Dal Dhokdi checks all nostalgic checkmarks! It’s one of the dish which Mom and I both loved immensely and it’s sad that I have not had/made this since mom passed away. (I told you it hits all the nostalgic spots!) But as many of you know, I keep my moms memories alive with the food I cooked. It’s an understatement when I say I was emotional while trying to recreate mom’s dal dhokdi!
This wholesome, one pot meal is as dear to me as sandwiches to Joey, any kind of junk food to Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, spinach to Popeye (??) … anyhoo, you got the idea!
Sure you can use leftover dal and cook your regular roti in it; but when you are in mood for the good stuff, this (recipe) is the way. The sweetness of jaggery paired with sourness of kokum sets up with right flavor of a gujarati dal; adding spices to the regular roti dough makes this dish more flavorful and the roasted peanuts and fenugreek seeds in the vaghar (tempering) …. wow! Just wow!
Make it, share it, enjoy!
Happy Cooking!
Dal Dhokdi
Ingredients
Dal
- 1/2 cup tuvar dal (piegon peas) boiled with turmeric and blended
- 1 green chili slit
- 2 tsp crushed ginger
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tbsp jaggery or as per your liking
- 4 to 5 pieces of kokum
- 10 curry leaves
- salt as per taste
- chopped cilantro for garnish
Vaghar (Tempering)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 cup peanuts
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 4 dried red chilies
- 1/2 tsp hing
- 5 curry leaves
Dhokdi
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp hing
- 1 tbsp oil
- salt as per taste
- lukewarm water for kneading
Instructions
- In a heavy bottom pot on a medium low heat, add cooked dal, 1 cup of water, ginger, green chilies, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, jaggery, kokum, curry leaves and salt (as per taste) and give it a nice stir.
- Let the dal cook on a medium low heat until it reached gentle boil, around 10-12 minutes.
- Meanwhile for dhokdi dough, mix all the dry ingredients and oil first. Then slowly add lukewarm water to make a soft dough, similar to roti dough. Cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Take a ball size dough, dust with rice flour and roll it into a thick roti. It's ok if it is not round!
- Cut the roti into diamond shape or shape of your choice and place aside, covered.
- Repeat for rest of the dough.
- Once the dal comes to gentle boil, drop the dhokdi carefully in the dal and continue cooking for another 10 to 15 minutes. The dal should starts to thicken and forms a layer on top.
- Adjust salt as per taste. Add more jaggery for sweetness and lemon juice for tartness.
- In a separate pan heat the oil for tempering. Once hot, add peanuts and let them brown.
- Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and dried chilies and cook for 30 seconds.
- Turn off the heat; add curry leaves and hing and give the tempering a quick stir.
- Pour the tempering on the dal, cook for another 5 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro, serve warm by itself or with rice.
