Friday, July 29, 2011

Nylon khaman/Instant khaman dhokla recipe/Steamed gram flour cakes

After moving back to Bangalore, life has become more hectic than what I expected it to be. Setting up a home is taking all of my time & leaving me exhausted at the end of the day. Though we are settling down slowly, there are many tasks yet to be completed. In this tiresome schedule, one of the things that I am thoroughly enjoying is the FOOD. I get to eat all those I craved for. I have visited so many food joints that I feel I should start giving my reviews about them. Anyway, I'll keep that in the back of my mind & plan to kick it off on a rainy day!

Okay!,from now on I'll try to be regular (hopefully!) in putting up my experiments & also try to take a peek into the blogs I admire.

Coming to the recipe now. This is my son's yellow idli & I prepare it whenever he asks/requests/demands for it. It is super easy & can be prepared in less than 20mins time.

Here is my version of the nylon khaman or khaman dhokla.



Preparation time: 5-10mins
Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients: (Serves 3-4 as a snack or starter)
Besan/Gram flour/Kadale hittu: 1.5 cups (1 cup holds 250ml of water).
Water: 1.5 cups
Citric acid crystals: 1/2tsp, or 2 tbsp lemon juice.
Sugar: 1.5 tbsp
Salt: 1/2 tsp or a little more
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Green chilli-ginger paste: 1/2 tsp
Oil: 1.5 tbsp
Fruit salt: 1.5 tsp or 7gms approximately.

For tempering:
Oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Sesame seeds: 1 tsp
Curry leaves: 10-12 nos
Green chillies: 2 nos, split into 4 sllices

For garnishing:
Coconut: 1 tbsp, optional

Special utensils:
Steamer or a pressure cooker
stainless steel plate/thali (something similar to this one)


Method:
  • Mix all the ingredients(except fruit salt & water) mentioned in the ingredients section. Add few tablespoons of water at a time & make a lump free batter. The batter has to be very smooth with the consistency similar to that of an idli batter or a thick milk shake.
  • Let the batter rest for 2-3 mins.
  • Meantime, prepare the steamer. Add water to it & allow it to boil. 
  • Grease the plate with few drops of oil or spray.
  • Add the fruit salt to the gram flour batter & mix. The batter will become frothy, light & increases its volume.
  • Immediately pour it on to a greased plate/thali. 
  • Place the plate in the steamer & steam it for 10mins. A skewer inserted should come out clean.
  • Prepare the tempering. Heat oil in a pan. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When seeds splutter add sesame seeds followed by curry leaves & green chilies. Keep the tempering aside.
  • Allow the cooked khaman to rest for a minute. 
  • Sprinkle few drops of water over the cooked cake to keep it moist.
  •  Cut the steamed cake into desired shape (when it is still warm), pour the tempering over the steamed cake.
  • Garnish it with coriander leaves & serve it hot with any dip of your choice. Green chutney is a great combination with nylon khaman.

Notes:
  • Do not try to cut down on the oil used while making the batter. The dhokla might turn hard.
  • Use good quality fruit salt. Fruit salt that is stored for a long time will not give desired results.  Use 1 packet of Eno's fruit salt(5gm packet available in India) for 1 cup of gram flour.
  • You can make this khaman sweet n sour or khatta meeta by adding 2 tbsp of sweet n sour water. (Add 1 tbsp of lemon juice + 1.5 tsp of sugar to 2 tbsp warm water). Dissolve the sugar & sprinkle the water over the hot steamed cake. 
  • The gram flour to water ratio is 1:1. 
  • In case, you do not have a steamer, use the pressure cooker to prepare the khaman dhokla. Do not add the weight, instead place a steel tumbler (as shown below).
  • If you are planning to prepare the khaman in bulk, it is better to invest in a khaman dhokla stand. Refer picture here.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Language translation of ingredients: From English to Kannada

Here is a teeny-weeny effort from me. Will keep updating the list & try to include as many as possible. 
Your inputs & comments are most appreciated. Thank you.

English
Kannada
Amaranth leaves
Dantina soppu
Asafoetida
Hingu/ingu
Beaten rice
Avalakki
Bitter gourd
Hagalkayi
Black eyed peas
Alasande kalu
Bottle gourd
Sorekayi/Sorekai
Brahmi
Ondelaga/timare
Broken wheat
Godi rave
Capsicum
Dappa menasina kayi
Carom seeds
Omkalu/Ajwain
Cauliflower
Hukosu
Chow chow
Seeme badane kayi
Cilantro/coriander leaves
Kottambari
Cluster beans
Gorikayi/Javalikayi
Cucumber
Southekayi
Cumin seeds
Jeerige
Curry leaves
Karibevu
Dill leaves
Sabsige/Sabbakki soppu
Drumstick
Nuggekayi
Eggplant/Brinjal
Badanekayi
Finger millet
Ragi
Flax seed
Agase beeja
Ginger
Shunti
Gram flour
Kadale hittu
Gram lentils/dal
Kadale bele
Green peas
Batani
Horse gram
Hurali
Indian cottage cheese
Paneer
Ivy gourd
Thondekayi
Jackfruit
Halasu
Lemon
Nimbe hannu
Lentils
BeLe
Mustard seeds
Saasive
Okra/Ladies finger
Bendekayi
Peanuts/Ground nuts
Kadale beeja
Porridge
Ganji/Kanji
Poppy seeds
Gasgase
Potato
Aloo gadde/batate
Puffed rice
Mandakki/Kadle puri/puri
Pumpkin
Sihi kumbalakayi
Ridge gourd
Heerekayi
Skinned black gram lentils/dal
Uddina bele
Sorghum
Jola
Spinach
Palak soppu
Split pigeon peas
Thogari bele
Turmeric
Arishina
Vermicelli
Shavige
Winter melon
Boodu kumbalakayi




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