Nylon Khaman Dhokla Sandwich

No, I would not go that far just to make up a 'N', it is really called that!

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I have also heard of nylon poha and nylon sabudana, a litttle wierd I would say! I have come up with my own explanation as to why it may have gotten the not so appetising name, 'Nylon Dhokla' !
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Well, when I think of nylon, the things that come to my mind are the long and comfortable chairs back home with the nylon cloth material sewn as the base of the chair or the nylon bags that we happily trotted around with as kids and of course who can forget the nylon saree;-)

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My theory is, nylon, for some reason unbeknownst to me, translates to 'instant' or 'pre-processed' in the case of food items. The traditional khaman dhokla is made by soaking a mixture of various dals, grinding it and then fermenting it before finally steaming it into a dhokla. But the nylon one is made of chickpea flour (besan), no grinding or fermenting involved here. It is an instant version and hence the name nylon khaman dhokla. Phew! Now that we have the definition out of the way, we can safely proceed to the recipe.

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I learnt this recipe from 'G' aunty when she was visiting us from India some time back. I watched her prepare it once and now follow all the steps diligently to make this snack. Speaking of 'G' aunty, I will be happy if I've even half the energy & enthusiasm that she has when I reach her age ;-)
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Khaman dhokla is a much loved Gujarati snack. It is a steamed snack with a tempering of mustard, cumin, sesame and is adorned with coriander leaves & grated coconut. It is usually served with coriander chutney. It can also be made into a sandwich by spreading layers of green chutney or ketchup in between slices of dhokla. This is one snack which goes very well in parties as well.
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Here is how I make Nylon Khaman Dhokla Sandwich.
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1 cup chick pea flour (besan)
1 cup water

1 tsp ginger & green chili paste
1 heaped tsp sugar
salt, turmeric powder, 1tbsp lemon/lime juice
1 tsp eno salt
1tbsp oil, mustard seeds, jeera, hing, sesame seeds, curry leaves, 2 slit green chili
chopped coriander leaves, grated coconut

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Mix of 3 tbsp lemon/lime juice, 1tbsp water & 1 tbsp sugar (as per taste)
1/2 cup green chutney

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Blend chick pea flour, water, chili-ginger paste, lemon/lime juice, salt, turmeric powder, sugar very well. Do not add all the water at once, add little at a time and make the batter a little thinner than bhajia batter. You might need just a tbsp or two less than the whole cup. Mix it well and make sure there are no lumps. Keep water for steaming in a wide pan. These days you also get special dhokla steamers in the market as pictured below. In the absence of this you can use any shallow container for steaming.

Add eno salt to the batter and mix very well. Steam till an inserted knife comes out clean, about 15-17 minutes on high flame. Let cool. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, jeera, hing, sesame seeds, curry leaves, 2 slit green chili and keep this tempering aside.

For the sandwich, prepare two slabs of the dhokla. Cool. Sprinkle the lime/sugar mix over one slab. Spread green chutney over that and then cover with the other dhokla slab. This is just like icing a cake, a savory cake at that, like shown below.

Pour the tempering over this. Garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut. Cut into pieces and enjoy Nylon Khaman Dhokla Sandwich!!

This is my contribution to Nupur's A-Z series for 'N'.

I would also like to contribute this to Barbara for her wonderful event 'A Taste Of Yellow' .