Sprouted Moong Bean Dhokla

Jump To Recipe

Sprouted Moong Bean Dhokla

Sprouted Moong Bean Dhokla is a healthy delicious, steamed snack prepared with sprouted beans and flavoured with spinach and coriander along with some spices.

‘Dhokla’ is a savoury sponge dish that is extremely popular in Gujarat and is prepared with lightly fermented batter that is steamed to a cake-like consistency. There are many variations of Dhokla using different types of beans and combinations.

I often make different types of dhokla at home, as not only is it delicious but also high in protein and full of vitamins and minerals. This dhokla using the sprouted beans has a delicious ‘beany’ flavour due to the sprouted beans.

Other recipes you might like to try are Sandwich Dhokla, Khaman Dhokla, Green Semolina Dhokla, Gujarati Dal Vada, Gujarati Dudhi Muthiya and Gujarati Handvo Recipe and Sweetcorn Dhokla/Makai Dhokla.

Ingredients

For Dhokla Batter
2 cups sprouted moong beans
1 cup roughly chopped coriander leaves
½ cup spinach puree
1 inch ginger piece
3-4 green chillies
14-15 curry leaves
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons gram flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
Oil for greasing

For Tempering
2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
7-8 curry leaves

Directions

Step-1

Grind together the sprouted moong beans, coriander leaves, spinach puree, ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, salt and water. You need a smooth flowing batter so adjust the water as needed.

Step-2

Next add gram flour and baking soda and whisk for 2-3 minutes to incorporate some air in the batter.

Step-3

Fill a large pan with water and place a trivet at the base. Grease a dhokla plate using oil and pour the batter and set this container over the trivet. Cover and steam for about 12-15 minutes on medium heat.

Step-4

Once steamed for 12-15 minutes, Insert a toothpick to check if dhokla is properly cooked. The toothpick should come out clean to indicate it is cooked.
Allow it to cool for 5 minutes and then insert a knife around the edges to loosen up the dhokla. Cut the dhoklas vertically and horizontally into pieces.

Step-5

For the tempering, heat the oil and add mustard seeds, sesame seeds and curry leaves. Once the seeds begin to splutter, drizzle the tempering on the dhokla.
Your sprouted dhokla is ready to serve and you can serve it with green chutney.

Tips & Variations

There are different ways to germinate the beans. I usually use a perforated container to germinate them at home.
Place the soaked beans in a perforated box and sprinkle water over the beans and place them in a warm place to germinate. It takes 1-2 days to germinate in summer. To keep the beans moist, everyday rinse the beans using light water pressure. Your goal is to not move the beans while you are rinsing them. That means extremely low water pressure and rinsing for a long time to make sure you have rinsed them well. The beans will develop short shoots and that means they are ready to use.
You can put the soaked beans in a cloth. Tie a knot to make sprout bag. Cover with a sieve (for ventilation). Place in a warm place. In the second method of sprouting, you can use a microwave. This method is suitable for winters: Heat the microwave at high power for 2 mins. Place the beans in the microwave for 24 hours. Remember to turn off the microwave.
You can also use a glass jar instead of a perforated box. It works as well.
The germination of the beans is dependent on the warmth. In hot weather the beans can germinate within 1-2 days while in winters it might take longer.
Beat/Whisk the batter properly so there are no lumps. Whisking will make the batter light by incorporating air and hence your end result will be lighter too.
The batter after whisking should be of thick flowing consistency. Adjust water if you need to at this stage.
Steam the batter as soon as you have added baking soda while it is still active and doing its magic in the batter.
Always use fresh baking soda or eno/bicarbonate of soda. If they are old, then the dhokla won’t rise and end result will be flat. I always use sachet’s of eno and bicarbonate of soda instead of jars.
Gently grease the pan for easy removal of dhokla.