Dhokla with the readymade flour available in the market

Dhokla is one of the dish I always wanted to try, this time I bought some ready made dokla flour form the "Patel brothers" one of the Indian grocery store in our near by area. The ingredients on the pack say that it contains besin (Gram flour) and rice flour. I was little confused, about the kind of ingredients that goes into the recipe. Later I did a little research and came up with my own recipe. It worked, dokla came out wonderfully. I never tasted dokla before, but now after making this yummy and healthy Indian flour cakes, I regret for not tasting them before. Form now dokla always stays in the weekly snack menu of our home.

I feel so dumb sometimes, because I bought dokla flour but forgot the fact that I do not have dokla plates. If your case is same like me, give me "high-5"!! No problem you can use the idli plates instead. Problem solved!  Now coming to the recipe.

Ingredients:
Dokla flour- 1 cup
Curd/ Yogurt-1/2cup

Turmeric-1/4 t.s
Chilli powder-1/4 t.s 
salt-1 t.s
Curry leaves-8
Green coriander-2 tbls
Eno fruit salt-1 t.s

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds- 1/2tbsp

oil-2tbsp

water-3tbsp

Whole green chillies-4

Coriander/cilantro leaves few

fresh grated coconut (optional)

PROCEDURE-
Take curd/yogurt in a bowl, beat well, then mix dhokla flour, turmeric, salt, chopped green chillies, lemon juice and chilli powder and make a semi thick batter with water. Keep aside for 20 minutes,add more water if it became thick.

Grease the plates with oil , add 1/2 t.s eno to the mixture and mix well and pour in to the greased plates and steam them. I used Microwave Idli maker for this process, I kept on high for 7min. Later when the dhoklas are ready wait for  5 minutes and let them set. When the dhoklas are all set remove them from the plates and cut into square or diamond shape pieces.

For seasoning:
Heat 3 tbls of oil in a small pan,add 1 t.s mustard seeds,pinch of asafoetida,,when done ,add 2 tbls of water in it and then garnish this mixture on the top of the dhokls along with coriander/cilantro and fresh coconut

Serve these yummy cakes with mint or coconut chutney. Hope you like my recipe, please leave your valuable comments and keep visitng.  

Holiday Parfait- With Strawberry and Yogurt

Hello Friends, back with a cool summer Holiday Parfait!
This summer the temperatures are hitting the top records and creating history. During this hot summer cravings for cool eats increases. I always feel like having an Ice cream, but if you are also a calorie bug like me your foot is always a way back. This parfait is for those calorie bugs, It tastes wonderful and fulfills your quench for an Ice cream. It is also the best way to make the kids to eat fruit and yogurt.

I never used to be a big fan of yogurt before, but after tasting the Dannon's 0% Fat vanilla yogurt I cannot resist my self form having it. According to the nutritional information on the box, it says that 8oz of yogurt contatins only 110calories. What do we need more than this, I decided to take 4oz of yogurt everyday afternoon with different organic berries. Today it is the turn of the strawberries and I feel this is the wonderful combination that I ever had with yogurt. Making of this parfait is very simple, that is the reason why it is called as "Holiday parfait". You can make this on a lazy day, it fills your tummy and makes it cool in this hot summer. There is no seperate recipe for this yummy parfait you can include whatever you like to have with yogurt in this recipe.

Ingredients: (For 8oz)
Low fat light vanilla yogurt- 8oz (app 220grms)
Berries- 10(I used strawberries, you can use any one type of berrie or use mixed berries)
 (In off season: You can find the mixed frozen berries in the frozen section in all grocery stores)
Nuts and rasins of your taste- I used shreaded Almonds and cranberry raisins
Chocolate powder- pinch or to your taste(optional)

If you are not using the vanilla flavored yogurt, you can always use sugar or sugar substitutes as the toppings as the natural yogurt do not contain sugar. Honey serves as a best substitute of sugar.

Directions:
Take a medium size bowl and add 4oz (app 110grms) of yogurt and spread as a bed. Wash and dry berries and cut them in to four large pieces and spread them as a layer on the top of yogurt. Add remaining yogurt on top of strawberrys and sprinkle chocolate powder on top of it or grate a chocolate bar. Finally garnish with shreaded almonds. Refrigerate for 15min or more and serve. You can store this preparation for 3 days minimum.


Hope you like my recipe, please post your comments and keep visitng for more wonderful summer recipes.