Dal Dhokli is a well known Gujarati dish. As most of the Gujarati savories, this dish is also spicy, sweet and tangy at the same time. I have heard the recipe was invented to use up the left over dal and make it a one dish meal. The dal is let to come to a boil and the pieces of spiced up roti known as Thepla are added and heated up until cooked. It is a very simple to make and satisfactory at the same time. Of course, there are some variations to the preparation now. Some people add stuffed 'potlis' commonly filled with shredded coconut and some spices or filling of their liking. I like the simple one. In this recipe below, you can add boiled peanuts but as I was preparing it as lunch for my son and he is in a nut-free class in school, I didn't add them but the peanuts taste delicious with this. Also, I use lime juice for the sourness but some people do use tamarind pulp or raw mango slices instead. And one last thing, I know some people who drizzle some oil and sprinkle some dry ginger powder on the Dal Dhokli when served. Feel free to try the versions as per your liking. This recipe is medium on spice level but I believe that quantities of salt, sugar, sourness and hotness is all subjective depending on a person's liking and spice tolerance.
Serves: 2
Prep time: 25 min Cook time: 15 min
Difficulty level: Medium
Spice heat: Medium
Ingredients:
For Dal:
2 1/2 fistfuls of Tuvar Dal/ Split Red Gram
800 ml Water
1/4 tsp. Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp. Red Chili Powder
2 Tbsp. Shaved Jaggery
1/4 tsp. Mustard seeds
3/4 tsp. Oil
1/2 tsp. Ghee
2 nos. Cloves
2 nos. Small Cinnamon Sticks
1 Whole Dry Red Chili
7-8 Curry leaves
1/8 tsp. Methi Powder/ Fenugreek powder
1/8 tsp. Hing/Asafoetida
Salt as per taste
For Dhokli:
1/2 cup Whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp. Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp. Red Chili Powder
1 tsp. Oil
60 ml Water
Salt as per taste
Cilantro, for garnish
Method:
1) Wash the dal 3-4 times thoroughly and cook in a pressure cooker till cooked well. About 15-20 minutes on medium heat.
2) In the meanwhile, prepare the dough for the dhokli. Mix everything except water in a mixing bowl. Once the spices are all mixed up in the flour, gradually add water until you have a soft dough.
3) Divide the dough in four parts. With one dough, make roti with the rolling pin.Don't make the rotis too thin. Cut the roti with a knife in small diamond pieces. I will post a picture of this step when I make it next time. Repeat with the remaining three dough balls.
4) Once the dal has cooled down, open the lid of pressure cooker and beat it well with hand blender. Note that the quantity of water to add depends on the dal you have boiled. Mine was like pulp and very thick so I had to add 800 ml of water. But if your dal is a little bit runny, add water accordingly. It should be on the thinner side as the dhokli pieces will soak up some water and make it thick as should be eventually.
5) Add the turmeric powder, jaggery and salt and let it come to a boil stirring frequently in beginning to make sure the jiggery is melted and mixed well.
6) Once the dal is boiling, lower the heat and add the dhokli 3-4 pieces at a time making sure they don't overlap each other as they will stick while cooking and that won't taste good. Keep stirring after every 3-4 times you add the dhokli making sure all are separate.
7) Once all the dhokli is added, let it cook. In the meantime, take a small deep cooking pot to prepare the tempering. Heat up the ghee and oil mixture. Once hot enough, add the mustard seeds, once the splutter dies down, add whole red chili, cloves, cinnamon sticks, methi powder, asafoetida and curry leaves in the end letting everything cook for few seconds. Immediately add this tempered mixture to the boiling dal dhokli. Mix everything well. In about 10-12 minutes, the dhokli should be cooked,
Turn off the heat and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot. You can also serve vertical cut onion slices seasoned with salt and lemon.
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