Daal Dhokli

Dal Dhokli is an Indian Gujrati dish. It can be served as meal by it self with side of plain rice, accompanied by Kachumber, Pickle, and roasted Papadam.

It has daal base(lentil soup like consistency) with wheat and gram flour pasta like textured dumplings. Over all, pretty healthy (if you monitor amount of butter going in to it) and filling.


Ingredients:

For Daal base:

• 2 cups Toor Daal

• 6 cups water

• 2 teaspoon salt

• 2 tbl spoon butter or Ghee

• 2 tbl spoon oil

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

• 8-10 cloves

• 2 (1") sticks of cinnamon

• 1 bay leaf

• 8-10 black pepper corns

• 4 fresh or dry red chili pepper pods

• 1/2 teaspoon asfetida

• 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

• 1 Jalapeno or Serrano pepper chopped

• 6 green onions chopped with greens

• 1" piece of ginger peeled and finely sliced or chopped

• 1/3 cup peanuts salted roasted or unsalted raw

• 2 sprigs of curry leaves

• 2 teaspoon salt or to taste

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

• 8 cups of water

• 2 tbl spoon sugar

• Juice from 2 fresh limes

• 1/4 cup fresh Cilantro Leaves (chopped)


For Dhokli

• 1½ cup Wheat Flour

• ½ cup gram Flour

• 1/3 cup plain yogurt

• 2 tbsp Oil

• 2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder

• ¼ tsp Asafetida Powder

• ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder

• ½ tsp Red Chili Powder

• Water (for kneading dough) ~ 1 cup



Method:


• Wash the Toor daal in water until water is clear.

• Add 6 cups of water and salt.

• Pressure cook until about 6-8 whistles. Wash the Toor daal in water until water is clear.

• Add 6 cups of water and salt.

• Pressure cook until about 6-8 whistles, turn the stove off and let it cool.



While you dal in cooking and cooling in pressure cooker, make the dough as follows:

• Mix both the flour, yogurt oil, salt, turmeric, cumin powder, asfetida and cayenne pepper powder.

• Gradually add water to make dough of consistency for puri (recipe on this blog) if you are going to use tortilla maker to make Dhokli.
(I use tortilla maker because you can press and slightly cook the rolled dough then cut in to pieces of Dhokli. If you don't have tortilla maker, you may want to keep the dough slightly hard so it is workable on rolling pin.
If you choose to do this then you have to roll out the balls and cook the rolled circle of chapattis on griddle on both sides until light brown, this is done very easily on tortilla maker and I like to cook the Dhokli before putting them in daal, this cuts down the cooking time)

• Knead the dough well until smooth.

• Brush it with some oil and set it aside.


While the dough is sitting you can make the daal as follows:

• When pressure cooker is cool, open it.

• Churn and mix daal with hand blender until smooth.

• Heat butter and oil in a deep pan.

• When hot, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds.

• When these crackle, add black pepper corn, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, red chili pods and when these are heated add asafetida.

• Add peanuts and stir for few seconds.

• Add garlic, ginger, chopped green chilies, green onions and curry leaves.

• Saute for 1 min.

• Add boiled daal.

• Add salt, turmeric powder, chili powder and water.

• Let it simmer on medium heat for 10 min with occasional stirring.


Now while the daal is simmering you can prepare the Dhokli as follows:

• Knead the dough for 5 min with hands.

• While you are kneading the dough, heat the tortilla maker.

• Divide the dough in to 6-8 golf size balls.

• Brush a little oil on a ball and place it on heated tortilla maker.

• Press it until a large circle occupying the entire hot plate of tortilla is formed.

• Press again if desired size is not achieved.

• Let it cook for 10 sec in the tortilla maker.

• Flip the rolled circle and cook the other side for about 10 sec, until both sides are light brown.

• Take the cooked chapati like flat bread out of tortilla maker and set aside.
• Repeat the process with all the 6-8 balls.

• Now with the kitchen scissors cut the rolled and cooked bread into small squares or diamond shaped Dhokli.

• One by one drop them in the cooking dal.

• Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon and cook for 5-6 min.

• Add lemon juice, sugar and garam masala, stir and mix these well in the Daal Dhokli.

• Cook for additional 1-2 min.

• Garnish with Cilantro and serve with Kachumber on the side.

• You may top and serve the Dhokli with little butter or Ghee.




Photographs and Recipe by Surekha.