Gujarati Kadhi – Not soup, not a sauce, just pure, heart warming bowl of comfort!

Gujarati Kadhi is describe by different names, one of which is a tangy yogurt sauce or soup, served as an accompaniment to a multi-component Gujarati Thali, more often eaten with rice or pulaos or sipped on its own. How I see it, calling a Gujarati Thali or any Indian Regional Thali for that matter, a multi course meal is a bad fit. Because unlike a course wise meal, a thali is not bound by eating sequence or order of eating rules. Like our DNAs, our food combinations are pretty unique, taking a bite from here and there, a bit of heat here, a little tang there, punctuated by a morsel of the sweet of the day to satisfy every taste bud on the palette. And in the same way, every Gujarati enjoys Kadhi on their own special occasions and their own customised combinations and situations. Here are some of those tales, some personal, some fictional and some in between! It’s a long read, but some days I like pouring my heart out.

The image is from my own instagram account and can be found here

Idadaa | Khatta Dhokla | White Dhokla !

Idadaa or Khatta Dhokla is a Gujarati savoury snack made by steaming an overnight fermented batter of Rice and Urad Daal. It is soft, savoury and delicious to say the least. To pronounce Idadaa correctly, the first da is pronounced softly and the second strongly, like Daa in Darwin. It is served on its own as a snack, or as a side as a part of the more varied Gujarati Thali/meal as a savoury side to sweet things like Aamras and often Doodhpak ( a kind of Kheer/Rice Pudding ).

Ingredients:

• 3 measures rice ( if you can use, parboiled rice / idli rice in combination with a fragrant variety such as Basmati/Krushna Kamod. In a hurry, regular raw, polished rice will work just fine too), see notes ( any measure is fine, as long as you use the same measuring vessel for both daal and rice ),
• 1 measure gota urad dal (skinned whole black lentils), ( if you cannot find Gota or whole skinless variety, use split, skinless variety ), see notes ( for a snack or a side accompaniment for 2 adults, using 1/2 measuring cup of Urad Daal and (1/2×3 = one and a half [1.5] measuring cups of rice will be more than enough ), ( you can use a small glass or cup from your kitchen too, just keep this approximate amount in mind while soaking to avoid accidentally making an unnecessarily large amount of batter ),
• 1 handful or 1/4th of a measuring cup of Poha/parched rice ( completely optional, feel free to skip this if you live in a warm place), soaked for 10 minutes, see notes,
• 2 tbsp ( or more, if you live in a cold place ) sour curd, ( by sour, I mean curd with active culture. The Greek varieties are creamy and thick but they often don’t kickstart or aid fermentation, so use one with live culture ),
• 1/4th tsp of asafoetida/hing,
• 1 tsp of sugar, ( no, it won’t make your Idadaa / Dhokla taste sweet. Believe us, it won’t. But skip if you absolutely insist. )
• salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp ( or to taste) ginger green chilli paste,
• 2 tbsp, + more as needed, of Peanut oil, ( 2 tbsp to mix into the batter, and more as needed to grease the steamer plates + to serve and temper ( tempering is optional )),
• Freshly cracked or ground, pepper, to sprinkle before steaming ( optional ),
• Gujarati pickle spice mix | Methiya Masalo ( a Gujarati spice mix made of split mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, salt, asafoetida and red chillies, if you cannot find it, you can replace it with plain medium to mildly hot red chilli powder) to sprinkle before steaming ( optional, but recommended),
• Toasted sesame seeds, to sprinkle before steaming, ( optional),
• Finely chopped coriander leaves, to garnish ( optional).

Notes:

1. Typically, Gujarati Dhokla are made using Kanki, tiny broken bits of rice, left over after winnowing and sifting the husked and polished rice. In olden days, the broken bits of a fragrant variety of rice like Krushna Kamod or Basmati, were utilised to make these, or turn it into an Idadaa flour for longer shelf life ( more about the flour in point below ). It used up broken and aesthetically not so pleasing bits into delicious and nutritious food. You can use any variety of rice for this. You can use raw rice / polished rice or parboiled rice, if you are soaking Daal and rice to make the batter. If you are making flour for Idadaa, to store for later use, preferably use raw rice for longer shelf life instead of parboiled rice. If you want the aroma of store bought Idadaa flour, in every 1 measuring cup of rice you use, take out & replace 1/4th measuring cup from it with a fragrant variety like basmati and use.
2. Gota Urad Daal is whole bean of Urad but with its skin removed. In my observation , using Gota Urad results in better fermentation than when one uses split Urad Daal with its skin removed. But, overall, both work, so use whatever you have at hand. But do try Gota Urad sometime, if you can find it in your local store.
3. The purpose of Poha is to provide simple, easily broken down sugar to feed the bacteria that enable fermentation. It is especially useful in cold climates, when batters take longer to ferment. Just a small handful is enough, once the fermentation starts happening properly, the carbohydrates from rice will sustain it. And in hot weather, you can easily skip it. But if you are facing trouble with fermentation, try adding a handful of poha. It also lends extra softness to the Idadaa.
4. Idadaa flour: Some homes also keep a stash of Idada flour which is nothing but lightly toasted ingredients ( rice and daal / millets as per the variants described earlier mentioned above, that are ground to a slight coarsely flour at their favourite flour mill | ઘંટી and used as needed. Some flour mills and Kirana stores also sell the flour pre-ground and packaged. This is an extremely convenient option if you live in Gujarat. For more details, please check out the section on Idadaa Flour that I have added at the very end of the blog post. It will most certainly be helpful.
5. Using baking soda/Fruit salt (Eno): While the traditional Dhokla are always made from overnight fermented batter, under unusual circumstances, it is completely okay to add half a tsp or so of Eno/baking soda to the batter. Preferably only use it only if regular fermentation doesn’t happen due to cold weather or you want to make it in a hurry for unexpected guests. It is completely okay to use it once in a while, but naturally fermented batter is always more nutritious and flavourful. Used sparingly in small amounts, baking soda and Eno are not harmful to health. Add baking soda / Eno to the portion of the batter you are steaming just before you pour it into the steamer plate. Mix the batter well. Do not let the mixed batter sit/rest for a lot of time after you have mixed the soda or else the bubbles will escape and the Idadaa will fall flat. So add it just before steaming and only to the portion you intend to steam immediately.
6. You can also use other grains in place of rice. They are not traditional varieties but you can be creative. I have used brown rice and millets instead of rice so far. For that, you can either replace all of the rice OR use 1 part rice + 2 part brown rice/ millet/quinoa. Using all whole grains will lead to a more dense texture of dhokla so it is best not to replace all of rice with unpolished whole grain, keep a small amount of polished rice in the batter for softness. You can also make a version suitable for consumption while fasting using Amaranth flour ( Rajgira Atta ) or other suitable/allowed flours. You might not be able to use Urad Daal for fasting versions, so you will need to add cooking soda/Eno as mentioned above. Even grains like Ragi can be used after soaking.

Method:

1. Soak the Urad Daal + methi in a vessel and the rice in another for at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Drain all the water from the daal + fenugreek/methi. Grind in the wet grinder or the grinding attachment of your food processor about 1/2 cup at a time. Do not crowd the grinder jar with all the daal at once. Initially, do not add any water. Once it is coarsely ground add a couple of tbsp of water at a time and grind till its a smooth and fluffy paste. Tip: To check if the Urad Daal is ground properly, drop a small amount of ground daal into a bowl of water, if it sinks, it is not enough light/fluffy, you need to add a tiny amount of water and grind more. You can utilise your wet grinder to do this too.
3. Transfer into a deep vessel.
4. In the same grinder jar, add rice 1 cup at a time, and grind in the same way as daal. If you are using poha, grind it now along with the rice. You do not need to rinse the jar. Any daal that sticks to the walls of the jar will be mixed with the rice and that is fine since we are going to mix them later anyway. Do not add too much of water else the batter will be too watery. A bit of grainy texture to the rice is completely fine. The Idadaa flour from the mill is a little coarse too.
5. Transfer this to the vessel containing the ground urad dal.
6. Once everything is ground, add curd, asafoetida(hing), sugar, and mix well with clean hands or a spoon. The urad dal will tend to settle down at the bottom of the vessel, so mix really well.
7. Cover with a lid and leave it in a warm place for about 12 hours or overnight to ferment. In cold climates, it might take up slightly longer.
8. Once it has fermented well, you can see small bubbles under the surface, even if it hasn’t doubled in size, it is fine, add salt and ginger chilli paste.
9. If you plan to use later, do not mix the salt but store refrigerated in an airtight container for later use. When you intend to make Idadaa, take the necessary quantity of batter in a vessel from the refrigerated container, put the rest of it back into the refrigerator immediately and let the amount of batter you intend to use, stand on the counter for a short while or so till it comes to room temperature. Add salt and 2 tbsp of oil just before using. If you want to add Eno/baking soda, you can it at this step. I usually don’t, especially if my batter has fermented decently.
10. If you are planning to serve it guests later, your can safely store the batter ( without adding the oil, salt and the baking soda ) in the refrigerator section ( not freezer ) for a day. I have not tried to store it longer, so cannot comment if you can store it for longer. But it will behave the same way as idli dosa batter, getting more sour on storage. Add salt, oil and baking soda just before you intend to steam.

Steaming the Dhoklas :

1. There is a special apparatus/ plates available for steaming all kinds of Dhoklas. If you don’t have it, do not worry, you can steam it in a regular steel thali, with rims/sides that are 1 inch or more, basically a deep dish/thali. Heat a large pot, large enough to hold the thali you intend to use and 1-2 inches of water, not touching the bottom of the thali. Use this setup to steam. The Dhokla steamer lets you steam 2 thalis at a time, that’s all, no other advantage.
2. Oil the thalis/steamer plates and spoon the prepared batter filling, to about 1 cm thickness. Thinner the better, thinner is fine. Idadaa/Khatta Dhokla are spread thinner than Khaman. Also, the thicker the layer of batter, the more time it will take to steam and get cooked thoroughly.
3. Tap gently settling the batter evenly.
4. Sprinkle some sesame seeds ( popular but optional ) or freshly cracked pepper or some red Chilli powder or Gujarati methiya masalo ( use either pepper or chilli powder or spice mix but not all together , it will be too spicy) on top all over. I sometimes make a tempering of sesame seeds and mustard seeds in oil and pour it over the thalis after steaming. It makes Idadaa really soft.
5. Once the water is steaming, gently lower the plate/plates into the pan, cover and let them steam for about 8-10 mins.
6. Remove the plates from the pan and let it cool on the counter for another couple of mins. Once slightly cool, cut it into squares or rectangle using a knife or a spatula.
7. If you let it cool slightly, the squares will come out neat. If it is too hot, you might turn it into a mush. A good temperature range is not vigorously steaming ( like when you just brought it out if the steamer ) but still warm.
8. Sprinkle chopped coriander ( completely optional ) to garnish. Serve hot drizzled with peanut oil, or drizzled with the tempering mentioned in step 4, or with a chutney or condiment of your choice. A classic summer accompaniment is Aamras ( fresh, ripe mango pulp ). Scoop Aamras with Idadaa! 💕

How to Make Idadaa Flour for Idada at home and how to use it:

1. Idadaa flour is not the same as Idadaa premixes. The premixes are instant and therefore they contain baking soda by default. Flour is just flour of the ingredients. Source it from a reliable place to ensure the freshness of the flour. To make your own Idadaa flour, lightly toast the rice and the Urad Daal as mentioned in the ingredients. Keep the proportions same as above – 1 part Urad and 3 parts Rice. You don’t need to brown them, just lightly roast to remove moisture. Then you can grind it at home and store. Leave it slightly grainy, do not grind it into a very fine powder basically. Or if you are scaling up with large quantities of Daal and Rice, say a few kilos of the mix, then get it milled at a local flour mill. It is common practice for traditional households to do so several kilos at a time. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place. It will stay good atleast for several months if not longer.
2. If you are using the Idadaa flour I mentioned above, take 2 measuring cups of flour ( around 300-350 gms in weight ). Add 2 or more tablespoons of sour curd ( depending on the weather), 1/2 tsp of asafoetida and 1 tsp of sugar. Then add lukewarm water, little by little, and make a thick batter of dropping consistency. Keep the batter thick now because it will loosen up a bit on fermentation. If not, you can always adjust it with more water before steaming. Then follow the rest of the steps from step 7 onwards of the method section mentioned below. Even the steaming process remains the same.

Sev Tameta nu Shaak!

Sev Tameta nu Shaak ( Sev added to a cooked gravy of tomatoes, a dab of jaggery and a few basic spices ) for the evening when you lose track of time panicking about something and realise that you are “cannot-afford-to-spend-more-than-10-minutes-on-fixing-dinner” kind of desperately hungry! Sev Tameta nu Shaak is quite popular in Gujarati, specifically Kathiyawadi, restaurants. Tangy, garlicky curry of 🍅, trailing ruby red oil with crispy Sev added to it makes for a beautiful sensory experience when eaten out doors, sitting on a ખાટલો | charpoy, on a chilly winters nights with fresh off the stove રોટલા | hand crafted millet rotis smeared with ghee. Bite into a fried green chilli ( mild ) or a hand smashed onion on the side, and all five senses feel an indescribable bliss. But the origins of the curry remain a classic “chicken or egg” conundrum to me. Whether it was a quick-witted and impromptu invention by a quick thinking lady of the house on a day when the guests arrived unannounced and then it made its way to restaurant menus because of the popularity. Or if it made a bold, sensational entry in home kitchens at the demands of clamouring kids and husband who wanted to eat out, I cannot say. All I can say is that the combination is 🔥!

Ghee Gaud / Ghee Gol – and some happy memories of a Gujarati childhood!

ઘી ગોળ | Ghee Gol or Ghee Gaud is Jaggery mashed with Ghee until smooth, shiny and silky. Since the last time I shared it in one of my meals, it has had quite a few requests. So I decided to get it up on the blog asap.
If I were to be absolutely candid, I am a tad bit hesitant and awkward as I type this. Because never in my mind ( or in any true blue Gujarati’s mind ) does it occur that Ghee Gol needs a separate post. It is like making instant noodles , it is easier than making instant noodles. It is a no brainer that it is more wholesome than instant noodles / ramen bowls. But for us Gujarati kids, ( ‘kids’ part is purely metaphorical, I am old 🤣) , it is more close to our hearts than one can imagine because it is one of those very very early solid foods we eat. Mostly used variety is the Desi variety, deep brown to amber in colour. But sometimes the light, honey coloured beauty called Kolhapuri jaggery / Chikki wala Gud would appear too. Once our milk teeth sprout, our primary introduction to sweetness other than fruits is jaggery. As we grew older, it became our energy / granola bar when rolled into a fulka/chapati/rotlo leftover from lunch, just before we skip out of our homes to play. After that, Ghee Gol blends into the cacophony of adulthood. Never quite disappearing out of our diets, but never do our minds acknowledge it. It makes guest appearances at Uttarayan in Chikkis or in Golpapdi when we are traveling. It doesn’t matter if the travel is 2 days long or 20. Most Gujaratis have a dabba of Golpapdi stashed somewhere. We exhibit our Theplas in full glory but hoard our Golpapdi surreptitiously, rationing the supplies to make it last longer! And then when we grow older, we indulge in nostalgia like I am doing. I could go on without making any more sense so I will stop. There is a richness in jaggery’s sweetness that makes one feel warm, fuzzy & cosy. The recipe starts & ends in the name itself. But then I felt may be, it is uncharted waters for people who are unfamiliar with Gujarati food. So here it is. Adding the process below.

The image is from my own instagram account and can be found here

Vatana Muthiya nu Shaak!

Hello you lovely, lovely folks! Hope you are doing well. If it is summer in your part of the world, I hope you are staying in shade as much as you can and staying adequately hydrated. Bengaluru weather is behaving like a petulant teenager who has been denied parental permission to attend a likely-to-get-wild party. There have been sporadic showers when it is feeling particularly rebellious, but it still hasn’t completely overthrown the cruel yoke of summer and the restrictions that this heat puts on opportunities of outdoor activities. It is a lovely mid-week holiday that we are enjoying today as I type this. I wanted to cook something nice today, but just nice enough to not make me feel like it is a crazy weekday. So, instead of making Sheer Khurma, which is what I had thought I will make, a few days ago, I settled for Vatana Muthiya nu Shaak with the usual Fulkas and Kachumbar which means less effort and enough fun to make me feel like I didn’t throw away an opportunity to cook something new. Okay, as usual this is spiralling into a monologue and I know you came here for the real food and not food for thought, but please don’t mind the girl while she says a bit more, will you? This is the reason I don’t hop onto WordPress to share everything I cook.

Tuver Lilva na Ghughra |Kachoris – Of Pigeon Peas and winters at home!

Where I come from, the Southern Part of Gujarat, Winters definitely mean a bounty of bounty of fresh vegetables. And while there are a lot of vegetables at their prime in winters, one of the most celebrated ones in Southern Gujarat is Tuver | Pigeon Peas | Tender beans from which Arhar ki Daal is made on de-husking and drying. The way Northern India celebrated Peas with Nimona and a zillion other things, we celebrate Tuver Lilva with Ghughras | Kachoris and so many myriad ways. They are slightly more cumbersome to shell than peas unfortunately and today, I still look back my memories in wonder when I remember the mounds and mounds of Tuver my mother, my grandmother and all women of Southern Gujarat demolished through in winters. I am still spoiled, although I do get Tuver in Bengaluru, it is not the same texture/tenderness as the one in Gujarat. The Gujarati Tuver is harvested at a much tender stage, has a tinier, softer bean and is not spotted. So, the way all moms spoil their offsprings, my mom still accumulates a small mound of shelled Tuver Lilva for me to carry back home, ( inspite of my numerous protests that I do get it in Bengaluru, ) every time I go home in winters! ❤ If you are reading this mom, my protests are usually pretend play, I love the Tuver Lilva you give me. Its just that I hate to think of how much time and effort it must has taken you to shell the not-so-small mound! Love you, Mummy!

Ringan Shakkariya nu Shaak!

I woke up craving for something very Wintery, slightly oily today. And so I made this Brinjal Sweet potato curry which is made almost always at our Weddings, especially the winter ones. Called રસોઇયાનું રીંગણ-શક્કરિયાંનું રસાવાળુ શાક which when loosely translated means a Brinjal-Sweet Potato (with their skins on, not peeled) Curry made by Halwais/Cooks for the traditional wedding lunch feast, at our Southern Gujarat based Anavil Brahmin weddings. Served on બાજ/પતરાળા । plates and bowls made by sewing together several leaves ( usually leaves of Shaal trees, a tree of special significance in Hinduism ), this curry has a ruby red oil pooling around fat chunks of Sweet Potatoes & Brinjals mashed to make a smooth gravy. It is very uniquely seasoned too, with a hint of jaggery which gives the curry a unique dimension without making it sweet at all. Usually served with Gujarati Daal and Rice, I chose a lighter Khichdi today to go with it. Like everywhere else, Khichdi is not something consumed at auspicious events like weddings but hey, sometimes the stomach craves what it craves! 😬After the Diwali indulgence I don’t have the heart to extend my menu, but at the wedding feast, the platter will also have કેળા મેથીના ભજીયાં | Fritters made with Banana and Methi leaves mixed into Gram Flour or વાટી દાળના ખમણ | Surti Vaati daal na Khaman and લાપસી | a broken Wheat based Sweet made with ghee and jaggery. Sigh! It would have been bliss! 💕💕 But, I can definitely share the recipe here.

The image is from my own instagram account and can be found here

Theplas | Gujarati whole wheat flatbreads – My Way!

To say that Theplas are a favourite snack in Gujarati homes would be an understatement they are a staple. They are so easy to carry along and such favourites that Gujaratis might probably forget their medication at home but not theplas. I probably don’t need to describe them in detail, but for those who are unacquainted with Indian cuisine, Theplas are flatbreads made from a dough consisting of finely chopped or shredded vegetables ( mostly greens like fenugreek or spinach ), whole wheat flour and spices.

Methi Theplas – The dough consists of Whole wheat +  Soya bean +  Jowar ( Sorghum ) + Bajra ( Pearl Millet ) Flours.