Instructions for :Instant Sooji Dhokla

1.      In a bowl take 1 cup sooji. Here I have used the regular sooji not the fine sooji or any other variety. In case the sooji has lumps, whisk it well or sieve it.
2.      Add1 cup beaten curd to the sooji. I have used the regular and fresh curd. We don’t need sour curd; it makes the dhoklas too sour.
3.      Add ¼ cup water and mix the sooji, curd and water well.
4.      Add salt to taste. I have added 1 tsp salt.
5.      Add ½ sugar. I have added powdered sugar.
6.      Add 1 tsp ginger paste. You can also add 1 tsp chilli paste to it. I was making for my daughter, so I didn’t add it.
7.      Mix everything well. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.
8      Meanwhile, grease the tray or pan. Don’t use a very small pan because if the pan is filled too much, the dhokla doesn’t get the space to expand. This results in a non spongy dhokla. Also, it takes longer to cook and sometimes remains under cooked L.
9.  Prepare the idli maker. If you have one, you know how to prepare it. And if you don’t have a idli maker, in a cooking vessel big enough to accommodate the dhokla pan, add 2 – 3 cups of water. Place a stand. The height of stand should be more than the water level. Now bring the water to a boil.
10.  After the sooji batter has rested for 15 minutes, add 1 tsp oil to it.
11.  To this, add 1 tsp eno. I have always used eno, even when the recipes have called for baking soda. If you are short of eno/fruit salt, add ¾ tsp of baking soda.
12.  Mix the batter very well.
13.  Immediately pour it into the greased tray or pan.
14.  Let it steam for 15-20 minutes. The toothpick/skewer/knife should come out clean. If it seems under cooked, steam it for 2-3 minutes more.
15.  Once the dhokla is cooked, take it out of the steamer and let it cool completely. And then de mould it.
16.  I like to poke my dhokla, poke as in not face book wala poke. Poke here means making deep cuts without cutting it all through. You can completely omit this step. I did it because I wanted that the tadka should penetrate well into the dhokla.
17.  Once the dhokla cools, prepare the tempering/tadka. It is very important to pour hot tadka over the dhokla because the hot tadka would stick to the dhokla which is something we want. For the tempering take a pan and heat 2 tbsp oil.
18.  Add 1 tsp mustard seeds/raie. Let it crackle but don’t burn it.
19.  Add some asafoetida.
20.  Add ½ slit green chillies and cook for 10-20 seconds. Then switch off the flame.
21.  Now add a sprig of curry leaves and a handful of coriander leaves. If we don’t put off the flame, the leaves might burn. We are adding coriander leaves to the tadka also, because I want them to stick to the dhokla.
22.  Whiles the tadka is still hot, spread it over dhokla. Let it sink into the dhokla. The oil having flavours of mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, coriander leaves and chillies goes into the dhokla, all over. Yeah I know it’s a pretty simple dish and I am making it sound too divine. But then making divine recipes sound divine is too mainstream, no?!!  Once the tadka sinks down well, cut the dhokla into pieces of desired size. You don’t need that sword (the knife in the picture) to cut them but yeah a big knife always helps to get neat pieces.