Mar

12

Down memory lane … with Daal Dhokli

March 12, 2007 |

daldhokli1.jpg

Memories are like leftovers….stored, as Thomas Fuller said, in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart.

There’s a little corner of the blogosphere where I revisit all those smells, tastes, and sounds of my childhood that I picked up, stored away, and almost forgot about.

It’s a place with beautiful recipes, music, and a person who makes you feel like part of her family as she recounts daily events in her kitchen and her life in Newfoundland, Canada.

She’s creative, funny, and very generous. She knows that her corner of the worldwideweb is very special to me, but it’s about time I told her why.

I grew up in Bombay (Mumbai), surrounded by Gujarati neighbours, friends and restaurants. I would never refuse a treat of dhoklas or fafdas from Parul aunty next door, though I had just eaten dinner.

My mom was an honorary Gujju. Born and brought up in Kerala, she loved Gujarati food, and could converse in the language. Handvo and mohanthal were her favourites. Unfortunately, her hand-written recipes were destroyed by water damage, and she’s not around to write them again. So I haven’t had them for a long time - 15 years, to be precise - and had almost forgotten about them.

We live in a corner of the U.S. where good Indian food from any region is hard to come by. J adores Gujarati food, but his exposure to it has been mostly through the odd visit to a restaurant, or the farsan you get in every street corner in Bombay, or Gujju shops in the U.S.

When we visit my city of birth, we make it a point to have a Gujarati thali together. The last time he went to India by himself on a whirlwind trip, he made the time to visit Chetna at Kala Ghoda for lunch.

Trupti’s Daal Dhokli was a dish from my childhood I had almost forgotten about. It is something you’d find regularly in Gujarati homes, rarely in a restaurant. After reading her post, it became an obsession. A reaction similar to Linda’s, when she came across Indira’s Amma Muddas:

“From the moment I laid eyes on it, I wanted to recreate that little ball of dal and rice. Correct that - I didn’t just want it - I yearned for it!”

I yearned for it, prepared it, and enjoyed every bite. Thirty minutes in the kitchen, and my house was enveloped in a familiar aroma that took me back in a time machine.

In A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman says:

Smells detonate softly in our memory like poignant land mines hidden under the weedy mass of years. Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth.

J, who was tasting it for the first time, was totally bowled over.

I come to The Spice Who Loved Me as an emotional voyeur and when I do attempt one of her recipes, it’s more than a dinner item. It brings alive in my mind special people and special places.

- B.

Original recipe here.
I’ve made two changes to the recipe. I’ve added a few pieces of kokum, and tandaljo (amaranth leaves) frozen and thawed, ‘cos that’s how I remember the daal dhokli I had growing up - with little green specks in it.

See Coffee’s delicious version with stuffed dhoklis.

Sending it to her for the March installment of Monthly Blog Patrol.

March 19, 2007: Just discovered another event for which this post may be an apt entry. Sending it to Ellie at Kitchen Wench for her This Nostalgia Tastes Bittersweet Event.

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EDITED TO ADD: (February 17, 2008)

Trupti’s blog is now private. We happened to have a copy of her Daal Dhokli recipe on our hard drive. Here it is, in her words:

Daal Dhokli
Here is what you need:

For the Dhokli: 1.5 cup wheat flour,
1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tbsp besan flour, a handful of chopped coriander leaves, salt and a pinch of sugar to taste.

For the Daal: 1.5 cups Tuver daal - cooked in the pressure cooker till soft.
1 large tomato, ginger-jalapeño- chopped, salt,turmeric, dhania-jeera powder, jaggery or brown sugar, coriander leaves. For the tempering, you will need, mustard seeds, dry red chilis, methi seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves,and cloves, some peanuts and oil.

Note: Daal-Dhokli tastes the best when made right before serving…around half an hour to 45 minutes before. Keeping it too long on the stove will result in a thick, gooey mess. (this is my experience talking)

Make the Dhokli dough: Mix the flours with the spices and the coriander leaves. Add Hot water and knead into a semi-stiff dough, almost similar to the one you make for Puris. Cover and set aside.

Cook the tuver daal until soft. In a deep pot, take some oil, add the mustard seeds, dry chili, methi seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves,peanuts and cloves. Now add the chopped tomato, jalapeño and ginger. Stir well. Add the daal and enough water for the dhoklis to cook in. Don’t make it too thick or too thin. Add the rest of the spices and let this come to a boil.
Meanwhile make the dhoklis by rolling out the dough, take a knife and cut out diamond shapes that are neither too thick or thin. Drop these dhoklis one by one into the daal. Cook unil soft.

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Mumbai’s best Gujarati Thalis

More childhood food memories here and here.

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19 Comments so far

  1. Indira on March 12, 2007 10:48 pm

    Dear Bee,

    I agree with your sentiments about Trupti. She is really a warm, genuine and generous soul.

    Believe it or not, one of the recipes I bookmarked to try from Trupti’s blog is this dhal dhokla. I am now even more confident that it will turn out good now that you’ve tried it.

    Beautiful picture!

  2. Anita on March 12, 2007 11:44 pm

    After reading your description I want to add this soon to my list of foods that evoke strong memories by association. For me it will be associated with you and Trupti. In these associations our families live on…
    Made great reading.

  3. Trupti on March 13, 2007 4:35 am

    You’re wonderful….thanks so much for this lovely post. you made my day.

    Hugs,trupti

  4. bee on March 13, 2007 5:10 am

    dear indira, great to see you here, my friend. welcome.

    dear anita, thanks. there are some recipes from your site i have bookmarked as well.

    you’re welcome, trupti. - bee

  5. Mishmash! on March 13, 2007 9:48 am

    Bee, I guess my page was not refreshed properly when i came here searching for ur new post, thats why I sribbled on ur previous post, sorry bt that. Very touching write up and a person like trupti deserves it.Also glad to learn about ur kerala connection :)

    Shn

  6. bee on March 13, 2007 10:18 am

    make a pilgrimage here daily, and you will be rewarded :-) bee

  7. Asha on March 13, 2007 12:20 pm

    WOW!! It’s you who loved T, not her spice!!;D

    Great write up and a great dish for that entry.I was going to make that dish too but change of plan now!:))

  8. Manisha on March 13, 2007 1:25 pm

    Trupti’s blog is full of gems!

    You have good kokum?! The dal dokhli I crave for also had kokum. It hails from Nadiad and was brought to the US by one Vimlaben whose first venture outside Nadiad was Hoboken, NJ.

  9. bee on March 13, 2007 2:28 pm

    you want some? i don’t know if it’s good, but i have some. - bee

  10. Sushma on March 13, 2007 3:48 pm

    They look so good..tempting as well as satisfying…loved reading your post…and I also love visting Asha’s and Trupti blog a lot…

    -Sushma

  11. Manisha on March 13, 2007 5:56 pm

    I think I am extra-picky as I am used to the good stuff from Goa. Another friend has offered me kudampuli. Right now it’s a challenge to find good kokum. If I don’t find any, I’ll let you know!

  12. Sig on March 13, 2007 7:05 pm

    What a touching post… Great writing, I love reading your blog… I do make a pilgrimage here daily:-)

  13. Anjali on March 13, 2007 8:11 pm

    Bee its the magic of the blogs bringing back sweet memories of city that we were born and bred. Me to grew up in a Gujurathi neighborhood and they are fabulous neighbors to have. Dal dhokli has a warmth for sure. The crumbled dal in your picture looks inviting.

  14. Linda on March 14, 2007 3:24 am

    Hi Bee, what a lovely tribute to your mother and to Trupti as well :) I think that’s very true - scent and taste of food is one of the biggest memory triggers - music is another. And I understand that “obsession” factor ;)

    Dal Dhokla is one dish I need to make time to try — your photo is very tempting this morning! Could have a taste for b’fast… thanks for sharing :)

  15. Latha on March 15, 2007 7:21 am

    Hi Bee,

    What a lovely post! First, the dal dhokli looks delicious! Indeed Trupti’s blog does make you feel very much at home with all those traditional gujju recipes!
    Very nice recount of the past, makes me feel closer to India!
    We love gujarati food too! Our favorites at home are Khandvi and Khaman. Of course not to mention the endless farsans.
    Keep the lovely posts coming!
    Cheers
    Latha

  16. Ellie on March 20, 2007 3:00 am

    Hi Bee - this is a lovely post and a wonderful tribute to your family and your past! Thank you so much for submitting it to my nostalgia event :)

  17. musical on April 9, 2007 12:17 pm

    Dear Bee,

    This post of yours misted my eyes…..My Mom too was brought up in Gujarat…..and your thoughts about Trupti and her blog are so true:she’s warm, generous and thoughtful person.

    thanks for this bee…..food for me is a way of remembering, loving and sharing and your post and thoughts highlighted this sentiment beautifully.

    hugs,
    musical

  18. The Spice Cafe » MBP - Let’s Roll (Round Up) on February 8, 2008 11:53 pm

    […] down the memory lane with Bee as she recollects her fond memories of gujju food and pays a tribute to Trupti by trying […]

  19. guest on February 17, 2008 11:55 pm

    Can somebody tell me how can I go to trupti’s blog, its changed … it requires invitation

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