sama ke chawal ka dhokla | vrat wala dhokla | a healthy fasting recipe that can be a regular snack too

Dhokla used to be my go to snack few years ago when I would steam an instant dhokla every other day. It was always for our evening tea or when my brother came who loves dhokla. And then our evening tea changed as we started having early dinners. So the evening tea was just tea and nothing else with it most of the times.

I had bought some 2 kilos of sama ke chawal (Barnyard millet) during navratri a couple of weeks ago and have been using the millet for my breakfast or dinner sometimes. And then I was reminded of the dhokla I used to make of this millet. I couldn't stop myself and steamed a plate of sama ka dhokla, later I realised the husband had forgotten about a white dhokla. But he loved it all over again. Yes, I am telling you grudgingly because I got way too less than I wanted to have for myself :-(

This recipe of sama ka dhokla was suggested casually by a senior of mine during my research days and I used to be my experimental best regarding cooking in those days. So I played with this idea of a recipe and made a significant change. Instead of using whole sama ke chawal as suggested by her, I made it into a batter and the dhokla turned out much better. I like the sama ki idli steamed with whole soaked millet.

ingredients..

for the dhokla..
sama ke chawal (Barnyard millet) 1 cup
sour buttermilk or sour yogurt diluted with equal amount of water 3 cups
salt to taste

for the tempering...
green chilies 3-4 slit length wise
dry red chilies 1-2 broken
rai seeds (small mustard seeds) 1 tsp
hing (asafoetida) a pinch
curry leaves 3-4 springs
peanut oil 2 tsp
sugar 1 tbsp
lime juice 1 tbsp or a little more
water 1.5 cup

procedure...

Soak the millets in the buttermilk and salt overnight, but keep it refrigerated if you are using sour curd in summers, it could get too sour for your liking. But if you like khatta dhokla, you would like it really sour. Go with what you like. Also, this soaked mixture can be refrigerated for up to week if you are a bad planner. It happened with me so I thought I should add it to your convenience.

Make a batter of the soaked millet by blending it in mixie or food processor when you are about to steam the dhokla. Add 1/2 tsp pf soda bi carb to the batter, mix well and pour into a greased plate or steaming vessel. Steam till set and cooked. I used an opal ware plate and microwaved it for 5 minutes covered with a dome lid. Let it cool completely. Then cut in desired shapes.

For the tempering, heat oil in a pan, tip in the hing and rai seeds and let them crackle. Add the chilies and curry leaves and stir them to let them cook and release their aroma. Pour water and add the sugar, let it come to a soft boil.

Take off the heat, add the lime juice and pour over the steamed dhokla. Let the sweet and sour water soak in, it will all disappear within 5 minutes. The dhokla will swell up so make space for them by removing a few from the plate.

Serve at room temperature.

Soft and spongy, hot, sour and lightly sweet and completely bursting with flavors of the tempering. This makes a very pleasant snack or meal, or part of an elaborate meal. You just can't stop at a couple of these. This millet has a nice nuttiness to it when cooked and that comes out really nice with this dhokla tempering. Those fried and then boiled chilies become so yummy I gobble them all up.

We had it with our evening chai as I mentioned. But the chai was given a royal ignore as the dhokla took center stage  I had to reheat the chai later to finish it. The dhokla is that good.

 Vrat ka khana or fasting food can be fun if you use the ingredients to full potential. I keep cooking these ingredients whenever possible as all alternate grains do taste great and provide a good opportunity to bring variety to my meals every day.

Kerala style shrimp curry : prawns or shrimp curry in coconut milk...

Since I love coconut milk based curries and cook my prawns almost all the time in one or the other coconut milk recipe. Be it the bengali chingri malai curry or the kerala style prawn curry. This coconut milk based shrimp curry inspired from Kerala nadan chemmen is enjoyed by both of us and whosoever has tasted it till now. The spice content is toned down from the authentic version as I have burned my hands with a good purist recipe once. It was so high on spice level that the delicate coconut milk and shrimp flavor got lost. I have mellowed down the spices since then for this particular curry.

I am using the names prawn sand shrimps interchangeably, but both are different species. In the lot I got this time had both of them. I don't find the taste too different so use the name interchangeably.

Getting the prawns or shrimps whole is the best way to start with them. The shells make a great stock to cook the peeled shrimps. If you get frozen, don't worry, you still get great tasting curry.

ingredients...

large sized prawns/shrimps 400 gm
coconut milk 400 ml ( I used 4 heaped tbsp of CM powder)*
curry patta 5-6 mature springs
broken dry red chilies 3-4
whole black peppercorns 1-2 tsp
fennel seeds 1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp
4 cloves
an inch piece of cinnamon crushed
4 green cardamoms lightly crushed
one small black cardamom lightly crushed
turmeric powder
salt to taste
roughly chopped onion 1/2 cup
grated ginger 1 tbsp
coconut oil 1 tbsp
chopped coriander greens for finishing

preparation...

Clean the shrimps, discard the dorsal vein but reserve all the heads and shells. I prefer retaining the tails attached to the shrimps. Some of the heads too as it gives a nice taste in the curry.

Smear all the cleaned shrimps with salt and turmeric powder.

Simmer all the shells of shrimp and heads with a liter of water for an hour or more. Decant or sieve the stock and reserve. About 500 stock will be made.

Make a smooth paste of ginger and onion, keep aside.

Heat coconut oil in a deep pan or kadhai, add the curry patta, the whole spices and onion and ginger paste and fry for a minute or so. No need to brown this paste. Just cook it lightly.

Tip in the shrimps and toss it for a couple of minutes till they start turning pink but not cooked. Pour the stock at this time and simmer the mix for 5 minutes. If using coconut milk, add at this stage, half the quantity diluted with water or the thin extract. The thick extract or half the coconut milk will be added after five minutes of boiling.

Add a slurry of coconut milk powder and simmer for a couple more minutes.

Serve hot with plain boiled rice, garnished with chopped coriander greens.

Very delicately flavored, richly coconut and very very fragrant. Mild whiff of fennel and green cardamom, very faint hint of fenugreek and the peppercorns are a teasing kick.

This is something you would look forward to leftovers and still wont have. The dish will be polished off however you plan for leftovers. That good.

The spicing has been adjusted to my liking after 3-4 trials of the authentic recipes and may be the purists find it too mild. I suggest to try this this proportion of spices if you are having this curry for the first time. Adjust to your taste after the first trial. The stock adds a lot of flavor so try and do that if possible.

I am sure you would love this flavorful classic curry. Do let me know if you try.

Vegetarians can cook a mix of vegetables in this curry or just potatoes and baby onions.

Cheers.