Ragi Grain Dhokla with Taproot Vegetables/Savoury Steamed Finger Millet Cake with Taproot Vegetables

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are several types of root vegetables. According to wikipedia, “Botany distinguishes true roots such as tuberous roots and taproots from non-roots such as tubers, rhizomes, corms, and bulbs, though some contain both taproot and hypocotyl tissue, making it difficult to tell some types apart.”

Taproot vegetables include parsnip, daikon (horseradish), celeriac, carrot, beet and turnip. Today’s story involves the last three which are currently in season.

I wanted to experiment with ragi dhokla. The internet research that I did showed me recipes for instant dhokla made of ragi flour. I decided to go down the conventional route of soaking, grinding and fermenting.

Am happy to say that the experiment worked. Unlike conventional dhoklas which are light, fluffy and porous, these are slightly dense and have more moisture.

addition of seasonal vegetables makes this a balanced meal

Ingredients

1/2 Cup split chickpeas (chana dal)

1/2 Cup whole ragi

2 Tablespoons brown rice

2 Tablespoons ragi flour*

1 Carrot

2 – 3 Radish (depends on the size)

2 Turnips

1 Teaspoon turmeric

1 Tablespoon minced green chillies and ginger

Salt to taste

Oil for greasing and drizzling

Method

1. We first need to work on the batter.
2. Wash the split chickpeas, ragi grains and rice.
3. Soak these in water for 8 to 10 hours.
4. Once the soaking time is up, grind the cereal and rice to a smooth paste. The consistency should be neither too runny nor too stiff.
5. Now cover and leave the batter in a cool, dark place to ferment. Fermentation time will depend on the climate. If it is very hot, this can happen in a matter of 4 to 5 hours. If it is colder (as it is right now), allow 36 hours (this is what I did).
6. When you are ready to cook the dhokla, prepare the vegetables. Wash and finely grate the carrot, turnip and radish.
7. Take the fermented batter, add salt, turmeric and green chilly-ginger paste.
8. Stir well and add the grated vegetables. Once again, mix well.
9. Grease a cake tin (or equivalent) and pour the batter in it.
10. Place this in a steamer with a tight lid and steam the dhokla for 1 hour. Check after an hour; if not cooked, steam for half hour more.
11. Once cooked, take out of the steamer, drizzle some oil and let the dhokla rest for a few minutes before cutting in diamond shape.
12. Serve with some green chutney.

Note:

1. I found my batter to be a bit too runny so I added some ragi flour. It is optional and only needed to thicken the batter before fermenting.
2. Adjust the quantity of vegetables depending on size.
3. You can use any other vegetable such as horseradish, pumpkin, gourd or even beetroot.
4. Ragi dhokla take longer to cook compared to traditional dhokla.

This is how the batter looks once it is fermented. It rises and turns porus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ragi grains are tiny and so you may not be able to grind them all (red specks you can see from the photo below). This is perfectly okay and nothing to worry about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related articles

• Health Benefits of Ragi (medindia.net)
• Dig deep for rich and savory fare from root vegetables (triblive.com)
• Identifying and Preparing Plants You Can Eat (patriotnetdaily.com)