Dal Dhokli!
Boiled thick wheat flour noodles (dhokli) in a spicy pigeon pea stew (dal)
Dal dhokli in Gujarati and Rajasthani, varan phal or chakolya in Marathi, is a Rajasthani, Gujarati and Maharashtrian dish made by boiling thick wheat flour noodles (dhokli or phal) in a spicy pigeon pea stew (dal or varan). It is considered a comfort food. It is widely believed that the Marwaris who had migrated to Gujarat invented the dish. While the dish remains popular in Marwar part of Rajasthan, it is Gujaratis who have made it a staple in their homes.
My older daughter loves dal dhokli! She calls it Indian lasagna soup! Which is very accurate. Whole wheat home made lasagna pasta cooked in lentil stew! Before I got married I only cooked one kind of dal dhokli which is with jaggery and lime juice, authentic Gujarati dal dhokli. This recipe is with jaggery. Though my mil tough me spicy garlicky dal dhokli as well which does not have any sweetness to it. I will make a post for that soon!
Making dal dhokli is little tricky though. It can get very lumpy and sticky if not made right. My mil tough me a trick for alway making it perfect, not lumpy at all. The trick is to cook the rotlis for dhokli partially for 10 seconds on each side before cutting and adding it to the dal. I know it sounds like an extra step but trust me it is well worth an extra effort! This extra step also makes this recipe prep ahead recipe. You can prepare dal with masala without boiling and partially cooked dhoklis. Keep them seperate. When you are ready to eat, just boil the dal, dump the prepared dhoklis in boiling dal and temper it. You have warm comfy food ready in minutes!
Everyone in my family loves this dish. It is very comforting and very healthy. It is naturally vegan and loaded with lots of fiber and protein which is a plus! I hope you and your family likes it as much as mine!
Happy and healthy eating!
Dal Dhokli – Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
Ingredients to be boiled
- 1 cup Toor Dal Split pigeon pea
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
- ½ cup Raw Peanuts
- 3 cup Water
Dhokli Dough
- 2 cup Wheat Flour
- 1 cup Water
- ¼ cup Peanut Oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
Additional Ingredients for assembling dal dhokli together
- 9 cup Water
- 1½ tbsp Salt
- 1½ tsp Red chilli powder
- 2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- ½ cup jaggery
Tempering
- ¼ cup Peanut Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 tbsp While Sesame Seeds
- 1 stick Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Cloves
- 3 Whole Peppercorn
- 2 Whole Dry Red Chilis
- ¼ cup Curry Leaves
- ¼ tsp Asafetida
Ganishing
- ½ cup Chopped Cilantro
- 2 Lime
Instructions
Boil toor dal
- Wash toor dal very well and soak it for 30-90 minutes. Place all boiling ingredients listed above in an instant pot with peanuts in a steel bowl on a stand.
- Set instant pot on high pressure setting and cook it for 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and release rest of the pressure manually.
Dhokli Dough
- While toor dal is cooking in IP, start making dhokli dough.
- In a wide bowl, take all dough ingredients listed above except water and mix it well.
- Start adding little water at a time and kneed the dough. Usually 2 cups of flour takes one cup of water to make a soft dough. Once the dough is formed, add 2 tbsp of peanut oil and kneed it for a minute or two. It makes the dough softer and smoother. Cover it and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes.
- Make 8 even dough balls for the dhokli.
- Roll each dough ball with the help of dry flour like wheat flour or rice flour.
- Make 10" to 12" big rotis. It should not be too thick.
- Cook rolled roties on a big flat tawa for 10 seconds on each side. This step is unusual for dhokli recipe. But I like to partially cook dhoklis before I add them to the dal. It helps dhokli not stick together when you add it to the boiling dal and it does not lump up together.
- Roll all 8 rotis and partially cook them.
- Once all the rotis are rolled and cooked. Cut them into diamond shapes using either kitchen shears, knife or pizza cutter. Cover cut dhoklis and keep them aside
Assemble dal dhokli together
- Open instant pot once the pressure is release. Take the peanut and the stand out of the IP. Put instant pot on saute mode.
- Add all the additional ingredients listed above for assembling dal dhokli in the cooked dal and use a handy mixer to mix it all together very well.
- Add 9 cups of water and use a handy mixer again to mix it all together very well.
- Bring the dal to boil keeping it on saute mode.
- Once the dal is boiling, slowly add few dhoklis at a time to the dal. Keep mixing it while adding the dhokli.
- Bring it to boil again keeping it on saute mode.
- While the dal dhokli is boiling, prepare for tempering.
Temper Dal DHokli
- Take ¼ cup of peanut oil in a small pan and heat it up.
- Once the oil is hot, add all tempering ingredients listed above except asafetida and curry leaves.
- Once the tempering is done popping, add asafetida and curry leaves.
- Add the tempering to the dal dhokli. Mix it very well.
- Keep boiling the dal dhokli for another 5 minutes. Turn the IP off and cover it for aditinal 5 minutes.
- Uncover the dal dhokli, garnish it with chopped cilantro and add lime juice of 2 big limes. Mix it carefully making sure the dhokli does not break.
- Serve it hot with some drizzled oil on top and side of onions, tomatoes and pickled mango!
