Gujarati Dal Dhokli Recipe / Whole Wheat Pasta in Lentil Stew

Dal Dhokli is a delightful traditional Gujarati dish in which spiced dhokli (thick pasta of whole wheat flour ) are boiled and simmered in a mildly sweet , tangy and spiced dal ( pigeon pea stew).  This one pot vegetarian dish is a complete meal on its own and is very filling and healthy. Serve it as a Sunday breakfast or as brunch with some salad and roasted papad and you are sorted. Dal dhokli is a comfort food and very similar to the Maharashtrian dish dal chakolya / varan phal. The recipe is very easy to follow and requires basic ingredients which are almost always present in an Indian kitchen pantry.                                                                                                  

For the month of March, we bloggers of the Facebook group , Shhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge went on a virtual trip to Indian state of Gujarat. Gujarati Cuisine offers wide range of vegetarian dishes with unique style of cooking , and perfect blend of flavors. The dishes are mildly spiced and the combination of sweet and tangy flavors lend palate pleasing taste to the food. I love Gujarati food as it is very much similar to Maharashtrian Cuisine. In the challenge i was lucky enough to be paired with a Gujju . My partner Mayuri Patel is a very humble person , a talented food blogger who blogs at MayurisJikoni , do check out her space for some wonderful recipes and food tales. She gave me whole wheat flour and tuvar dal ( pigeon pea) as my secret ingredients and without any second thought , i knew i would make Dal Dhokli using those healthy ingredients. In return , i gave sesame seeds and rice flour as secret ingredients to her and she came up with a delectable Whilte Dhokla / Idra using those ingredients. Click on the highlighted word for the recipe .

                                                  

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 35-40 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients for Dal:

• 1/2 cup pigeon pea / Tuvar / Arhar dal
• 2 tablespoon peanuts
• 1 tomato finely chopped
• 2 green chilies, finely chopped
• 2 sprig curry leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• Pinch of asafoetida / hing
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 tablespoon jaggery powder
• 2-3 petals of dried kokum 
• Small bunch of fresh coriander leaves
• 2 tablespoon ghee / oil
• Salt to taste

Ingredients for Dhokli:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon chick pea flour / besan
• 1/4 teaspoon carom seeds / ajwain
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilly powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin coriander powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil

Method:

1. Rinse the tuvar dal in 2-3 changes of water and soak in enough water for about half hour. Soaking step is optional, but it certainly saves the cooking time. Now take a 3 liter pressure cooker and add this dal in it with 2 cup water . Keep a small bowl with peanuts in it . Close the lid and pressure cook the dal for 3-4 whistles and simmer for 10 minutes. 

                           

2. While the dal is getting cooked, we can prepare the dough for the dhokli. For that in a bowl , take all the ingredients listed under Dhokli. Mix well. Now adding very little water at a time , knead the flour into a stiff dough. Cover the dough and keep aside for 10-1 5 minutes.

3. Put off the flame and allow the cooker to cool down completely before opening the lid. The cooked dal should be mushy. Using a wooden ladle or hand blender, churn the mashed dal very well until smooth.

                           

4. Heat a wok and add ghee or oil to it. Add mustard seeds. Let them splutter . Now add cumin seeds. Once they crackle, add chopped green chilly and curry leaves. Saute for few seconds.

5. Now add chopped or minced garlic and stir fry for 1-2 minutes . Add chopped tomatoes and saute well. Add the cooked dal , followed by turmeric powder and asafoetida . Add 2 cups water and stir well.

6. Add the boiled peanuts, jaggery powder , kokum and salt. Allow the dal to boil. While the dal is boiling, we will prepare the dhokli.

7. For that knead the dhokli dough which is resting for a while now. Divide it into  2 equal portions and roll out each portion using a rolling pin. Now with a sharp knife cut diamond shapes or long strips of the dough and start adding 3-4 dhokli into the boiling dal. Keep stirring so that the dhokli do not stick to each other. Roll out the remaining portion and keep adding dhoklis to the boiling dal while stirring continuously. Take care not to add the dhokli all at once.

 8. Once all the prepared dhoklis have been added , simmer the dal and allow to cook until the dhokli are soft and can be broken easily between fingers. Lastly add the finely chopped coriander leaves and put off the flame. You may squeeze out juice from a lemon if you feel the kokum has not imparted the desired tartness to the dal. Serve the dal dhokli in individual bowls or plate while hot , top it with pure ghee and enjoy !

  Notes:

• If you do not have kokum , you may add tamarind pulp to the dal. You may squeeze out juice from a lemon if you feel the kokum has not imparted the desired tartness to the dal.
• Do not add all the dhokli to the boiling dal at once, keep adding 3-4 dhokli at a time while stirring continuously so that they do not stick to each other. 

    I hope you would love to try out this healthy and delectable Gujarathi Dal Dhokli for yourself. If you do so , feel free to share your feed back with us. Follow us on #Facebook , #Instagram , #Twitter   and #Google+ for more recipes and new updates. 

For more dishes from Gujarathi Cuisine, do check the following posts from my blog

• Instant Khaman Dhokla

                                    

• Kutchi Dabeli

                               

• Bhakarwadi