Damni Dhokla

Documenting the recipe of Damni Dhokla is taking more time than expected. I am trying to dig deeper into the origins of this way making Dhokla. As we all know by now, Dhokla is steamed savoury cake made with a fermented batter of rice and lentils. The Khatta Dhokla has rice and chana-dal, Vateli/Dal Na Dhokla has soaked and crushed chana dal, the Khaman Dhokla is made using chickpea flour while Idra/White Dhokla can be made using the idli batter. The contemporary avatar of Dhokla includes Rava/Sooji Dhokla, Sandwich Dhokla, Green Peas Dhokla, Corn Dhokla and all versions imaginable!! Gujaratis consider Dhokla a snack/farsan that is sometimes part of the meal or served with tea or makes a meal on its own.

Re-creating Damni Dhokla in my kitchen had been on the top of my to-do list since  I first learnt about the recipe in a Tarla Dalal book titled Non-Fried Snacks some 8-9 years back. The catch here was to find Banayan leaves to steam the dhokla!! I am conditioned to sticking to the recipe and planned to remain true to this habit for this recipe as well. After I began blogging and exploring more cookbooks about Gujarati cuisine the variety of Dhokla recipes I came across has been huge. But not all have Damni Dhokla in it. Ras-Sudha, a book by Sudhaben Mushi has it and the recipe varies quite a bit from Tarla Dalal’s version. Another compilation of Gujarati recipes by Agashiye also has the recipe and their version is a little forgiving in the sense they recommend steaming Damni Dhokla in a thali if Banayan leaves aren’t available. But none of these books mentions about the origin of this style of steaming (in Banayan leaves)  Dhokla. Interestingly, the flour mix to Damni Dhokla seems like a congregation of grains, millets and legumes almost like bringing out all that remaining grains from the larder. If that wasn’t enough there is a portion of millet included in it as well.  The way of steaming these dhokla seems quite medieval because leaves are being used as moulds here, indicating a way of life during times where no special contraptions existed in kitchens. I recently had the opportunity of visiting Jambughoda to learn more about Paniya, a flatbread made between Khakhra leaves (Flame of the Forest tree). This method was adopted to cook flatbreads on an open fire when griddles were still not part of the kitchens. I assume this could have been the reason for adopting this peculiar method of steaming Damni Dhokla in leaf moulds. Who knows?? The other mystery to be solved here is the name, Damni Dhokla indicates they origin from Daman, a tiny Union Territory tucked on Southern Gujarat coast ?? It is a quest and I will make edits here once I manage to find adequate answers. One thing I am sure about is that Damni Dhokla is known and popular towards the South of Gujarat and Mumbai while they are almost non-existent in other parts of Gujarat.

This June I decided to give Damni Dhokla a try, I have adapted the recipe from 3 references I had and taken up bits and pieces from each of them. The flour mix was milled at home, the leaves of Banayan and Badam tree were ferried from Purvi’s farm in Matar some 40 kilometres from Ahmedabad and the Dhoklas were steamed in our trusted Dhokaliya which has this plate with holes large enough to hold the cones we made from the Banayan leaves.

The batter was prepared on the evening before and set to ferment overnight. Interestingly, this Dhokla also calls for desi chana/black chickpeas, the need to be soaked overnight and boiled before adding to the batter. The batter is quite loose and it takes little effort to make these cones stay up but don’t worry if they refuse to stay straight whichever way these Dhokla do taste divine. The leaves also absorb moisture so the batter is kept a little runny. The Gujarati achar masala/methiya no masalo makes a huge difference so try to find a good one and add it or add the pickle masala you have at home or some masala from your pickle jar will be  fine too. Temper the Damni Dhokla well and enjoy hot.