8 Apr 2015

d h o k l a

Dhokla is by far my most favourite street food snack that I came across in India. It originates from the Indian state Gujarat, it's a spongy mildly tangy-sweet savoury cake made from fermented chickpea batter usually accompanied by green and tamarind chutney. There are a few different varieties, I fell in love with paneer dhokla, a sandwich dhokla layered with chutney and paneer. So amazing!!!




Ingredients

For Batter:

1.5 cups besan/gram flour
3 tsp ginger-green chilies paste, 1 inch ginger + 1 or 2 green chilies crushed in a mortar-pestle
2 to 3 pinches of turmeric powder
a generous pinch of baking soda
1 tsp salt or as required
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup of your choice of yogurt (I used plain Tamar Valley yogurt)
1/2 cup water or add as required- the amount of water required depends on the quality of gram flour, so add as required to make a thick yet flowing batter.

For Tempering:
1 tbsp coconut oil
⅓ cup water
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp lemon juice

For Garnish:
2 tbsp chopped coriander
2 tbsp grated coconut
Method
Preparing the Batter:
Whisk all the dry ingredients of the dhokla well. Add in the grated or paste ginger and chilli and mix.

In another bowl, whisk the yogurt, water to remove lumps and combine well.

Add the yogurt mix into the dry ingredients and mix/whisk to form a lump free flowy, not too watery, batter.

Add the pinch of baking soda into the dhokla batter when ready to steam, mix well.

Immediately pour the batter into a greased baking pan and steam it in any way you find comfortable.

As I didn't have a steamer I made a water bath and placed the dhokla pan inside and cooked in the oven for about 30 minutes or until a tooth pick from the centre came out clean.   

Use a knife loosen the edges, then cut the dhokla into squares or rectangles.

Tempering:
Heat oil in a small pan on medium heat.

When hot add the mustard seeds and wait for them to sputter.
In a bowl, mix the lemon juice, water and sugar and add this carefully to the pan.

Mix well and turn heat off. Pour this over evenly the cut dhokla.
Garnish with coconut and coriander. Serve, with sweet tamarind date chutney or green cilantro mint chutney or yoghurt.

Enjoy!!!

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7 Apr 2015

T o r a

Absolutely loving the acoustic/electronic sounds from Tora, an  Aussie indie band formed in Byron Bay, NSW. Check out the rest of their music on SoundCloud


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2 Apr 2015

w a n d e r l u s t i n g

I just got back from overseas and already can't help but want to plan my next trip. Here are my next top 5 destinations. 

1.) T U R K E Y

Cappadoccia via thestyleaddict 
Cappadoccia
Natural rock pools, Pamukkale, Turkey
Blue and Pink by Bernard l Hermite  Pammukale, Turkey
Blue Mosque, Istanbul

2.) C R O A T I A

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
via wildseduction
Krka Lakes National Park by Jan Dractz
Red Lake, Croatia

3.) S P A I N 


Combarro, Spain by J.A. Alcaide
via corners of the world
Menorca ,Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea
Waterfall From Urederra River
by Xavier Gallego Morell via sublim-ature
Cordoba, Spain by Zú Sánchez via illusionwanderer
Food...need I say more

4.)M O R O C C O  
via coastalresidence
Sahara Desert, Morocco
Ait Benhaddou, Morocco
Marrakech via freeromantics
Billabong Photo shoot
Billabong Photo shoot
Billabong Photo shoot

5.) C H I L E / A R G E N T I N A 

Marble Caverns of Carrera Lake, Chile
Marble Caverns of Carrera Lake, Chile
Carrera Lake, Chile
Atacama, Northern Chile 2011 via sapta
Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina
Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina
Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina
Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina

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