Khaman Dhokla Recipe | How To Make Instant Gujarati Dhokla

Dhokla is arguably Gujarat’s most popular dish and most well-known culinary export. It’s a breakfast staple and favourite teatime snack not only in Gujarati homes but also in other parts of India.

The traditional Dhokla recipe consists of a fermented batter of rice and split chickpea (chana dal). Because it is made of rice, it is pale yellow or white in colour.
 

Khaman or Khaman Dhokla, as we prefer to call it, is made of gram flour (besan) or ground chana dal mixed with water to form a soft thick batter with a consistency like cake batter. The other main ingredient is semolina (rava / sooji). It can be cooked in a steamer (homemade as we have done), pressure cooker, or even a microwave oven. It is finished with a tempering (tadka) of mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida (hing), sugar, and green chillies. Khaman Dhokla looks very similar to dhokla and is therefore also known as an instant dhokla recipe or even besan dhokla recipe.
 

The main difference between khaman and dhokla is that khaman is fluffier, softer, lighter, and spongier, thanks to the addition of eno fruit salt (whose main ingredient is soda bicarbonate). It doesn’t require overnight fermentation.

Follow our quick, easy, and fail-proof khaman dhokla recipe—soft and spongy instant dhokla—that you can make at home using easily available ingredients.
 

Relish this steamed, healthy, light, easy-to-digest Gujarati dhokla recipe in all its fluffy, moist, juicy deliciousness at any time of the day.

The dhokla ingredients for tempering include mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chillies, sugar, and salt that add a tangy, piquant taste and irresistible aroma.

As a variation, garnish this Indian khaman dhokla with chopped coriander leaves or grated coconut. You can also serve this with green chutney (made of coriander or mint) or meethi (sweet) chutney (made of dates and tamarind).
 

We often get asked the question “is dhokla gluten free”. So for an easy gluten-free variation, you can substitute semolina (sooji) with rice flour.

Here are some tips to make the best khaman dhokla:
 

For best results, sieve the gram flour (besan) to aerate it, making for an even fluffier khaman dhokla.

For airy and light khaman dhokla (yellow dhokla), use a fresh batch of Eno Fruit Salt. Avoid using an opened packet, since a stale batch may result in flat, dense dhokla.
 

After adding Eno fruit salt (which leads to instant rising of the khaman dhokla batter), steam the batter immediately. Do not let the batter sit at all. Otherwise, the batter will start settling and lose its aeration, and the end result will be dense and heavy khaman dhokla. To do this, make sure the steamer is properly heated (at least 4–5 minutes) and the water is at a fast simmer before adding eno to the batter and pouring the batter into the prepared cake tin.

Also, while steaming, you might need to boiling water to the steamer in case all the water evaporates before steaming is complete.

Steam dhokla over medium flame for 20 minutes or so. Check the doneness of the besan dhokla by inserting a toothpick into the dhokla. If it comes out clean, the dhokla is ready.

Overcooking or over-steaming will produce dhokla that is dry and crumbly. 
 

Wait for the khaman dhokla to cool completely, about 5 to 10 minutes, before removing it from the cake tin and cutting it. If you cut it while it is still hot, you will end up with crumbly dhokla.

Add tempering tadka when both tadka and khaman dhokla are still warm.
 

Our recipe of dhokla (same ingredients) can also be used to cook the cook dhokla in a pressure cooker or microwave oven. In general, the traditional stovetop method (in a steamer) produces lighter and spongier khaman dhokla than the microwave oven method.
 

Learn how to make dhokla in your kitchen with all ingredients and easy cooking method from Yummefy recipes. See all steps to make dhokla in our quick dhokla recipe video.

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