Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Khaman Dhokla
Cloud-light steamed chickpea-flour cakes, tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves, Gujarat’s teatime signature.
Indian (Gujarati) · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 20 min
~355 cal · 13g protein · 43g carbs · 15g fat · 7g fiber · 13g sugars · 2g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Khaman dhokla is Gujarat's famous steamed savory cake, a batter of ground chickpeas (or ) leavened and steamed into a light, spongy, golden square, then tempered with mustard seeds, , green chili, and a sprinkle of sugar. Soft, tangy, and subtly sweet, it is a beloved snack and breakfast.
Gujarat's cuisine is largely vegetarian and fond of a sweet-savory balance, and dhokla shows both. Getting the batter to steam into a fluffy, airy cake with the characteristic honeycomb texture is the mark of a skilled cook, and the sizzling tempering poured over the top adds aroma and shine.
Served with green chutney and eaten as a snack, breakfast, or light meal across Gujarat, dhokla is protein-rich and light.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups chickpea flour (besan)
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp, divided sugar
1 tbsp ginger and green chili paste
1.5 tsp fruit salt (Eno) or baking soda
1/2 tsp turmeric
1.5 tsp black mustard seeds
2 sprigs (tempering)
2 green chilies, slit (tempering)
3 tbsp
a handful cilantro, to finish
a handful fresh coconut (optional), to finish
Instructions
1
Whisk the besan, turmeric, half the sugar, ginger-chili paste, salt, 1 tbsp oil, and water into a thick, ribbony batter.
2
Get your steamer boiling before you start. Stir the Eno (fruit salt) into the batter and, as it foams up, pour it immediately into a greased pan.
✎ Chef’s note
The Eno reacts instantly, so the steamer must be ready and hot. Fold it in gently and get the batter steaming at once, before the foam collapses, for a light, spongy dhokla.
3
Steam 15 minutes, until a knife comes out clean, then rest 5 minutes and cut into squares.
4
Make the tempering: crackle mustard seeds, curry leaves, and chilies in the remaining oil, add 1/2 cup water and the rest of the sugar, and boil 1 minute.
5
Spoon the sweet tempering over the squares to keep them moist.
6
Shower with cilantro and coconut, and serve with green chutney and hot chai.
Gujarati farsan tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Gujarat. The state is not uniformly vegetarian, whatever the reputation says. Parsi, Dawoodi Bohra, Koli and Memon kitchens all cook fish, meat or eggs, and the coastline is long. What is consistent is the balance being aimed at, with jaggery going into dals and shaaks so that sweet sits against salt and sour in one mouthful.
🗺️
India. A grain line runs across the country, rice through the south and east, wheat rotis through the north and west, and the cooking fat shifts with it: coconut oil and curry leaves in the south, mustard oil in the east, ghee and dairy-thickened gravies in the north. Chilli is a relative newcomer to all of them, carried in by Portuguese traders in the sixteenth century.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from India
Punjabi Chole (Chickpea Masala)Chickpeas simmered dark and tangy with tea-infused water, ginger, and a toasted spice blend.
Kerala Ishtu (Coconut Vegetable Stew)A gentle, fragrant stew of potatoes and vegetables in coconut milk with ginger, green chili, and curry leaves.
Pav BhajiMumbai’s beach-stall classic: a buttery mashed vegetable curry with toasted buns, lime, and raw onion.
Browse all India recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer, Whisk.
Storing it: Keeps 2 to 3 days refrigerated. Resteam or warm through gently to serve.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Khaman Dhokla?
Cloud-light steamed chickpea-flour cakes, tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves, Gujarat’s teatime signature.
Where does Khaman Dhokla come from?
Khaman Dhokla is a Indian (Gujarati) dish from Gujarat, India.
Can Khaman Dhokla be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Khaman Dhokla recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Khaman Dhokla safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Khaman Dhokla take to make?
About 35 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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