Brown Rice Dhokla

5 from 4 votes

A vegan recipe for brown rice dhokla, steamed, spongy, deliciously savory blocks made of lentils and brown rice.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Minimum soaking and fermentation time10

Total Time10 45

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: Brown Rice Dhokla, spongy, steamed lentil rice cakes

Servings: servings

Calories: 241kcal

1 cup brown rice
1 cup white rice
¾ cup urad dal
¼ cup chana dal
4-5 green chili peppers (minced)
12 oz silken tofu
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon Eno Fruit Salt (you can find this at any Indian grocery store-- it's primarily meant to fight indigestion)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
2-3 teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ cup cilantro (finely chopped)
¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
cayenne (a pinch, to sprinkle on the dhokla, optional)

Soak the rice and the dals together for about 8 hours or overnight.
Drain, then blend with some water to make a rather smooth paste. You will need a fairly powerful blender for this, like a Vitamix or one of those hardy Indian blenders. I just put it into my dosa grinder which does a great job.
Add the tofu and lemon juice and salt and blend a little more until everything's nicely mixed.
Set aside for 2-6 hours to ferment. I would recommend two hours if you don't want your dhokla sour-- Desi and I prefer it that way.
Grease a baking dish or any dish with sides at least 2-3 inches high. Heat about 1 inch water in a pan that the dish will fit into and let it come to a boil.
Pour the batter about 1 inch deep in the greased dish. Now add the Eno Fruit Salt and stir gently, in a single direction, until just mixed. You will start to see the dough bubble and fluff up right before your eyes.
Carefully place the pan inside the boiling water, reduce to a simmer, and sprinkle some cayenne on top. Cover the pan with a snug lid, and let the dhokla steam at least 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove, allow it to cool a little, and then cut into squares.
Heat the oil and sputter the mustard seeds. Pour over the dhokla pieces. Sprinkle the coriander and coconut on top.

The total includes eight hours of soaking and a minimum of two hours of fermentation. With six hours of fermentation, allow 14 hours 45 minutes overall. Fermentation time varies with room temperature.