Saturday, April 28, 2007

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' .

50 comments:

archana said...

Just too good. So colourful.I luv this snack.Your steamer is looking interesting :)

Ayesha Seerin said...

i almost fanted seeing the nylon :-) .... Nice name .. Lovely colors

FH said...

Are you sure about Nylon?! ;D

Dhoklas looks smooth as Nylon too,I believe you.Thanks for the recipe.Delicious to look at with green stuffing.

Arts said...

Thanks for the amazing recipe that u have shared :) I too have heard of Nylon Poha.. Its thin and slimy to touch and hence called so.. Hence am not surprised with the name after reading the details :)

Aarti

Richa said...

hey archana, thanks buddy! yup that steamer is very handy, it comes with attachments for idli & steaming plates as well.


thanks ayesha, yup it is nylon ha!ha!
enjoy

hey asha, glad you liked nylon dhokla. it is one tasty snack.
enjoy

welcome to my blog, arti.
thanks for the info on nylon poha.
glad you enjoyed my recipe.
thanks

musical said...

Love that Nylon sandwich :)You are amazing! haven't heard of nylon before-thats a very interesting name, but very believable. I've heard of things being named with prefix disco etc :) so nylon is very much possible.
I love the sandwich before idea, its must be delicious na. try a sandwich like this for making paneer or bread pakoras! i have had those before and they are GOOD!
Have a great weekend.

Sig said...

Nylon, thats too funny :). Nice explanation for the name there Richa, it looks beautiful! You always come up with these dishes with amazing color combination.

TheCooker said...

Too good...the name and the recipe.
-TC

Nupur said...

Nylon! Richa, you are too much :) Thanks for a really fun and creative entry! The dhoklas look absolutely yummy, and the pictures are gorgeous.

Kajal said...

Hi Richa,
WOW................................my favorite.
Great dish ...................with nice presentation.
It is very tasty with green chutney.
I love your photo too.:)
Sorry I take one piece with out asking you.
Good Job.
Cheers!!!!!!!!!!

Richa said...

haanji musical, thanks for the kind words blush ;-) am so glad you enjoyed it, yes have heard of the disco thingy :) actually there is a disco papita too ha!ha!
I've tasted the paneer/chutney slices, was YUM! am sure will taste great with bread too, thanks sweetie! hope you had a good wknd.
keep smiling

dear sig, glad you liked the nylon thingy ;-) am so glad you like my color combos, it is fun taking pics!! that steamer ig a good investment if you wud like to make it often. hope you had a good wknd sweetie!

thanks TC amd welcome to my blog. glad you liked the name & the recipe.
enjoy...

hey nupur, thanks for making me think out of the box ;-) It was so much fun making the nylon dhokla and it sure is one tasty snack.
keep smiling

thanks kajal! so it is your fav, you don't have to ask me dear, go ahead have one more byte! tari party thayi gai? biju su?
thanks for your support dear!
keep smiling

Coffee said...

Damn!!!!!! LAst time when I was going to post this dhokla trupti posted it....... so I waited for a while!!!!! And now when I was going to post it this week..... you do the same!!!!!!!!!!! PHEW!!!!!

Liked the idea of sandwich. :)

sunita said...

I love dhokla...though I've never made one...your's is a nice version...btw, loved the discourse on nylon.

TNL said...

aa mast hoy che yaar...tara saras lagey che! Chutney aney dhokla chaa sathey saras lagey ne???

tara restaurant vaalu palak paneer kevu hatu???

trupti

Sia said...

he he he...nylon dhokla...very funny name but delicous looking one:) r u sure its called nylon or did u just create it for N entry?;) he he he...

DEEPA said...

wow!!!!!!too good presentation ...Dhokals looks really soft like nylon .

Sheela said...

Hi Richa, I was so curious to see why it was called nylon:) I make dhoklas often - a favorite snack at home - but never thought of making a sandwich like you have shown. Thanks! Nice pics!

Suganya said...

Hay ur Dhokla looks mouth watering. A great recipe....The pics are very nice.

Anonymous said...

richa, i checked food aggregator and didn't see your updates so i didn't blog hop and missed two of your entries.

nylon??? you wicked lady :)):)). those dhoklas look so good and healthy. i am saving this recipe.

Roopa said...

Richa it looks so yummy with the green chat pata chtuney,
lovely presentation

Suma Gandlur said...

Great looking dhoklas.

Richa said...

thanks coffee, do try the sandwich with spicy chutney.

thanks sunita, enjoy the recipes..

thanks trupti, yeah restaurant ma palak paneer saras hatu surprisingly, usually they serve the chutney types, this was tasty!

hey sia, so you liked the nylon version he!he! enjoy dear

thanks deepa, yes they were soft and that steamer is pretty handy

Richa said...

thanks sheela, yup that name is a bit of a misnomer ;-) do try the sandwich!

thanks sukanya! glad you enjoyed it.

hey reenie baby, it sure is NYLON heh!heh! I'v just recently subscribed to the aggregator, hopefully shud see the update soon. thanks yaar!

thanks roopa, yup the chutney makes all the difference.

thanks suma!
enjoy...

Saju said...

Nice one! looks so yummmmmm

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

Hey, I love dhoklas.... Dhokla sandwich sounds even more interesting!!!! Thanks for the recipe!! :)

Pravs said...

wow, its awesome ! Nylon dhokla will work great for me...since there is no grinding & fermenting part. Is Eno salt a must ? what's the use of eno salt ?

Sharmi said...

hey Richa, now you tell me where to find that lovely container? the name as well as the pic is amazing. would love to make it but can I use normal vessel.

swapna susarla said...

mmm yummy!!1i made dhokla once in microwave.this time will try urs.

Richa said...

thanks sajeda!

thanks ramya, do try the sandwich.

thanks pravs! I've never made without eno, it is used to get light & fluffy dhokla. without it the dhokla will be dense and hard. you may try with some soda instead. but eno is available in all desi stores here. lemme' know if you need any more info.

thanks sharmi. I've seen the steamer at patel's & big subzi mandi, the pictured one is from India. you can use a shallow container or even the vessel that comes in the pressure cooker.
enjoy:)

thanks swapna. do try it.

KF said...

Colourful !! I never tasted this!Pls can I take one peice..dear,My mouth is watering.

Prema Sundar said...

Nice description of the name Richa.
Looks yum with the green stuffing.

Latha said...

Oh my Richa this looks delicious! Never had this! Wish i could just come over :-)

amna said...

Thank you so much for your comment!

i love dhokla and this looks so yummy!!

blogrolled u :)

Richa said...

hi kitchen fairy, please go ahead and feel free to taste it :) welcome to my blog.

hey prema, yes that green chutney makes such a difference.
enjoy

hey latha, come over anytime. these are instant so will make them for with with garma garam chai :)

a warm welcome to my blog, N! yup dhokla is such a loved snack :)
thanks

amna said...

Hello!

I am thinking of starting a new portal to host simple and easy-to-prepare recipes. This is mainly for bachelors/bachelorettes who may not have the time and the necessary utensils to prepare anything elaborate.

Please do contribute. For more details, I have made a post on this at:

http://cookingandme.blogspot.com/2007/05/portal-for-simple-cooking.html

Err.. does this comment look like spam? :O It really is not! Also, tell me what you think about the idea and better ideas of how I can go about this, if any.

Deepa Hari said...

Hi Richa,
mmmmm...Lovely Dhoklas...never tried making them at home...thanks for sharing...will try it.

Shivapriya said...

I just know only 2 varieties in dhokla one is with sooji and other is with besan, Now I know that there are more than "2". Hehe hehe love the recipe. I'm sure going to try sometime.

Mallika said...

Hi Richa - you make it look so easy. But for a beginner, how do I know how thick the texture should be of the batter? Thanks so much...

Unknown said...

Hi Richa your yellow food looks wonderful. The recipe are all new to me but I think I would enjoy them very much. Thank you for your support.

Bharathy said...

Lovely pics,amazing presentation...Richa was looking out for a good recipe for dhokla..want to try it:)..keep up your fantastic work:)...the pics help a loot>>

Richa said...

thanks n, deepa hari, shivpriya, mallika, barbara & bharathy for ur generous words, really appreciate it!!

mallika, yeah dhokla is something you will need to try a few times to get it perfect, but follow the measurements given and you shud be fine :)
anytime you need further info just lemme know!!

Viji said...

This is very creative. Viji

Menu Today said...

Hi,
Nice presentation. Very creative. Thanks for sharing.

Aspiring Annapoorna said...

Life is complicated for sure in the land of Farsaan (gujarati for savoury snacks)!! There is Dhokla which is different from Khaman and Nylon Khaman which is different from both of those :) :)
And Nylon Khaman gets its name because it has a light spongy texture because of the Eno, as compared with regular khaman which relies on fermentation and is comparatively denser and less fluffy (somewhat like a good idli.
Nylon khaman has a "touch-and-it'll-jiggle-or-fall-apart" kind of springiness...
These look lovely Richa...discovered your blog through Musical's...I love reading your punjabi conversations!!

Richa said...

thanks AA and welcome to my blog :) great info there, liked the way you described it, touch-and-it'll-jiggle! this nylon dhokla is such a handy farsaan for surprise guests or even for urself, like a little treat :) i see u r not blogging these days, so when r u planning to get back to blogging? do keep visiting.
thanks

Reena said...

Awesome dhokla. I will make this soon. My question is, how did you cut square pieces, from a round dhokla?

I really really hope my dhokla turns out good. Whatever I've tried in the past has been dense. I love the spongy yummy dhoklas. Will post my results after I try it, soon.

Vaidehi Bhave said...

Hi,

I like your blog and its very nicely arranged with lot of good recipes. Photos are very nice as well. I write a blog too chakali
I tried Khaman Dhokla using Eno fruit salt, and it came out beautiful, fluffy and tasty.

Now I'll try your recipe. Those layers look beautiful

Chakali
chakali

Anonymous said...

Awesome idea, I am going to try this! Have never layer chutney between dhokla before! Please see pictures of khaman dhokla on my blog, if interested: http://mangosoup.blogspot.com/2009/08/khaman-dhokla.html

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