- Let the dhokla cool down before taking it out from the container or it will break in the middle.
- Be careful while adding sesame seeds. They might splutter a lot. Adding them in the tempering after removing from the heat and quickly adding the rest of the ingredients will help them not splutter.