Dal dhokli is a Gujarati one-pot meal: strips of spiced wheat dough simmered in a thin, sweet and sour toor dal until they swell and thicken it. It belongs to Gujarat’s Jain households as much as to anyone else’s, because every part of it is permitted and almost nothing has to be replaced. That makes it a good dish for seeing which of the rules are about ingredients and which are about care.
Serves: 4. Time: about 50 minutes.
Ingredients
For the dal
- 3/4 cup toor (arhar) dal
- 4 cups water, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
- 3 to 4 pieces of kokum, or 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp
- 1 1/2 tablespoons jaggery
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- Salt to taste
For the tempering
- 1 tablespoon ghee or oil
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- A pinch of asafoetida
- 6 to 8 curry leaves
- 2 dried red chillies
For the dhokli dough
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
- 1 tablespoon gram flour (besan)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Salt and water to knead
Method
- Pressure cook the dal with the turmeric and 3 cups of the water for four whistles. Whisk until smooth.
- Make the dough: mix the flours, spices, salt and oil, add water a spoonful at a time, and knead a firm, smooth dough. Rest it for 10 minutes. Roll into two thin rounds, as for chapati, and cut into small diamonds or strips.
- Heat the ghee in a wide, heavy pot. Add mustard seeds, then cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves and dried chillies.
- Pour in the whisked dal with one more cup of water. Add the chilli, coriander, salt, kokum or tamarind, jaggery and peanuts. Bring to a boil.
- Drop the dhokli pieces in one at a time so they do not stick together. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring gently and adding hot water if the dal thickens too much.
- The dish is ready when the dhokli are soft right through. The consistency should be a thick soup, not a stew. Serve hot with a spoon of ghee.
Why it follows the rules
Kokum and jaggery, no tomato or onion base. The sweet and sour taste usually comes from kokum or tamarind with jaggery, and the dish never needed a fried onion paste. This is why it is such a natural Jain dish: the Gujarati cook was already doing without.
Flour is checked and kept for a limited time. Jain households traditionally treat flour as having a shelf life that depends on the season, because stored flour that gets damp can breed tiny organisms. The numbers of days given in older household guides differ, so we do not print one here. The practical custom is to sieve the flour before use, keep it dry, and not use any that smells or has clumped. Many families grind or buy flour in small amounts for this reason.
Peanuts. Peanuts grow underground, and this is a point on which households differ. The tradition’s list of foods set aside is about plants whose whole body, root and all, is taken when they are harvested. Peanut is a seed borne in a pod that develops below the surface and is commonly eaten; some Jain families avoid it for that reason, and most do not. If your family does, replace with roasted pumpkin seeds or leave them out.
Cooked dal, wheat and no curd. This dish does not mix curd or raw milk with pulses, which is the combination the dwidal rule on the recipes index is about.
Serving
Serve in a deep bowl, hot, with a little extra ghee and a squeeze of lemon if the dal is not sour enough for you. Dal dhokli thickens as it stands, so add hot water to loosen leftovers. Because freshness matters in a Jain kitchen, it is better to make only what the meal needs, and finish it before sunset.
Variations
- Without peanuts: the dish loses a little sweetness and crunch but is otherwise unchanged.
- With bottle gourd: add 1 cup of diced bottle gourd with the dal for a more vegetable-led version.
- Quicker dhokli: use ready-made chapati dough rolled thin if you are short of time, though the spiced dough has more flavour.
Related
- Jain recipes: the rules and the dishes
- Moong dal khichdi
- Panchmel dal
- Methi thepla
- Paryushan: the week of restraint
Frequently asked questions
↳ Is dal dhokli always Jain?
Not always. Many recipes begin with onion, garlic or a tomato base, and some add fresh garlic chutney. The dish described here leaves those out and uses kokum, jaggery and spices instead, so it is a Jain version.
↳ What if I cannot find kokum?
Tamarind pulp gives a similar sourness. Use about a tablespoon and taste before adding more, because tamarind pastes vary in strength.
↳ Why do the dhokli need to be added one at a time?
If they land together they fuse into a lump in the hot dal and cook unevenly. Dropping them in singly keeps each piece separate, and the dal should be at a steady boil when you begin.
↳ Can it be eaten the next day?
It is best eaten fresh. The tradition prefers cooked food finished the same day, and dal dhokli turns heavy and dense once cold.