Farali Dhokla (शिंगाड्याच्या पिठाचा ढोकळा )

Water Chestnut or Chinese waterchest nut commonly known as Shingada in marathi is native to Asia. The Water chestnut flour  (शिंगाड्याचे पीठ) is made from dried, ground water chestnuts. The nuts are boiled, peeled and then ground into flour. It is a good source of potassium and fibre. The flour is mainly used during fasting season of Chaturmaas (mainly in Shravan month)

Water Chestnut flour Steamed Cakes or Farali Dhokla is a good option for hunger pangs during fasting season. The batter of this Dhokla is easy to make – just measure the Water chestnut flour, mix it with sour buttermilk and let the batter soak overnight for fermentation. Green chilli paste and ginger paste are used as flavouring agents in this recipe. 

The recipe given here is of non-fermented batter that also makes this Farali Dhokla a good option for those suffering from acidity. This can be made by adding Eno Salt / Soda Bi-carb just before steaming. 
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Approx. Time: 30 minutes (excluding resting time)

Yield: 2 Servings

Ingredients:

1 cup Waterchestnut Flour (Shingada Peeth)

1 cup sour Buttermilk 

1 tspn Green Chillies Paste
1 tspn Ginger Paste
1 tspn Lemon juice
2 to 2 1/2 tspns Sugar (or as per taste)
1 tspn Ghee

1 tspn Eno Salt / Soda-Bi carb
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
1 tbspn Ghee 
1 tspn Cumin Seeds

For Garnishing:

Freshly Grated Coconut

Tempering

Method:

Take Waterchestnut Flour in a mixing bowl. Then add sour Buttermilk to make batter of pouring consistency. Ensure that there are no lumps in the batter. Rest the batter for an hour. 

After resting, add the Green chillies paste, Ginger paste, Sugar, lemon juice, Salt, Ghee and mix well. Simultaneously, heat Steaming cooker by adding adequate quantity of water at the bottom of the vessel. Place a greased aluminium plate in the Steaming cooker and keep it ready. 

Once the water in the Steamer boils and starts releasing steam, add a teaspoon of Eno Salt / Soda Bi-carb in the Dhokla batter and whisk by following a single direction only. Pour the batter into the plate. Steam it for approximately 20 minutes on medium flame. To check whether the Dhokla is ready or not, insert a knife into Dhokla. If it comes out clear, then it is done. Once done, allow it to cool and cut it into square pieces. 

To make tempering, heat Ghee in a pan. Add Cumin seeds into the hot Ghee and saute. Pour the tempering over the Farali Dhokla. Finally, garnish it with scrapped Coconut. Serve immediately with Coconut Chutney. 

Notes:

1. If you find that the Farali Dhokla has turned dry, then you may have to sprinkle some warm water on it.

2. A tablespoon of roasted Groundnut Powder may be added in the batter to give a nice nutty crunch to Farali Dhokla.

Stepwise Pictures: