You are in need of a warm bowl of soup as its cold outside and also to damn hungry but not in the mood of going course to course to finish up your meal.
Enter one pot meals to save you…Dal dhokli is one old yet modern and smart one pot meal from the western region of India with its swarm of variations across villages and regions of different states. It is said to be a leftover invention for Sunday mornings…wow! The need to be more productive actually leads to more creativity.
At my home it is more of a don’t want to make dal, bhaat, shaak , rotli dish.
Made traditionally with tuver ni daal (pigeon pea lentil) in Gujrati households it is power packed with proteins and carbs it gives you warmth, strength and energy in a single bowl. Ideal for winters.
Diamonds of flavoured wheat pasta known as dhokli are dunked and cooked in this simmering pot of flavourful dal also while ensuring they are each separate and retain their shape.
Soupy pasta if you will…also you can have stuffed versions and come up with your own ideas but stuffing with potato mixture is the normal trend that has been followed at my house from ages… but if and only the stuffed variation is made I am usually satisfied with our masala diamond doughs.
Nevertheless as you would notice in the recipe the khattas gadas (sweet , sour flavour balance) is always taken care of and fresh herbs like coriander or addition of fresh ajwain leaves instead of crushed counterpart also add in the much needed zing.
Various homes serve different accompaniment’s with it.
I love to eat it with curd, papad and rice. Don’t forget to add a dollop of ghee.
Dal Dhokli (One pot- sweet sour lentil curry with spiced pasta sheets)
Ingredients
Dhokli
- 1 cup Wheat flour
- 2 tbsp Besan
- to taste Salt
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Red chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Coriander cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp Carom seeds
- 1 tbsp Oil
Dal
- 1 cup Tur dal
- 1/2 cup Peanuts
- 10 leaves Curry leaves
- 3 nos. Green chilies
- 1 inch Ginger
- to taste Salt
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
- 2 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped
- 2 tbsp Jaggery grated
- 1 nos Lemon juice squeezed
Tempering
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 inch Cinnamon
- 4 nos Cloves
- 2 pinch Asafoetida
- 1 tsp Red chilli powder
- 1 medium Tomato chopped
Instructions
Dhokli
- In a paraat( big bowl/ plate), take all ingredients together except water and rub in all the masalas and oil in the flour.
- Add about 1/2 cup of water little by little till you get a clay type malleable dough. Kneading the dough properly is very important.
- Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before you roll it and cut diamonds or any shape of your choice. Dust the diamonds properly with flour and keep them separate.
- About 4 discs of 7" rolled dough is sufficient for the amount of dal if serving with rice or make 8 discs.
Dal
- Pressure cook dal with peanuts , turmeric, curry leaves, chopped green chilli, ginger and turmeric for 4 whistles on medium flame. The dal should be completely cooked and mushy. On cooling whisk it using a whisk.
- Add about 2 cups water and cooked dal to a saucepan and simmer the dal for 10 mins without dhokli. Finally add the tempering, jaggery, lime juice and coriander leaves.
- Then add dhoklis little by little and let the pasta sheets gets cooked. It will take about 7-8 mins. Don't forget to stir every 4-5 minutes in between . Add salt to taste. The water quantity should be sufficient as it will get thicker as the pasta sheets gets cooked and it will absorb water.
Tempering
- Heat oil in a tempering pan. Bloom the cinnamon sticks and cloves.
- Crackle mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Lightly fry Asafoetida, red chilli powder and add tomatoes and cooked till soft.
- Temper a little dal using the tempering and then add it to the dal.