khatta dhokla or white dhokla, how to make khatta dhokla recipe |Cooking With Amanda

khatta dhokla or white dhokla is one of the gujarati snacks that i love to make as well eat . any dhokla be it khaman dhokla or rava dhokla are favorite snacks at home.

this recipe of khatta dhokla is a fermented version. it is light, healthy and easy to make dish. khatta means sour and these dhoklas do have a light sour taste. the sourness comes from the addition of sour yogurt.

for a pronounced sourness you could even add some lemon juice. however, if the curd is very sour, then no need to any lemon juice. khatta dhokla taste awesome with some sweet chutney. i had served these white dhokla with curry leaves chutney.

a proper english translation of khatta dhokla is – fermented, steamed, savory rice and lentil cakes which are light, spongy, porous and a bit sour. so they are a good gluten free snack and nutritious too. there is a hint of the taste and flavors of green chili and ginger in the dhokla. so they are lightly spiced too.

when living in mumbai, i would often buy these from the gujarati snacks or sweet shops. generally ready made khatta dhokla flour is used to make the dhoklas. you can even grind rice and urad dal in your nearby mill. for 1 kg of rice, use 250 gms of urad dal, if you plan to make the flour.

in this recipe, i have used basmati rice with urad dal. you can use any regular rice or even idli rava.

lets start step by step khatta dhokla or white dhokla recipe:

1: first soak the rice and the urad dal for 3-4 hours. drain the water and then grind the rice, urad dal, ginger and green chilies very little water. the batter should be thick. you should be able to feel the grainy texture of rice in the batter. when grinding, the urad dal will grind till smooth but the rice takes some more time. a slight grainy texture of the rice in the batter is fine. you can also grind them separately if you want.

2: add the sour yogurt and salt.

3: mix well and keep the batter to ferment overnight or for 7-8 hours.

4: the fermented dhokla batter pic below.

5: add some oil to the batter and stir. addition of oil aids in the softness.

6: add eno or fruit salt to the dhokla batter. you can also add baking soda in place of eno. be quick enough to stir and mix the fruit salt in the batter.

8: pour the dhokla batter in a greased steamer pan and sprinkle with black pepper powder, red chili powder and roasted sesame seeds.

9: steam the dhokla in a steamer or a pot for 20-25 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted in the khatta dhokla comes out clean.

10: khatta dhokla need not be tempered. you can serve them straight. slice khatta dhokla into squares or diamonds. you can serve khatta dhokla either warm or at room temperature with coriander chutney or with any sweet chutney.

if you are looking for more gujarati recipes then do check moong dal dhokla, methi thepla, gujarati kadhi, dabeli and methi muthia.

khatta dhokla or white dhokla recipe below:

khatta dhokla or white dhokla recipe

Total time

8 hours 25 mins

Author: dassana

Recipe type: snacks

Cuisine: gujarati

Serves: 3-4

1 cup regular rice or idli rava ( i used basmati rice)
¼ cup urad dal/spilt and husked black gram
½ cup thick sour yogurt or dahi, whisked
½ inch ginger, chopped
1 green chili, chopped
2 to 3 tbsp water for grinding
1 tsp eno fruit salt or ½ tsp baking soda
rock salt as required

rinse the rice and urad dal a couple of times in water.
soak them together or separately in enough water for 3-4 hours.
drain them well and then in a wet grinder, add the drained rice and urad dal.
add chopped ginger and green chili also.
grind the rice and urad dal adding 2 to 3 tbsp water at intervals.
the batter should be thick like the idli batter.
when you feel the batter, a little grainy texture of the ground rice is preferable.
pour the batter in a deep bowl or pan.
add the whisked sour yogurt and salt.
stir well and keep the batter in a warm place to ferment overnight or for 7-8 hours.
before preparing the dhoklas, grease the pan in which you will be making the dhokla with oil.
add water in your steamer or pot or pressure cooker and let the water come to a boil.
add the fruit salt or baking soda to the batter.
be quick enough to stir well, so that the fruit salt or baking soda is distributed uniformly in the batter.
pour on a greased pan.
sprinkle with black pepper powder, red chili powder and roasted sesame seeds.
place the pan with the dhokla batter in the steamer or pot or pressure cooker.
cover and steam for 20-25 minutes or more till a tooth pick inserted in the khatta dhokla comes out clean.
if using a pressure cooker, remove the vent weight (whistle) and cover the lid tightly and steam for the same amount of time.
when done, remove and let the khatta dhoklas become warm.
slice and serve the khatta dhokla or white dhokla with coriander chutney.