Dal Dhokli with Extra Dal
Gujarat's one-pot comfort meal: spiced wheat-and-besan dumplings simmered in sweet-sour toor dal. Here the dal outweighs the dhokli, rather than the reverse.
- Region
- Gujarat
- Status
- Adaptation — more toor dal and a little besan in the dhokli dough
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Prep 20 min · Cook 35 min
- Serves
- 3 (about 400 g each)
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Good for
- One-pot lunch, family meals
- Tags
- Good source · High fibre · Dairy-free · Soy-free · Whey-free
- Allergens
- Gluten (wheat), peanuts
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 400 kcal
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 55 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Headline values are for the full plate.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dal dhokli (complete one-pot meal) | 340 | 15 g | 50 g | 8 g | 1 g | 9 g | 6 g | 4.5 g |
| With 100 g curd or chaas | 400 | 18 g | 55 g | 11 g | 3 g | 9 g | 10 g | 4.5 g |
Good source. Includes 10 g jaggery for 3 servings (about 3 g added sugar per serving). Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- Dal: 120 g toor dal · 100 g tomato · 15 g raw peanuts · 10 g jaggery · 5 g tamarind (or 4 kokum) · ½ tsp turmeric · 1 tsp red chilli powder · 1 tsp dhana-jeera powder · 5 g salt · about 900 ml water in total
- Dhokli: 90 g whole-wheat atta · 20 g besan · 3 g oil · ¼ tsp ajwain · ¼ tsp turmeric · ½ tsp red chilli powder · pinch of salt · about 50 ml water
- Tempering: 10 g groundnut oil · ½ tsp mustard seeds · ½ tsp cumin · 2 cloves · 1 small cinnamon stick · 2 dry red chillies · pinch of hing · 8 curry leaves
Method
- Pressure-cook toor dal and peanuts with turmeric and 450 ml water for 4 whistles. Whisk the dal smooth; the peanuts stay whole.
- Knead the dhokli ingredients into a firm dough. Rest 10 minutes. Roll into a thin 25 cm circle and cut into 4 cm diamonds.
- Heat the oil; add all tempering ingredients for 30 seconds. Add tomato and cook 3 minutes.
- Add the dal, 450 ml water, jaggery, tamarind, spices and salt. Bring to a rolling boil.
- Drop the dhokli pieces in one at a time, stirring gently so they don't stick together.
- Simmer 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the dhokli is cooked through (no raw floury centre when cut) and the dal coats a spoon.
- Rest 5 minutes; it thickens. Serve hot with a spoon of lemon juice and coriander.
Protein optimisation
- Toor dal supplies 9 g per serving, dhokli dough 4.5 g, peanuts 1.5 g.
- Boost: increase toor to 160 g (+3 g protein, +45 kcal per serving), and serve with chaas made from 150 g curd.
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: Kathiawadi version — less jaggery, more chilli and garlic.
- Substitution: millet dhokli with 50 g jowar flour and 40 g atta.
- Storage: 1 day refrigerated; the dhokli soaks up liquid, so reheat with water.
- Food safety: reheat until boiling.
- Meal prep: moderate; best fresh.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com