MICROWAVE BEETROOT DHOKLA

Well this more or less correct avatar of a MICROWAVE BEETROOT DHOKLA, steamed gram flour and beetroot juice cake is my fifth attempt at it. Oh God! I was making the same old mistake each time. On the fourth day of my failed attempt were invited three of my friends over an evening tea party! We belong to different age groups, but it never came in our way of sitting together and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee! The four of us were little sister Debarathi, dear friend Ipsita, I and the veteran Padma! Padma Murali is the mother of two adult daughters... one is an engineer and the other is in the university studying public relations, a yoga teacher too! Padma is helpful, an expert in Tamil recipes and is a published cook book author in the island. She does social service.... teaches English language for free in the temples of this island. 

I like Padma but do not sit together often. Ask me why? Our ways are different, I cannot engage myself in religious books or in temple talks all the time. I attended few Gita classes with her and Ipsita, thereafter felt too bored. However, our lunch date at the MTR joint post the Gita class was too tempting. You see, I got a Gita from the Rama Krishna Mission during the Durga Pooja and I will read it as a novel lying on my couch accompanied by snacks and tea / coffee, that snack includes maacher bora and chicken fritter too! I simplify things according to my convenience! I have created a boundary wall around me so that I do not get to mingle too much with anyone, I fear relationships getting sour and bitter! I have seen people kissing each other in a party and then tearing apart each other once they leave the venue, I find no logic in it! Doing this yummy vegetarian snack MICROWAVE BEETROOT DHOKLA is easier than being a part of all these!

You may ask why do I attempt at a Microwave made Dhokla or Idli. The men will not touch them unless there is some meat or fish stuffed in them. I was like them years back, now that I have developed a fondness for Indian Vegetarian Snacks following Mani, I do them but do not wish to spend much time on them. Mani got me to taste dhokla first, the brother will never touch and the father always preferred "muri-chirey-khoier moya, aam dudh kola, naru-nimki" to these. The major mistake I was doing while attempting at this MICROWAVE BEETROOT DHOKLA was that I was forgetting to place it on a water filled bowl and so it was turning hard. All of my three friends told me that they liked it but it was hard. I did have a short discussion with Debarathi whether to blog about it. Then I decided that no, I must rectify my fault, set it right and then go ahead to make it public. After I come back from Kolkata, I will call these girls again and feed them the correct one! At this moment, I am busy shopping for the family! The brother wants simple things but in more variety. The husband's sister does not ask for anything directly but S di must get.... she never joined hands with her mother to make life impossible for me. I have got a Southern Indian style cotton saree for my beloved Iva Dutta Miss .... she has given us the best lessons of life and feeds me "Bagbazaarer Telebhaja... khete bhari moja" whenever I visit her home! The husband never accompanies me, he perhaps thinks that she always loved me more than him, many times she has asked me to get him along! 

Then there is another kind who refuses any gift from me in the first instance saying that her daughter-in-laws get her everything. My expression each time is like "I know your daughter-in-laws are Angels".... but I have no connection with that... I believe in one to one relationships in certain cases. I gobble any hurt with a glass of water in cases where it is unintentional, so thinking of playing this prank this time .... "use this anti-wrinkle cream or that lotion or soap and your kids will be surprised to see you on their next visit, haha!" I force few things on her each year, a humble saree, a little of this, that. The two old ladies at home are to get two electronic gadgets they are unable to use properly! "Boromami" gets a soft & supple Korean Silk Saree and one suitcase is already full. Each time S.Airlines stops us... and you know what kind of choicest words are showered on me by the husband in public. Smiling faces are worth my trouble... I believe! I am yet to buy Cristine's x-mas gift.... so there is a lot of shopping to be done this week.... The husband is not bothered about what I am doing until he has to transfer any extra amount to my account, even digests the embarrassment he faces at the airport. Your intents matter, he knows that his wife will never buy anything secretly for her mother leaving his! 

I love gifting people but staying within my limits! What will come back with me?.... a couple of things including10-12 sarees, kurtis from Westside, Pantaloons, a mandatory visit and buy from the Government Emporiums housed in Uttarapan if not Dakshinapan.... I visit that happening part of Kolkata may be once for that secret meet. "Logon ko North Kolkata se South jana parta hai yaar.... social ladder ke top mein rehna jo hai.... hum theherey janglee, non-pedigreed".... However, South Kolkata is a newer development, Kolkata's history lies in the North, the best of food too".... We live perhaps in the remote outskirts of Kolkata, but the biggest outlet of Haldiram within 1/2 a kilometre of our home sells the best quality Dhokla... I love it! However, you get that softness and near taste in this MICROWAVE BEETROOT DHOKLA! Juice of two standard sized beetroot was used to prepare Beetroot Malpua & Beet Aloo Gajor er Pur Bhora Porota  and this steamed snack.... great... isn't it? Teatime snack is an important part of my life...

Let us come to the Recipe!

INGREDIENTS :

GRAM FLOUR : 1 1/4COFFEE MUG
BEET ROOT JUICE : 1SMALL TEA CUP OR AS IS REQUIRED FOR A THICK BATTER
PLAIN YOGURT : 1/3SMALL TEA CUP
GINGER EXTRACT : 1TSP
FRUIT SALT : 1TSP [I USE ENO]
PLAIN SALT : AS REQUIRED
CHOPPED CORIANDER : 2-3TBSP
CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 1TBSP
SHREDDED COCONUT : 2TBSP
CURRY LEAF : 8-10
BLACK MUSTARD SEED : 1/4TSP
A FRESH SYRUP MADE OF 1/2 SMALL TEACUP OF LEMON JUICE AND 1TSP SUGAR!

PROCEDURE :

Take the gram flour  in a bowl and add the plain yogurt to it. Mix well and add the beet root juice little by little to it to form a lump free, smooth, thick batter. 

Add the ginger extract, the normal salt and Eno salt now. Mix well and keep aside covered for 15-20 minutes.

Add the chopped and washed fresh coriander and green chillies to the batter.

Mix it very well again.

Transfer the entire content to a microwave proof bowl. Fill another microwave proof bowl, a little bigger in size with water so that half of the batter filled bowl is immersed in it. 

Now cover the bowl with a microwave proof lid!

Thereafter I forgot to click the rest of the steps. I was simultaneously busy with the Beet Root Malpua because my loves has to have something they love. That is not an excuse though.

Now place it inside the microwave and microwave at high for 5-6 minutes.... Please do check with your machine's power... it differs.

Rest it for sometime and then take it out. Meanwhile we have tempered 1tsp of heated oil with black mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour it evenly on the dhokla / steamed gram flour & beetroot cake. 

Pour the lemon and sugar syrup all over, 1tsp at a time. Garnish with shredded coconut. Enjoy with your tea and coffee!