Dal Dhokli

Dal dhokli is a one pot meal very popular in Gujarat (a state in the western part of India) which is served with spoonful of ghee drizzled over it. Tastes absolutely delicious. I am a great fan of Gujarati food, as most of the dishes are very distinctively sweet, salty, and spicy.

Tasted this at a friend’s place. The version I am familiar with had thin wheat flour pieces added to the dal before boiling it. Recently, I saw the post from my friend Divya on Instagram, it sounded so yummy as the dhokli was stuffed with peas and coconut mixture which I thought was a brilliant idea. Another wonderful thing about this recipe is the addition of the crushed peanuts. This got me to try the recipe with a slight modification where the dhokli is toasted on the tava lightly before adding it to the dal. This happened as my lil one was watching me cook and saw me add the uncooked dhokli into dal. He insisted that I cook the dhokli and then add it. He (my picky eater in the family) thoroughly enjoyed the dal dhokli and said “mom, make it again” :).
I serve this as soup for the week night dinner. It is very filling and tasty with these stuffed dhokli. The recipe looks long but actually doesn’t take a long time to make it, as a lot of it can be made simultaneously.

Ingredients

for dal
toor dal 1/2 cup
masoor dal 1/2 cup
turmeric 1/2 tsp
tomato 1, chopped
jaggery 2 tbsp
ginger 1 inch
green chili 3
red chili powder a pinch
roasted peanuts 2 tbsp, crushed coarsely
kokum 8, soaked
salt to taste

for seasoning
ghee 2 tbsp
asafoetida/hing 1/4 tsp
cloves 4
cinnamon stick 1 inch piece
mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp
kadhipatha/curry leaves 10 leaves
coriander leaves 1 tbsp, finely chopped

for the dough
wholewheat or chapati flour 1/2 cup
turmeric 1/4 tsp
red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
ajwain or carom seeds 1/4 tsp
vegetable oil 1 tbsp
salt to taste

for the filling
frozen peas 1 cup
ghee 1 tsp
dry/fresh coconut 2 tbsp
ginger-green chili paste 1/2 tsp
salt a pinch

Method

for dal
Wash and cook the dals with two times water measure, turmeric and a few drops of oil. Cook until completely mushy. (Note: I have used Instant pot to cook the dal with setting => manual, high pressure, 13 mins timer, natural pressure release).
Using a hand blender/ mixie, puree until smooth.
Make a paste with green chili and ginger.
Add the chopped tomato, jaggery, coarsely crushed peanuts, ginger-green chili paste, red chili powder, salt and kokum. Simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.

for the dough
Mix all the ingredients for the dough.
Knead until soft and elastic.
Keep aside by covering with a wet cloth.

for the filling
Boil/Microwave the frozen peas in salted water for 5 mins or until completely soft.
Drain the water and mash either with a wooden spoon or cool completely and blend in a mixer.
Mix in the ginger-green chili paste, fresh/dry coconut.
Heat ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds.
Once they splutter, add it to the peas mixture and keep aside.
Note filling variation: can use finely chopped cabbage instead of green peas. While using cabbage, don’t need to cook it microwave, just add it in the ghee and cook along with salt, ginger-green chili paste and coconut

making peas mixture stuffed dhokli/dumplings
Take small ball of chapathi dough, roll it using a rolling pin and dusting some flour in to thin circle as big as possible.
Take 1 tablespoon of the filling, place another rolled chapathi circle and seal the edges.
Heat a tava/griddle, place the stuffed chapathi on the pan and lightly cook it on both sides for a min on low flame.
Remove from the tava and cut them into pieces of desired shape.

for seasoning/tadka
Heat ghee in a small pan.
Add cloves and cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and asafoetida.
Let the mustard splutter, add the curry leaves/kadhipatha and turn off the stove and set aside.

assembling and serving
Add about 1 cup to 2 cups of water to the dal and thin it down.
Add the pieces of the dumplings and let boil for 2 mins.
Note: dumplings should be added to the dal just before serving or else they may disintegrate and turn mushy.
Spoon some dal and few dumplings into a bowl, add the seasoning/tadka, drizzle 1/2 tsp extra ghee (optional), sprinkle coriander leaves and serve hot.

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