A juicy and nutritious savoury cake made out of Bengal gram flour has become a favourite across the country.

Dhokla is a vegetarian culinary dish that is found mainly in the Indian State of Gujarat and parts of adjacent states. Dhokla is a savory cake made out of Bengal gram flour and is steamed to get a fluffy texture. The texture of Khaman Dhokla should be spongy and airy, it should feel light and almost melt in mouth. 

A delicious healthy bite you will thoroughly enjoy cooked with little or no oil and takes very little time to prepare. The fermentation of the flour enhances it's nutritive value. Dhokla has a low glycemic index which makes it good for diabetics.

WHAT IS KHAMAN DHOKLA?

Khaman Dhokla is one of the speciality treats from the state of Gujarat. It is typically served at breakfast but goes pretty well as a snack too. Traditionally, you will use rice split chickpea to prepare the batter and then fermented the batter overnight. 

Khaman Dhokla,on the other hand, is the instant version  where you will use chickpea flour to prepare the batter. It's then fermented instantly using either Eno salt or a combination of baking soda and citric acid.

WHAT IS DIFFRENCE BETWEEN KHAMAN AND KHAMAN DHOKLA?

Khaman is popularly referred to as khaman dhokla but in actuality, a dhokla is made differently than khaman.

Dhokla is made with ground, fermented batter of rice and lentils like chana dal or urad dal. While khaman is made instantly with gram flour. Khaman batter is not fermented unlike a dhokla batter. 

In the taste department, fermentation gives dhokla a really complex flavorsome taste, but a khaman also tastes equally great.
The color of dhokla can range from cream to light yellow or yellow but a khaman always has a bright yellow color.

BAKING SODA or ENO

Use eno that is fresh and within itself shelf peroid. If your eno is not fresh or active, the texture of khaman will be flat and dense. And do not use flavored eno, the regular eno without any flavor works the best.

Both eno and baking soda react with turmeric powder and gives a red tinge or red spots in khaman dhokla. So add little turmeric powder or skip it completely.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

• Besan (begal gram flour) 2 cups 
• 2 Small lemon 
• 4 Green chillies 
• 2 tsp Peppercorns 
• 2 tsp Oil
• 2 tsp Mustuard seeds
• Half cup Garted coconut 
• A handful of coriander leaves
• 5 chopped red chillies
• A pinch of asafoetida powder
• Salt to taste 

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METHODS

▪Soak gram for 7-8 hours. Drain and grind the dal coarsely. Set aside for 4-5 hours for fermentation. 

▪Beat the paste with the wooden spoon. Mix salt, green chilies, asafoetida and lemon juice with the paste. 

▪The paste should be of a pouring consistency. Now grease the separator from the pressure cooker or a flat steel vessel. Pour the batter, cover and cook in the cooker for 15-20 minutes.

▪Let the cooker cool. Take out the cooked mixture ; cut it into cubes. Heat oil and put in the seasoning , mustuard and red chillies.

▪Add it to the dhokla. Garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut. Serve hot with green chutney.

Also there are many types of dhokla:

• Rava Dhokla 

• Khaman Dhokla

• Khatta Dhokla 

• Sandwich Dhokla

• Cheese Dhokla

• Mixed Dal Dhokla

• Idada Dhokla

• Toor Dal Dhokla 

• Rasiya Dhokla

• Steamed Dhokla

• Chana Dal Dhokla 

• Rice Dhokla

• Vratwala Chawal Dhokla

• Moong Dal Dhokla

• Mango Dhokla

• Quinoa Barley Dhokla

• Oats Rava Palak Dhokla

• Rasawala Dhokla

• Rajma Dhokla 

• Pav Bhaji Dhokla