Once again back to my Rajasthani Marwari roots. Makka ke dhokle is a very famous winter food in Rajasthani Marwari community.
What is Dhokla?
Dhokla refers to steam cook food such as these cornmeal dumplings, Kaman dhokla, moong dal dhokla and rava dhokla, etc. In today’s health conscious society, steam cooking is a much healthier way of preparing food compared to other cooked meal options.
These are shaped as round bati (popular as dal-bati-churma) but they are very different in many ways. Cornmeal dumplings are made of corm meal vs. whole wheat flour in case of bati, which makes cornmeal dumplings gluten free. These dumplings are steamed vs baking, grilling or frying required in case ofbati. 
Cornmeal dumplings are usually served with either Urad-chana dal (Split black gram lentil soup) or Panchmel Dal (Five lentil soup), which makes this combination rich in protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates. The complex carbohydrates in cornmeal and lentils are broken down slowly therefore make you feel fuller for longer period of time. I have enhanced this recipe further by adding fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves and daikon / radish (mooli) to make it even more fiber rich. This is also a great way to add greens to the meal. Another accompaniment for this recipe is jaggery, which is known to generate heat in body. Hence, overall a great meal choice for winter times to enjoy while embracing the Rajasthani Marwari culture.
How to assemble your bite to eat this dish?
Traditional way to eat this recipe is to crush the cornmeal dumplings by hand and then pour urad or panchmel dal over the dhoklas. Then pour some ghee and finely chopped mixture of onion tomato and cilantro over it. Relish this finger licking mixture with jaggery after every few bites.
Ingredients:
- Cornmeal (Makkai ka aata) – 4 cup
- Fenugreek leaves (Meethi) – 2 cups fresh chopped
- Daikon / radish (Mooli) – 2 cups of grated
- Yogurt (Dahi) – 1/2 cup
- Oil – 3 to 4 tbsp
- Green chilli – 2 or 3 finely chopped
- Ginger – 1 tbsp grated
- Water – to knead (I used whey from strained yogurt)
- Spices
- Salt as per taste
- Red chili powder – 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
- Jeera – 1 tsp crushed
- Fennel seeds – 1 tbsp
- Black Peppercorns – ½ tsp crushed (not powder)
- Papad khar – 1/4 tsp or use 1/4 tsp soda
Papad khar (Alkaline Salt) is an essential ingredient for this recipe, but if you do not have it then you can use baking soda. There are different varieties of cornmeal available in the market. For this recipe, we will use the yellow fine grind cornmeal.
Method:
- Mix all ingredients and Knead the dough with water not too stiff and not too soft.
- Divide the dough into small balls and make a thumb impression.
- Steam for 15 minutes on a cooktop steamer or for 0 minutes in IP at high pressure setting with natural release. If you don’t have a steamer or IP, you can also use idli plates to steam the dumplings.
- Enjoy with Urad-Chana dal, chopped onions, green chutney and jaggery.
- 4 cup Cornmeal - fine grind Makkai ka aata
- 2 cup Fenugreek leaves Meethi - fresh chopped
- 2 cup Daikon / radish Mooli - grated
- 1/2 cup Yogurt Dahi
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 5 Green chilli 2 or 3 finely chopped
- 20 Ginger 1 tbsp grated
- Water To knead - I used whey from strained yogurt
- 1/8 tsp Salt As per taste
- 1 tsp Red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds Jeera - crushed
- 1 tbsp Fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns crushed, not powder
- 1/4 tsp Papad khar or use 1/4 tsp soda
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Mix all ingredients and Knead the dough with water not too stiff and not too soft.
-
Divide the dough into small balls and make a thumb impression.
-
Steam for 15 minutes on a cooktop steamer or for 0 minutes in IP at high pressure setting with natural release. If you don’t have a steamer or IP, you can also use idli plates to steam the dumplings.
Enjoy with Urad-Chana dal, chopped onions, green chutney and jaggery.
If you are interested in other Rajasthani authentic food, then these other recipes or meal plans might also attract you:
I made these with Panchmel dal and they are so good! My first batch the dough was too soft–still good–but I’m looking forward to refining the technique.
One question, could these be baked after or instead of steaming to get a crust?
Thank you.
Repeating my comment because I forgot to give the 5 star rating in my last posting–this is delicious, and easy! With Panchmel dal, seriously awesome! A treat, yet clearly home-cooked comfort food.
Thank you!
Question–could this be baked after steaming or instead of it, to get a crust on the bati/dumplings?
Thank you again.
Thank you so much Angana for trying the recipe and giving me the feedback. These feedbacks are really really important to know what other think and if they are able to get it or do the recipes needs further improvement/modifications. I can’t tell how much more confident and charge I get to put more energy.
Regarding baking, actually I had tried that many times in past baking these and Makka ki roti but for reason Makka don’t get the right texture when you bake them. The main reason can think of is there is not enough fat in the dough to get that crispier texture. But if you want to try then you really need to add more fat in the dough. Hope this makes some sense.
Thank you once again for providing your feedback.
Happy Cooking
Rupali
I am so intrigued by this recipe! I can’t wait to try it. Thank you so much!
Thank you Marci!!! Waiting to hear your feedback/experience with the recipe.
Would I be able to use corn flour for this or does this alter the texture significantly? Loved trying your dal recipe, matri and many more! Keep them coming
Thanks Rupali!
Corn flour would be too fine for this recipe. If your corn flour is not too fine has some coarseness in it, you are good to go
Thank you for trying my recipes!
I have tried adding RAVA/Semolina (coarse) if I don’t have the coarse corn flour in home and it has worked the same, no changes with the water or other portions
Thanks for this recipe! It looks great. Can I use chopped spinach instead of fenugreek leaves?
Rated the recipe 🙂
Yes you can! Traditionally methi leaves haas been used but you can use spinach as well.
Thank you-Rupali
What I sub for mooli – not a big fan of radish!