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Fansi Dhokli (French beans with spiced dumplings)
December 18, 2008 | 31 Comments
Since everyone’s talking about cakes and cookies, I thought of sparking up the festivities with some weird veggies – specifically French/green beans. There are three veggies I don’t like – radishes, cabbage and green beans. The first two because of the odour, green beans because they taste sort of like grass and don’t absorb flavours very well.
My mom didn’t hate green beans, but she didn’t like them enough to want to spend 15 minutes stringing them. So I don’t recall her ever cooking them. Thank goodness. I think everyone else in my extended family and neighbourhood where I grew up (Mumbai) read this quote and followed it.
“Green Beans, or string beans as they are usually called, must be done [boiled] till very tender — it takes nearly an hour and a half.” ~ Sarah Josepha Hale, ‘The Good Housekeeper’ (1839)
They were always mushy, grey and greasy. J loves those darn things and cooked them for me a few times – crisp, slightly underdone and bright green. They still tasted like grass.
Then he made Masala Beans Poriyal (beans coated in a spicy lentil paste). It’s a genius way to cook them. The beans are merely a crunchy vehicle for the lentil paste which absorbs all the spice and flavours. I love love love it.
I discovered another way to prepare them. Tarla Dalal’s The Complete Gujarati Cookbook is one of the most extensively used cookbooks in our home. Gujarati is my favourite Indian regional cuisine and this particular cookbook has featured often on this site.
It’s a similar principle. The beans are cooked with spiced chickpea flour dumplings (dhokli = dumplings) that serve as the vehicle for flavour. And unlike Masala Beans Poriyal where the lentils stick to the beans, here one can pick out and eat just the dumplings. That’s what I tend to do. I will be making this again.
All Tarla Dalal’s dumpling recipes usually have bishop’s weed / carom (ajwain) in them. They impart a great smoky flavour and aid digestion. Lightly toasted, crushed cumin seeds are a good substitute.
FANSI DHOKLI (French beans with spiced dumplings)
from Tarla Dalal’s The Complete Gujarati Cookbook
For the dumplings (dhokli)
(You can double the amount of dumplings for the same amount of beans. That’s what I prefer.)
3 tablespoons chickpea flour (besan)
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour (atta)
1/3 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
1 teaspoon bishop’s weed (carom / ajwain. else, use crushed cumin)
1.5 tablespoons oil
salt to taste
Mix everything and make a stiff dough With about 1.5 tbsps water. It should be pliable, but not sticky. Roll it between your palms into a rope and pinch off very small portions. (The original recipe says 30-35 portions, but we got about 20). Then form the pieces into little discs.
For the beans
250 grams French beans
1 teaspoon bishop’s weed (carom / ajwain. else, use crushed cumin)
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
a pinch sugar
1.5 tablespoons oil
salt to taste
Wash and string the beans, then chop them into half inch pieces. Heat the oil, add the ajwain and asafoetida, stir and add the beans and spices with about 2 cups of water. When the beans are just beginning to turn bright green, add the dumplings and simmer for 10 minutes until they are cooked.
Think Spice: Carom hosted by Raaga The Singing Chef. The event is the brainchild of Sunita @ Sunita’s World.
- bee
Filed Under: ajwain, atta, bishops-weed, chickpea-flour, gram-flour, Green/French-Beans, Gujarat, tarla-dalal, The-Complete-Gujarati-Cookbook, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes, Wheat
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31 Comments
Dal dhokli is one of my favourite comfort foods! My husband hates it, so I don’t take all that effort as often as I’d like, but I surely make them once in a while.
The one that we used to make often at home was made with left over Gujarati style dal. The one you are talking about is the hand-pressed version of dhokli. Do try the chapati-cut-into-diamonds version. It tastes awesomely slurpy.
Btw, I am a HUGE fan of all your recipes I have tried so far – the neyi parippu, the beans poriyal, pumpkin erissery (heavenly), the war fruit and nut cake and a few more that I can’t remember now. keep ‘em coming.
What you are still staying away from mooli?! At least cauliflower is not on that list…
I love masala beans poriyal too. But then I like french beans any which way. And this looks like a very good way…soft dhokli to compliment the crunch of beans.
Wow, No words are coming out..
I love the dumplings idea along with beans(one of my favourite veggie). I should try this out..Thank You.
You don’t like french beans, oh i love them. I can eat them just boiled with sauted onions with a bit of butter, yeah i know weird but yumm for me.
I love the way you have prepared with those tiny dumplings. I would sit and eat the whole bowl in one go.
I am not very sure about radishes, but simply adore string beans and cabbages.
I have never had mushy beans, I’m sure i would have hated them too… I usually make it the way my ma used to and have pleased many a fussy child and grown up… might work out for you too
)-
http://sunitabhuyan.com/?p=159( substitute the runner beans for string beans)
We also have these beans by microwaving with a tblsp or two of water, and then rub a little olive oil and salt.
It reminds me of the sandage (sun dried lentil dumplings) gavar recipe that we make but it tastes different.
Here try with a pinch of sugar in the dhokli too for a perfect gujju taste. I love dhoklis with val papdi.
I thot at first you spelt Fancy as Fansi to make it more gujju
. I am forgetting my gujju these days so took a while to understand you meant french beans.
I love love love green beans. Have to try this recipe. thanks.
Gujarati cuisine? Even with all that sugar?!
i used to cut out the sugar. not any more.
GREEN BEANS!I just hate ‘em. I would love to try the dumplings.Can you suggest some other veggies I could substitute those green thingies with?
You have an awesome blog.
asparagus, broccoli, corn on the cob.
I never tasted anything like that
Love green beans sounds very delicious!
This looks like a great dish Bee. I was not a great fan of beans, but these days I cook them very often. I am going to try this soon.
Hmmm, yeah, this looks good. I love besani things, green beans, and my spice-du-jour is ajwain. Green beans are my mother’s favorite veggie so, when I was young, we had them fresh quite often in summer (which is the best), and then home-canned in winter (which are mushy, but I ate ‘em anyway smeared into mashed potatoes). What’s the point of all this? There is none, but it’s nice to see you eat a despised veggie. Now… mooli burfi.
Love green beans.. never had it with “dumplings” tho…Interesting combinaton.
Me too don’t like green beans. But we make a simple porial with coconut scrapings that go well with a spicy kuzhambu. This dish looks inviting. I love the first pic!
This is similar to the gatta of Rajasthan. I think I’ll make this soon. It will be a dish by itself… don’t need anything to go with it.
thanks
Gasp!! I love cabbage and green beans!
Hmm, boil for an hour and a half? More like steam for 5 minutes. Must’ve been all those false wooden teeth in those days 
This is indeed a genius way to cook green beans, Bee– sure to amplify my love for them a hundredfold!
jugalbandi » Fansi Dhokli (French beans with spiced dumplings)…
[Source: jugalbandi] quoted: Since everyone’s talking about cakes and cookies, I thought of sparking up the festivities with some weird veggies – specifically French/green beans. There are three veggies I don’t like – radishes, cabbage and …
you get such a fresh bunch of beans!!!
Hope both of you re getting time to relax and enjoy the festive spirits…Happy Holidays to both of you
I love gujrati food sans sweetness….I remember every resort or hotel we stayed at hill stations around Mumbai(lonavala,Mahableshwar etc)serves Gujrati Thalis and i love the idea of binging upon the riots of veggies,dal,khichdi,papad,achar,sweets etc all in one plate and washing it down with yummy Chaash(buttermilk) .The food is so mildly spiced yet so tasty and the best part is i cud indulge in the wide variety of food, meal after meal without bothering to ponder about wht to cook and slogging in kitchen…everything on platter ..thts the best part of traveling
Hmm french beans….i like them cooked in onion and tomato but not VERY fond of that,but yeah beans in pulao and Noodles are surely loved
This seems to be another fun way to have beans..thnks for sharing
I guess this is gujarathi usili. I have nevery hated beans at all and beans usili is my all time favorite.
I love green beans, so I’m sure I’d love this tasty dish.
What’s weird about these veggies? Radishes – ok, cabbage – maybe, but green beans?
You know I like cabbage and i like green beans even better.:)
Tarla Dala’s Gujrathi Cookbook is one of my favourites too.
Happy Holidays! Hope your season is bright and you have a kick ass 2009!
I use baby french beans, and they dont require too much of stringing. Like them and use them in a number of dishes. Radish was a nightmare and stunk up our small home!!!!
This looks very delicious and comforting
Since I am not a big dumpling fan, I think I’d opt for Jai’s Poriyal
i would love to try this. bookmarked!
happy holidays!
These look really flavourpacked.
I love beans poriyal – steam cooked till just tender and then sprinkled with coconut. Luckily my 3 year old loves them too….
To me Peas have a grassy smell.. muddy smell. i was always anti-peas ( but I do eat them now), more so now when I have to feed little S baby food, pureed peas, eeewwwwwwwwwww!!!!
Surprisingly, the little one liked pureed french beans (I can picture Bee holding her nose and running in the opposite direction!!LOL!)
In defense of cabbage, there’s an incredible recipe for a cabbage and jicama coleslaw (with cilantro, lime and jalapeno) in the August/September issue of “Fine Cooking” magazine. I can’t reproduce the whole thing here, but maybe the archives are available (www.finecooking.com), or if you’re interested, email me.
The carom looks like a ladybug.