An Insight on Khaman and Dhokla: Difference between the both and their relation with idli

 

Khaman and Dhokla are unique in terms of taste. These are the only snacks that have three different tastes in a single bite. You can have a spicy, tangy and sweet taste in a single bite. For these, there is no perfect time or occasion to enjoy. Believe me, just by thinking about them my taste buds have started doing salsa in my mouth.

They both originated in the Indian state named Gujarat, but at present these could be found at almost every place in India. These snacks can be enjoyed in breakfast as a proper meal or as a side dish and could be consumed with the evening tea chatting with friends. 

Difference between Khaman and Dhokla:

Khaman and Dhokla are two different snacks that originated at the same place named Gujarat. Yes, you have read it right Khaman and Dhokla are two different snacks that are prepared from totally different ingredients. Without getting into the detail, the basic difference between the both is Dhokla is white in colour and is prepared from the fermented batter of rice and spilt chickpeas dal mixed in equal proportion, and on the other hand khaman is prepared from fresh gram flour batter (Besan).  

Health Benefits:

In India generally snacks are deep fried and considered unhealthy. But nothing of such is true for both khaman and dhokla. They are not only rich in taste and flavour, but they have a lot of health benefits too. First, these are steamed not deep fried like most of the Indian snacks, these are pretty rich in proteins, considered good for losing weight as they have low fat content, improve digestion and increase the energy level also.  

 

Brief History:

There have been many literal proofs and mentions about Dhokla that it was first prepared in the Indian state named Gujarat. The first mention of dhokla is dated back to 11^th century where it has been described as ‘Dukkia’ in Jain text in 1066 CE. Dukkia is considered as a precessor of Dhokla and its first direction mention as Dhokla could be found in Gujarati work ‘Varanaka Samuchaya’ in 1520 CE.

One of the versions of dhokla (Idada) is also considered as south Indian snack Idli's precessor, details on dhokla and idli relation will be shared in my upcoming blog ' an insight on idli'.

Now:

Not only in Gujarat, Dhokla has become very famous in all the directions of the world. At present, there have been more than 15 varieties of dhokla which are 

pretty famous as of now and I pretty sure with the passage of time many more are on their way to rule our taste buds. At present, there would be hardly any restaurant or sweets shop which doesn't serve dhokla or it is not a part of their menu. There has been so much to talk about this snack that I could write a whole book on the same. Most of the Indian snacks have a bit of junk food characters, but these two can be considered as a complete diet and healthy for people of all ages.