Rava dhokla or Suji ka Dhokla is a soft, fluffy, steamed savory cake made from rava (suji or semolina or cream of wheat) together with herbs, spices, white sesame seeds and topped with coconut and coriander leaves. For the leavening of the batter, fruit salt (eno) is used. Usually, this recipe is made with curd (yogurt) but here I share a tasty vegan recipe made with lemon juice.
About This Rava Dhokla
This recipe I learned when I was working in a school. The teacher colleagues were discussing on how to make this recipe of rava dhokla. When they were talking, my mind was registering all the details of this dish.
When I went home, I told my mom the whole method and she made it the very next day. It was hit in our home and till today mom makes rava dhokla often. The recipe which we would make used curd (yogurt) or buttermilk.
But this suji ka dhokla recipe is made with lemon juice and water. This combination of lemon juice and water works like a charm. You will not notice any difference in the taste of the rava dhokla made with yogurt and this one.
This is an easy, quick and delicious dhokla variety and does not require fermentation. I have steamed the suji dhokla in an electric cooker. A dhokla steamer or even a stovetop pressure cooker or Instant pot or a saucepan also works well for steaming. You can also make it in a microwave.
I suggest using eno or fruit salt to make the batter airy and light. I don’t add baking soda as a leavening ingredient, since I don’t like the soapy odour of it. However, if you cannot get eno or fruit salt, then use baking soda instead.
This is a quick tasty snack option and goes best with coriander chutney or papaya sambharo or mint-coriander chutney or mint chutney or any green chutney of your choice.
How to make Rava Dhokla
Making Batter
1. In a mixing bowl take the below-mentioned ingredients and mix them thoroughly with a spoon.
- 1 cup rava/semolina (use fine variety of suji and not the coarser variety)
- ginger-chili paste (½ inch ginger + 1 green chili – crushed and made into a paste in a mortar-pestle)
- 1 tablespoon or 1.25 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- salt as required
- ½ cup water or as required.
Don’t add the fruit salt (eno) at this step. Keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes. The batter has to be slightly thicker than the Idli Batter.
NOTE 1: Don’t make the batter thin or very thick. As this will change the texture of the suji dhokla.
NOTE 2: Keep in mind that depending on the texture of your rava, you may need to add more water.
2. While the batter is resting and before you add eno to the batter, prepare your pans for steaming. First grease a steaming shallow pan with oil and set aside.
Next in a pot or a saucepan take 2 cups of water. Place a small trivet in the saucepan inside the water. Bring this water to a gentle boil on medium heat.
Then add 1 teaspoon eno or fruit salt. The addition of eno helps in leavening the batter and gives a soft fluffy texture to the suji dhokla.
3. Stir briskly and be quick to mix. Make sure the fruit salt is distributed evenly in the batter. However, don’t overdo the mixing as you don’t want the air bubbles to escape from the batter.
4. Quickly pour the batter into the prepared greased pan. So before you make the batter grease a steaming pan very well with oil as I have mentioned above.
Steaming Suji Ka Dhokla
5. Spread the batter in the pan with a spoon. Then shake the pan to even out the batter. Place the pan on the trivet on the saucepan.
You can steam the rava dhokla mixture using a stovetop pressure cooker, an electric rice cooker or the Instant Pot.
6. Cover the saucepan or pan or steamer with a lid and steam for approx 15 to 20 minutes. I used an electric steamer and steamed it for exactly 20 minutes.
Check with a toothpick to see the doneness and if the toothpick comes out clean and there is no sticky batter on it, then the rava dhokla is steamed well. Remove and allow to cool for 5 to 6 minutes.
Making Tempering
7. Here you have 2 options. You can add the tempering mixture directly to the steamed pan containing the rava dhokla.
Or unmould the rava dhokla carefully on a serving plate and then slice and temper the slices. You can use any of the methods.
To prepare tempering for dhokla, heat oil in a small pan. You can use peanut oil or any neutral-flavored oil.
8. First add the mustard seeds. Let them crackle.
9. Then add cumin seeds and allow them to splutter. Then add the asafoetida (hing), white sesame seeds and curry leaves and fry for some seconds.
Switch off the heat. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to the tempering. Be careful as the oil is hot and adding water would create a splurge. So add the water carefully and from a safe distance.
10. Pour the tempering mixture evenly over the sooji dhokla.
11. Top with some chopped coriander leaves or freshly grated coconut. Slice and serve warm or cool with a side chutney like green chutney or mint chutney or papapa chutney.
It makes for a light and tasty evening snack. It can also be packed as a snack in a tiffin box for kids.
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Rava Dhokla | Suji ka Dhokla
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 1 cup rava or suji or semolina or cream of wheat – use finer variety
- ½ inch ginger + 1 green chili – crushed and made into a paste in a mortar-pestle
- ½ cup water or add as required
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ½ teaspoon sugar or add as per taste
- 1 pinch turmeric powder
- 1 to 1.25 tablespoons lemon juice – from 1 medium sized lemon
- 1 teaspoon eno (fruit salt) or baking soda
- salt as required
For tempering
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 8 to 10 curry leaves
- 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water
- ½ tablespoon oil
For garnish
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh grated coconut – optional
Instructions
Making batter
- Mix all the ingredients mentioned under the list 'Main ingredients' except for the fruit salt.
- The batter has to be slightly thicker than the idli batter. The batter should not be thin or very thick.
- Keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile add 2 cups water in a steamer pan or saucepan. Also place a small trivet inside the water before you begin to heat it. Let the water come to a gentle boil on medium heat.
- Grease a pan with oil.
- Add the eno to the batter and stir briskly. Don't overdo the mixing as you don't want the air bubbles to escape.
- Quickly pour the batter in the prepared greased pan.
- Spread evenly and shake the pan to even out the batter.
Steaming rava dhokla
- Keep the pan with the batter in the steamer or sauce pan on top of the trivet.
- Cover the steamer or sauce pan with a lid and steam for about 15 to 20 minutes on medium heat.
- I used an electric steamer and steamed for exact 20 minutes.
- Check with a toothpick to see the doneness and if the toothpick comes out clean without any batter particles sticking to it, then the suji dhokla is steamed well.
- Remove and allow to cool for 5 to 6 minutes.
- You can temper directly or unmould the rava dhokla carefully in a serving plate and then slice and then temper it.
Making tempering
- Heat oil in a small pan. First add the mustard seeds. Let them crackle first.
- Then add cumin seeds and allow to crackle them.
- Add the asafoetida (hing), white sesame seeds and curry leaves and fry for some seconds.
- Switch off the heat. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water in the tempering.
- Be careful as the oil is hot and adding water would create a splurge. So add the water carefully and from a safe distance.
- Pour the tempering mixture evenly over the rava dhokla.
- Top with some chopped coriander leaves or freshly grated coconut.
- Slice and serve suji ka dhokla warm or cool with an accompanying chutney of your choice like mint chutney or green chutney or cilantro chutney. It can also be packed in lunch box as a snack.
Notes
- Use the fine variety of suji or rava and not the coarser variety.
- The batter is slightly thicker than the idli batter. But don’t make it very thick as this will make the sooji dhokla have a dense or chewy texture. Also don’t make it very thin.
- Instead of eno you can use baking soda. But 1 teaspoon of baking soda would give a lot of its soapy odour in the dish. So I would suggest adding ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Note that this much amount also will give some soapy odour. So according to your preferences, you can even add ¼ to ⅓ teaspoon of baking soda.
- The recipe can be scaled to make a bigger batch for gettogether or parties.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Rava Dhokla post from the blog archives first published in September 2013 has been updated and republished on August 2021.
Hi
What is the size of the pan you have used to steam the dhoklas please.
It isn’t mentioned
Thanks
It must be around 7 to 7.5 inches.
Hi, just wanted to say your recipes are really good. Thank you so much for sharing them. May I please ask for a picture of your steamer. Thanks in advance.
Thanks Bhavika. This is the Panasonic electric rice cooker, which also had separate pans for steaming vegetables, dhokla steaming pan and an idli steaming mould. I checked on amazon and this particular piece is not available. If you plan to buy, then buy a rice cooker having a steel pot and not non-stick or else you can buy the Instant Pot.
Instant rava dhokla banaya to everyone said very tasty dhokla h
That is good for you menu
I tried the recipe today with a small twist . Instead of making them plain dhoklas I made them into Sandwiche Dhoklas with sauce as I didn’t have green chutney . My family loved them . You should have seen them relishing the Dhoklas . My mom couldn’t that they were. Suji Dhoklas . Thank you for your wonderful recipe . ALL the best for you future projects n endeavours
Welcome Mousumi. Thanks for sharing your delicious variation. Made me think that even i should make it. Thanks for your best wishes.
Which steamer you have used any brand you can guide?
i have used here panasonic electric rice cooker where steaming vegetables, idli etc was also possible.
never mind i read previous posts and i got the answer
fine.
can we cook this in microwave same as u did with khaman dhokla
What wil happn if rava is nit of fine grains… Coz i hv slightly biggrr grains at home
megha, you can still try. not a problem. just that you may need to add some more water to get the right batter consistency.
Hi..
Today i made this rava dhokla. Bt it ultimately got the texture of upma. I made it in microwave. Before using the rava i roasted it. N instead of lemon juice used yogurt. I cn u tell me y it became dry.
its got too much cooked in the microwave. when cooking in microwave, care has to be taken. if the food gets overdone, then the texture becomes dry, hard or dense.
Hi Dassana,
This one is the first recipe which did not turn out well. My eno was active still it turned hard. By seeing your quantity of dhokla in pictures, I feel you used just 1 cup semolina. As I think 1tsp eno is good for 1 cup suji. Can you please advise..
bhavana, i have used 2 cups only. you might be feeling this due to the camera position and focus. the first pic is taken from a distance. the hardness can also be due to less water or too much steaming. depending on the type of rava (fine to coarser) the water proportions will change. 1 teaspoon eno is enough for 2 cups of rava. too much of eno or baking soda gives a typical smell in the final dish and therefore i do not add more. i hope this helps.
Hey!
I tried this recipe and it came out pretty good. I used roasted rava as I didn’t have plain rava. How does the choice of rava make a difference?
I am huge huge fan of your recipes. While making rava dhokla, I was checking out your idli recipe and have soaked the rice and dal.
And cooked palak aloo for lunch which came out excellent.
God bless you 🙂
thanks a lot mansi. with roasted rava the texture changes a bit. just that the end product has a bit drier and coarser texture.
Hi,
Do u use standard measuring cup for one cup or any vessels is fine??
reethu, standard measuring cup. i am not sure how the proportions will change if using any other measuring vessel.
Dear Dassana,
The Dhokla turned out to be soft, fluffy and delicious and got over within 5 mins. Thanks a ton for sharing your talent with everyone. God bless u ??
welcome always verena 🙂 and glad to know this. god bless you too 🙂
Dear Dassana,
I would like to know if semolina has been roasted before making the batter.
Thanks in advance for your help!
the semolina is not roasted. welcome verena.
Dear Dassana, I made this Dhokla today and it turned out soft,fluffy and delicious. Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us. God bless u ??.
pleased to know jane you liked the rava dhokla 🙂 thankyou and god bless you too.
What is fruit salt
fruit salt is what we get here in india as eno.
I wanted to know can I skip adding curd/yogurt or lemon juice all together?
deepa, you have to add one acidic ingredient.
Hi …
Tnx for ua simple and easy recipes. Can u plz tell whether baking soda should be added and kept for some time?
no. after adding baking soda, quickly stir and make the dhokla. if you keep for some more time, the the batter looses its aeration and does not become soft or fluffy while steaming.
Ma’am , gud eve, I tried rava dhokla and followed all your instructions but it didn’t turn out the same. I jus don’t know what went wrong, I used eno fruit salt with lemon flavour
what happened. they were not soft and became hard? if this is the case then it could be the shelf life or freshness of eno. moreover as soon as you add eno, the batter has to be mixed quickly and kept for steaming. if the batter is kept outside even for some minutes, the dhokla will not be soft.
I’m in love with your blog. Its just perfect. I’m planning to prepare this for a light dinner tonight. M sure it will be great like your other recipes…….
ashwini, glad to know this. hope everyone like the recipe.
Hi Dassana, which sooji is recommended for rava dhokla ? fine or coarse .Or either would do. Will coarse sooji be equally effective as the fine one ?
ritu, fine sooji is better.
used citric acid instead of lemon juice..
tastes very good..
thanks for sharing the recipe…
can i add besan to it?
thanks for the feedback shona. citric acid works well in dhokla recipes. you can 1 or 2 tbsp of besan also.
Excellent recipes- simple & easy to follow
thanks gargi
Sounds good easy n quick,Let me try it 1st
thanks namrata
Hi…. Dr… On daily basis I read ur recipes… though I had never tried it.. but today I want to make rava dhokla. I’m not having microwave or oven. Just want to know when we have to put the pan in pressure cooker for steaming the batter do we need water too in the cooker ?
thanks samridhi. yes you need water in the cooker. the water should just touch the 1/2 to 1 inch of the pan from the bottom. remove the whistle of the pressure cooker while steaming. in case the water dries up in the cooker then add some more water and continue to steam.
Ur receipes r awesome…… learneed a lot
thanks aastha
Thanks for the lovely recipes..made the khaman dhoklas in microwave..turned out great..thanks..xxx
welcome bhavini. thanks for the positive feedback.
Dear Dassana i like your website very much your recepies are explained in very simple and easy way thanks for sharing .
welcome poonam. glad to know this.
Can I make this in microwave? If yes then for how many minutes.
Yes you can. 2 to 3 minutes on full power should be fine. If not then microwave for some seconds more
I made it today and it turned out awesum thnx 4 the lovely recipe
welcome anuradha
Hi Dassana,
Hope you are doing good 🙂
It’s always a joy to read and try out your recipes. Good work. Keep it up.
I want to know if I have to use yoghurt instead if lemon juice how much should I use.
Regards,
Sue.
thanks sue. 1 to 1.5 tbsp of yogurt should work.
Hi,
I never heard of adding water when tempering dhokla with rai, jeera, til etc. Could you please explain me the reason for that ? Thank you.
the water makes the dhokla moist and soft and it stays like that for some hours.
Hi Dasanna, My dhoklas turned a little hard. I used baking soda as Eno is not available here easily (Germany). I steamed it in pressure cooker for 18-20 mins and the toothpick test was perfect. I guess the water content or the soda went wrong.
you have pinpointed the issue. either water content or soda is the culprit. but even over steaming can be an issue. i think 12 to 15 minutes should be fine in the pressure cooker. the baking soda must not be active.
I loved ur recipe dassana…but tell me one thing hw long should keep in pressure cooker…
just keep for 15 to 18 mins. remove the whistle/vent weight while steaming in the pressure cooker.
hi,
culd u plz tell me, hw to make besan dhokla and tantana dhokla which is being found in haldiram and Bikaner.
thnks
besan dhokla is already posted on the blog. i don’t know what is tantana dhokla. will have to check it out. however, i don’t have any haldiram or bikaner shops here.
I made these today and everyone loved them. Thanks for reciepe
welcome kalindi
Thanks a lot for the reply Dassana
welcome meena
Grate Recipe!
and also sorry forgot to ask ….can i use normal or coarse semolina or does it have to b the fine version?
thanks again
welcome meena, i have always use fine semolina. i have never tried normal or coarse semolina… so not sure about them… you can try.
Hi Dassana, thanks for this recipe. just wanted to ask if i could also add some leftover rice to this recipe as i had some in the fridge. cant wait to try this!!
meena, i don’t suggest to add left over rice in the dhokla. i don’t know how it will turn out.
today i made it but it was hard
what did you add. eno or baking soda. it should not become hard. so something wrong with the eno or soda or the batter did not have enough moisture.
I am going to try this today!! Looks great Dassana!
dassana.. i am in trouble.. ur rava dhokla reminded me of kesaris.. and now i want to have them…. i will stick to the khaman dhokla for trail… navin is not a rava fan eithr.. he loves suji halwa but everything else he says no.. picky eater u know.. !!!:)
what is kesari? and thanks renu. these dhoklas are nice too… but i know about picky eaters 🙂
I tried it…. my dhokla turned gooey 🙁
nuti, you must have added too much of water. the dhokla batter has to be very thick. thats why it became soft and gooey.
I tried this recipe yesterday and everybody in my home loved it. Thanks a lot Dassana.
I just love your blog. ..
thanks dipti
Lovely recipe. ..how much time will it take in microwave?
vani, try for 2.5 to 3 minutes. depends upon your microwave and the settings.
love this recipe dassana. i’ve bookmarked it to try
ohhhhhhhhhh yumm lovely dhoklas loving the way u have got it perfect.Is it some kind of special steamer dassana??? loving it what is it called.
janani, it is a steamer pan that came with a electric rice cooker.
I should try this recipe with wheat rava ! believe it works 🙂 this is tempting me to the core !
it is made with wheat rava only. so it will work.
Please send a recipe for jalebi also because I have full faith in you if it is your recipe then in is bound to be perfect.
Sudha
L
thanks a lot sudha. i will try adding jalebi recipe.