When it comes to Indian cooking the wealth of spices, different styles of cooking in different regions brings about the diversity, flavors, colors and taste in Indian Cuisine.
Just love how every festival/events are celebrated with food when it comes to Indian food and culture. One popular snack option is Dhokla, made with fermented rice and lentil batter. This steamed dish is served with spicy chutneys and garnished with grated coconut.
To celebrate the Republic day of India, a twist to this popular snack, I have used carrots and spinach puree, to create a tricolor(tiranga) dhokla. Tiranga is fondly referred to Indian flag which has the three horizontal colors of saffron, white and green.
I have used the idli batter to create this recipe but you can use the dhokla batter if you prefer to.
Tiranga Dhokla
Ingredients-
Idli batter, 8 cups
Carrot, 1/2, puree
Spinach, 2 cups, puree
Ginger, 2 tsp, grated
Oil, 5 tsp
Chilli powder, 1/4 tsp
Turmeric, 1/4 tsp
Salt, 2 tsp
Baking soda, 2 tsp
Mustard seeds, 1 tbsp
Green chillies, 3, fine chopped
Curry leaves, 10-12
Lime juice, 2 tbsp
Sugar, 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida (Hing), 1/4 tsp
Grated coconut, 2 tbsp
Coriander, 1/2 bunch, fine chopped
Water, 2 cups
Recipe-
Step 1:
Take the idli batter and divide into 3 bowls with 2 full cups of batter in each bowl.
Add 2 tsp water, ¼ tsp chilli powder, and ½ tsp grated ginger to each bowl with salt as per taste. Mix well.
Note: We want the batter to be of thick consistency so do not add too much water when mixing.
Step 2:
For saffron color, we are adding carrot puree. Simply blend 1 medium carrot or 8-10 baby carrots in a blender. Add ¼ tsp turmeric and add it to 1 bowl with idli batter and mix well.
For green color, we are adding spinach puree. Grind 2 cup spinach with only 1 tbsp water and add it to another bowl with idli batter. Mix well.
Do not add much water to any of the bowls as we want all three batter to have the same thick consistency.
Step 3:
Grease the tray you will put for steaming with 2-3 tsp oil.
Add ¼ tsp baking soda to the spinach batter. Mix for about 8-10 seconds and transfer it into the tray.
Place it to steam for about 10 minutes.
After 10 mins, add ¼ tsp baking soda to white batter. Mix and pour it on the steamed green batter in tray. Close the lid of steamer and let it steam for another 10 minutes.
After 10 mins, the white batter should have set well. Now add 1/4 tsp baking soda to carrot puree batter and mix well. Pour onto the set white layer of dhokla and steam for another 8-10 minutes.
Step 4:
Take out the tray from steamer. Let it sit and cool completely. Then take it out on a plate. Cut into pieces to serve.
For tempering or tadka -
In a pan, take 2 tsp oil and put mustard seeds and let it splutter.Add ½ tsp asafoetida, fine chopped green chillies, curry leaves, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp lime juice and 1/2 cup water. Pour this tadka on the pieces.
Garnish with grated coconut and chopped coriander.
Serve and Enjoy !!
Happy Republic Day to all Indians out there.
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