Dhal dhokri
This is a family favourite—it makes a lovely cold weather meal. There is a bit of preparation involved but it’s not too difficult. When we have lots of people around it’s the food we like to make because you can make lots of it fairly quickly and it’s great for sharing!
You should be able to get all of the ingredients from most Indian shops. The toor dhal is naturally ‘oily’ and you just need to rinse it in warm water.
I’ve included lots of photos to help you make this dish but if you do get stuck just contact. Details are below.
1 cup yellow split toor dhal (piegon peas) wash in warm water to remove some of the oil and cook in a pressure cooker or cook until very soft in a pan with lots of water. Plus 1 tsp salt. Don’t discard the water once the peas have cooked, so it’s okay to use lots and lots of water.
1 cup gram flour
2 tbsp optional flour (like buckwheat, spelt, soya) this helps bind the dough
1 tbsp olive oil
Rub the flour and oil together. Next add the following.
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp turmeric
1 tbsp carom (ajwain)
1 tsp whole cumin
1 tsp ground black pepper
Handful of finely chopped fresh coriander
Mix well and make into a dough by adding small amounts of water gradually. You should be able to roll the dough—that’s the consistency you’re looking for. Make three balls and leave to rest for a while.
While the dough is resting you can make the dhal.
Tomato sauce
1 cup of chopped liquidised tomatoes (tinned tomatoes are fine)
¼ tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
1 green chilly optional
Add some oil to a pan and heat it. Then add some mustard seeds. Add the tomato sauce you’ve prepared to the oil and mustard seeds. Then add the cooked yellow piegon peas together with the water they were cooked in. Cook the dhal on a low heat.
While the dhal is cooking roll the ball into a flat circle until it is about 3mm thick and then cut into small 4cm squares roughly and set aside. Roll the other two balls and cut into squares (dhokri) in the same way as before.
Now add the cut squares to the cooking dhal and let it come to a gentle boil.
Stir gently to stop the ingredients sticking together occasionally. The squares should be cooked once the dhal begins to boil and it should start to thicken. Taste it and if needed add salt. Also add some lemon juice to make it slightly sour. That’s it your dhal dhokri is ready to eat—enjoy!
You can keep it in the fridge for several days.
You don’t really need anything else with this meal—so put your feet up and enjoy a nice big bowl of this amazing food with family and friends!
