Dhokli nu Shaak

Dhokli nu Shaak can be termed as a Gujarati equivalent of the famous Gatte ki  Subzi from its neighboring  state of Rajasthan. This charming and rustic looking dish celebrates some very simple and staple ingredients of a Gujarati kitchen i.e. the besan and dahi, the two when mixed together go on to give us pillowy soft Dhokli. It is a simple no fuss dish that can satisfy the urge of binging on spicy food when eaten with a millet flat bread and a potent garlic chutney. Soul satisfying!!  Have you ever noticed how we tend to fall back on such simple meals when our heart yearns for some zingy food.  The Dhokli nu Shaak falls in that food category!! It absolutely livens you up with its spicy and sour taste.

The Dhokli ni Shaak is a  dish from the robust Kathiyawar region of Gujarat. The pillowy Dhokli here is cooked the way we would cook khandvi batter. The cooked Dhokli is later added to this extremely flavourful curry made with yogurt.  This is a shaak my Kathiyawari Bhabhi makes quite often and is so tasty that I had to share it on the blog. You know how it is with intuitive cooks, we do not  measure our ingredients but both my sis-in-laws made it yesterday, measured up the core ingredients,  made a video to show me how it is made😜.  Both of them are such an integral part of this blog that it would have been difficult to talk about so many of our local foods without their contribution here. Food blogging is a journey I took up to talk about Gujarati food beyond thepla, dhokla, khakhra, khandvi….  lately I have been receiving so many positive and encouraging feedbacks from my readers and followers  that it has strengthened my belief in my work…Thank you all so much.

Coming back to the recipe, the key to getting the Dhokli right is preparing the mixture well. It has to be not too soft or too stiff. Once the batter begins to leave the sides of the pan consider it to be done. We do not add any oil to the Dhokli batter as  the use of  yogurt  yields  soft Dhokli. The images above  will help you understand the consistency you should be looking for. Once the Dhokli is set and cools down to the temperature you can handle it with ease, cut in squares and remove from pan.