Sev Khamani is alone, perfectly capable of being the life of a party, and the best part about it? You can whip up this perfection within seconds. It’s like the Frank Sinatra of snacks - classic, beloved, and full of character. More than a snack, it’s a celebration of flavours directly from the streets of Gujarat into your plate. And mind you, don’t let its simple appearance fool you; this dish is a flavour powerhouse.
This Gujarati dish is made from crumbled Dhokla, which is then jazzed up with spices, chutneys, and garnished with sev. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and savoury with a spongy base and a crunchy topping. The three main components of this dish are khaman dhokla, tadka, also known as vaghar in Gujarati and the final crunchy sev to top this all off.
Legend has it that Sev Khamani was born out of innovation and a pinch of laziness but I don’t think we needed any legend to figure this out. Someone in Surat simply looked at leftover Dhokla and thought, “Let’s not waste it; let’s reinvent it!”, like a true Indian. And voilà, Sev Khamani was created.
Now, to get this dish out of this article and into your plate let’s whip up the first key component of this dish- Khaman Dhokla.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Besan (gram flour)
- 1 tablespoon Fine Semolina (optional, for added texture)
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1/3 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 1/2 tablespoon Ginger Paste
- 1 Green Chilli (paste)
- 3/4 cup Water (adjust as needed)
Directions
- Take besan, semolina, sugar, salt, lemon juice, oil, ginger paste, green chilli paste in a bowl
- Pour water into it and beat it into a smooth batter
- Let this batter rest and ferment for 1 to 2 hours
- Meanwhile, grease a steaming tray or a cake tin and bring water to a boil in a steamer
- Pour the batter into the greased tray and place it in the steamer and let it cook for 12 to 15 minutes on low flame
- Khaman Dhokla is ready to be served
Now that we have our Khaman Dhokla ready, we can move on to the other star ingredients of this show
Ingredients for Sev Khamani Recipe
- 1 cup crumbled Dhokla (you can use leftover or fresh)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
- 1-2 green chilies, finely chopped
- A few curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sev (for garnish)
- Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped (for garnish)
- Freshly grated coconut (for garnish)
Directions
- To start with this Sev Khamani Recipe, crumble up the dhokla evenly in a bowl
- Now in a small pan, heat some oil and add mustard seeds
- Once they crackle, add hing, curry leaves, and green chilies
- Sauté for a few seconds, then add water, sugar, and salt to make a sweet and tangy syrup
- Bring it to a boil and then pour it over the steamed dhokla
- Garnish with pomegranate seeds, sev, and coriander leaves
- Serve it up quickly to keep the sev from getting soggy. It’s all about the crunch, folks!
- Enjoy your Sev Khamani with evening tea
Tips
- To make the batter ferment quickly in this Sev Khamani Recipe, you can add eno to it. Eno in this case can also be easily replaced with baking soda. However, skip adding turmeric in this case as it may react with baking soda and result in pink spots
- A toothpick can be inserted, if comes out clean then the dhokla is ready to be served
- You can add lemon juice and chopped green chillies in the tempering of this Sev Khamani Recipe for more tangy and spicy flavour
- Consistency of the batter is very important in this Sev Khamani Recipe while making dhokla, so if the batter is too runny, add some fine rava in it
- Do not adding water while grinding the batter to make it thin, as the dhokla might come out slightly sticky
- If you’re short on time, you can make surti sev khamani using chana dal dhokla instead if the traditional one
- For surti sev khamani you’d need some soaked chana dal for at least 5 to 6 hours, grinded into a thick paste and eno/baking powder to ferment it