Spinach Dokra/Dhokla
I don’t have a steamer to make dokra, so I never ever made it. Recently I stumbled on an easy microwave recipe and I tweaked it slightly to get some more vegetables into my body.
Since I’ve been experimenting with Bon Apetit’s dehydrated flour range, I first used the beetroot and pineapple flour for my dokra, but I wasn’t so happy with the color. The end product, however, tasted spectacular. I made another batch the next day and this time I used the dehydrated spinach flour. The color stopped me in my tracks.
If you don’t have access to the dehydrated flours, you can also blitz spinach until its very fine and make this recipe.
Did you know: Dokra or Dhokla as it’s commonly known originates from India’s state of Gujerat. It is a Gujerati favorite and a tea time or breakfast snack. You can garnish it with coconut too if you like. It’s also a good source of protein because it’s made from chickpea flour and yogurt. Don’t forget though that chickpea flour is a carb more than it is a protein. 1 cup contains 356 calories, 20 g protein and 53 g carbs.
Ingredients
1 cup of chickpea flour
1/4 cup of yogurt
1/4 cup of water
1 cup of spinach blitzed or 1/4 cup of Bon Apetit’s dehydrated spinach flour (found exclusively in Jackson’s Real Food Market or online)
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
3 chillies chopped finely
1 cup of frozen sweetcorn
1 sachet of Eno
1 tsp baking powder
Tempering ingredients
1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp Xylitol
2 sliced chillies
curry leaves (optional)
handful of coriander
Method
Sift the flour in a large dish
With a whisk, mix in the yogurt
Add water and continue whisking until you get a smooth batter with no lump
Add oil, chillies, salt, baking powder and corn to the mixture.
Lastly, mix in spinach and add the Eno - let the batter rest for 10 minutes, uncovered.
Give it one last stir and pour the batter into a greased microwave safe container. Any medium square container is fine.
Give the container a good shake to level the batter and microwave it for 5 minutes. If the batter is slightly wet in the middle, continue microwaving for another minute.
Test the dokra with a knife in the middle of the dish. If it comes out clean, it’s perfect.
Let it rest for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a board and cutting it into squares.
Tempering Method
In a separate pot, heat oil, curry leaves and mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds start to crackle, add water and then sugar.
Let the mixture boil for 2-3 minutes and add the coriander to the mixture.
Pour it over the hot dokra
