Dal Dhokli | Quinoa Stuffed Dal Dhokli

Quinoa Stuffed Dal Dhokli – Dal Dhokli is a simple, traditional Indian delicacy from the state of Gujarat.  Dal is Indian lentil soup, and Dhokli is dumplings made out of wheat flour.  These are cooked with nice aromatic spices together, and the texture resembles that of pasta.

It’s contest time again!  India’s Digital Chef, in association with India Gate Foods,  has yet another #IndiasDigitalHomeChef challenge#2, where one needs to submit a recipe suitable for Gym goers, using Quinoa or Brown rice.  My previous recipe of Quinoa Tawa Pulao was announced a winner for the #IndiasDigitalHomeChef Contest.

Gym goers need more protein, carbohydrates, and overall healthy food. And just because it’s healthy, it doesn’t mean it has to be bland.  Here is a twist to the Gujarati Delicacy – Dal Dhokli – where the Dhokli is stuffed with Quinoa, and the Dal Dhokli served with half a serving of brown rice and half a serving of Quinoa.  I have given it a nice aromatic tadka to add the extra flavor to the already flavorful Gujarati Dal

Dal Dhokli is typically eaten with white rice.  And the dhoklis are made of wheat flat bread – thepla, as it’s called in Gujarati, without any stuffing.  But serving it with quinoa and brown rice, and stuffing it with quinoa gives a slightly innovative twist to the traditional recipe, while enhancing the nutritional aspect of it.

Quinoa is rich in protein, and so is Dal.  And the Dhokli as well as the Dal are rich in carbohydrates, both of which are essential for the gym goers.  I took up yet another challenge, as part of my family is on a gluten-free diet, and so I also made half the Dhokli using Amaranth Flour and hence it is also gluten-free.

Dal Dhokli can be called an Indian version of pasta, of course with all the spices, flavors, and tadka. And this stuffed version can then easily be compared with Ravioli 🙂

This recipe is vegetarian, vegan,  dairy-free, with a gluten-free, wheat-free alternative listed.  So here goes the recipe:

Dal Dhokli Stuffed With Quinoa

Dal Dhokli is a simple, traditional Indian delicacy from the state of Gujarat.  Dal is Indian lentil soup, and Dhokli is dumplings made out of wheat flour.  These are cooked with nice aromatic spices together, and the texture resembles that of pasta. Here, I have given it a twist by making stuffed dhokli using quinoa and have served it with a side of quinoa and brown rice.

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Author: Sonal Solanki | Eat More Art

Ingredients

Ingredients for Dal:

• 1 cup Tuner dal (Pigeon peas)
• 2 Tomatoes, medium sized
• 4-5 Kokum, dried
• 4-5 Dates
• to taste Salt
• 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 3/4 teaspoon Garam masala
• 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon Red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon Oil
• 1 tablespoon Ghee (clarified butter) [For vegan version, use oil instead]
• 1 tablespoon Lemon juice, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon Mustard seeds
• 1-2 Dried red chilies
• 4-5 Curry leaves
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Asafetida
• 2-3 tablespoons Jaggery
• 1/4 cup Peanuts
• 1 teaspoon Coriander leaves
• 1 tablespoon Pomegranate seeds

Ingredients for Dhokli

• 3/4 cup Wheat flour / Amaranth (Rajgira) flour for gluten-free version
• 2 tablespoons Gram flour (besan) for wheat version. Skip this for the amaranth flour version
• 1/4 Boiled potato grated (use this only for amaranth flour version, skip it for wheat version)
• to taste Salt
• 1/3 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Red chili powder
• 1-2 tablespoon Yogurt (skip this for vegan version)
• 1/2 tablespoon Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 1/2 tablespoon Coriander leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon Ginger, grated
• Flour for dusting

Ingredients for Quinoa:

• 1 cup Quinoa
• to taste Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Oil
• 1 1/2 cup Water

Ingredients for Brown rice:

• 1 cup Brown rice
• to taste Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Oil
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups Water

Instructions

Recipe for Dal Dhokli:

• Soak dal for 15-20 minutes while you are doing the other preparations.
  
• Wash the soaked dal, add salt, turmeric powder, chopped tomatoes, 2 pieces of kokum, grated ginger, 1/2 tablespoon of ghee, about 3-4  cups of water the pressure cook for 6-7 whistles. Then turn off the heat.
• When it cools down a bit, remove the kokum and keep it aside. Blend the dal in a blender to a smooth puree.
• Heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil, add asafetida, mustard seeds at few seconds interval each. Add the dal. Add the kokum you had kept aside earlier plus 1-2 additional ones, jaggery, peanuts, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, garam masala, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low-medium.
• Add all the dhoklis prepared as per the recipe give below. Add lemon juice. Let it cook for about 25 minutes, stirring in between. Add more water if needed. The consistency of the dal in dal dhokli is slightly thicker.  But note that the addition of dhokli will also make dal thicker as it cools down.  Check if the dhoklis have been cooked properly. If cooked, turn off the heat. Serve Dal dhokli in a serving bowl.
• This step is optional.  Prepare the tadka by heating half a tablespoon of oil and ghee (or just oil for vegan version). Add asafetida, 1/2 teaspoon mustard sees, curry leaves, dried red chilies. Once these splutter, turn off the heat and add 1/4 teaspoon of red chili powder. Mix and pour the tadka over dal dhokli. Garnish it with coriander leaves and pomegranate seeds.
  
  Serve it with a side of Quinoa and Brown rice.
  

Steps to make Dhokli:

• Take wheat flour or amaranth flour depending upon whether you are preparing the wheat version or the gluten-free version. I prepared both.
  
• Add all the ingredients listed under dhokli, except for water. For wheat version, add gram flour, for amaranth flour version use boiled, grated potato. Mix well.
• Knead into a semi-soft dough using only as much water as needed. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
• For the wheat version, form into little larger than golf ball sized balls. Dust into flour and roll it thin. Repeat one more time. Dust flour on one of the rolled bread, lay another one on top of it. Gently cut it into squares.
• Separate the squares. Fill the squares with little bit of quinoa prepared per the recipe below, by putting it in the middle. Top it with another square. Gently seal the edges first with hand and then using the back side of a fork, kind of like ravioli. Keep it aside. Repeat.  I used half the dough to prepare non-stuffed, regular dhoklis.
• For the amaranth flour version, it is bit hard to roll and keep it intact. Hence i made tiny balls and rolled each one separately, cut into squares and then followed the above procedure of sealing.  
• In order to ensure that the stuffed dhoklis get well cooked, heat  a pan on medium, add a few drops of oil and put the prepared dhoklis, cooking a little bit on each sides. That way when these are dunked in boiling dal, the cooking process is quicker and easier. Given that the stuffed dhokli will have two layers and would be thicker, this step shouldn't be skipped. You do not need to do this step for the non-stuffed dhokli.

Recipe for Quinoa:

• Wash quinoa wellto remove bitterness.  Boil it.  I used Instant Pot to boil quinoa. You may use IP, pressure cooker, or even a simple pan to do so.  Brush a few drops of oil in Instant pot. Add 1 cup washed quinoa and 1 1/2 cups of water, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of oil.
  
  Close the lid and cook for 10 minutes in 'manual' mode on IP. It will take 10 minutes to boil, and few additional minutes for the IP to heat as well as to release pressure later.
  
  

Recipe for Brown rice:

• Soak rice for about half an hour. Wash it after soaking.Heat about 4 cups of water, bring it to a boil, add the soaked rice, salt, oil. Let it boil until the rice is cooked. Drain excess water, if any.  Rice is ready.

Notes

• Dhokli is generally made quite plain with wheat flour and basic spices like salt, chili powder, turmeric powder and water. Here I have added some kasuri methi, yogurt, grated ginger, coriander leaves etc. to jazz it up 🙂 Feel free to skip the add-ons.  You can also use fresh chopped fenugreek leaves, instead of dried ones.  
• I made 2 batches - one regular with wheat flour and one gluten-free with Rajgira flour.   Personally, I liked the tase of wheat flour one better as that is what we are used to eating.  But if you want a healthier version, go for the gluten-free version.
• I also made half the dhokli stuffed as an added twist, and the remaining half non-stuffed/plain.  Again, the plain one is my personal favorite, but to jazz up a delicacy, try out the stuffed version.

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Enjoy 🙂

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF QUINOA?

Quinoa a high-energy, relatively low-calorie food. It’s also a great recovery food because it contains both carbs and protein. Hence, it is perfect for gym goers. There are many many health benefits of quinoa.  A few are listed below.

Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids.And hence, it is referred to as a complete protein.  It has both more and better protein than most grains.  It is high in protein compared to most plant foods.
Quinoa a Low Glycemic Index Which is Good for Blood Sugar Control.
Quinoa is high in Important Minerals Like Iron and Magnesium, potassium and zinc.On a side note, it also contains a substance called phytic acid, which can bind these minerals and reduce their absorption.  However, by soaking and/or sprouting the quinoa prior to cooking, you can reduce the phytic acid content and make these minerals more bioavailable.
It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants.

The above benefits have been cited from this source and more information can be found at this link.