Daal dhokli is one of the most favored Gujarati dishes in which, dumplings made from flour are soaked in a curry made of lentils.
Ingredients Used and Popular Methods of Preparation of Daal Dhokli Recipe
In the preparation of daal dhokli two stages are involved,- one is for the cooking of the daal or the lentils and the other is for the making of the dhokli or the flour dumplings. For making the daal, toovar or arhar dal, along with tomatoes, chopped ginger, boiled peanuts, curry leaves, jiggery, tamarind pulp, green chilies, chili powder, rajwadi masala (a kind of Gujarati spice mix), salt and coriander is used. The daal for the daal dhokli recipe is cooked by simmering the cumin seeds and mustard seeds in hot mustard oil in a shallow cooking vessel called kadhai. To these simmering spices, asafetida, turmeric and all the other ingredients are added and fried on medium flame.
The dhokli according to the recipe of daal dhokli is prepared by kneading a smooth dough after mixing the ingredients like gehun ka atta or whole wheat flour, besan or Bengal gram flour, salt, coriander seed powder, cumin seed powder, asafetida, turmeric powder, chili powder, water and oil. After the dhokli dough is kneaded, small balls are made from it and chapattis or circular flat breads are rolled out of them with a rolling pin. Next in the making of daal dhokli, the chapattis are roasted on a hot tawa or skillet. Once roasted, these chapattis are cut into diamond shapes or squares and added into the simmering daal.
Serving and Eating Daal Dhokli
Daal dhokli is generally served steaming hot with a topping of little desi ghee (clarified butter) with a garnish of chopped fresh coriander leaves. This dish can be served as a side dish for lunch as well as dinner accompanied by steamed plain rice.
Popular Variations of Daal Dhokli Recipe
The Gujarati daal dhokli is often cooked in different variations according to personal tastes and preferences or as per the availability of regional ingredients or generation passed family recipes. The Rajasthani version of the daal dhokli often excludes certain ingredients and instead replaces them with garam masala (hot spice mix), lemon juice, moong daal, chana daal and onions. Also, the dhoklis or dumplings can be shaped differently in the form of small thick rings or rolls.
