Khaman is probably the most recognized Gujarati appetizer or snack. This moist and delicious savory cake is a must for a Gujarati feast but don’t get it confused with Dhokla. A little bit of pre-planning is needed for this traditional khaman recipe but it’s worth every minute. Try it for your next party or get together!
Ingredients:
Chana Daal – 1 cup
Urad Daal – 1 Tbsp
Yogurt – 1/3 cup
Water – 1/4 cup
Chickpea Flour (Besan) – 1 Tbsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder – 1/8 tsp
Asafoetida – 1/8 tsp
Green Chili Paste – to taste
Minced Ginger – 2 tsp
Oil – 2 Tbsp
Lemon/Lime Juice – 1 Tbsp
Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp
Seasoning:
Oil – 2 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
Asafoetida – 1/8 tsp
Green Chilies – to taste, slit
Water – 6 Tbsp
Sugar – 1 Tbsp
Lemon/Lime Juice – 1 Tbsp
Cilantro – chopped for garnishing
Coconut – 1 to 2 Tbsp, grated for garnishing
Method:
1. Combine Chana and Urad Daals, wash well and soak in water overnight (at least 8 hrs).
2. Drain out water and add daals to food processor or blender.
3. Add Yogurt and grind daals into a coarse mixture but not too coarse (If using blender, add 1/4 cup water to help with grinding).
4. Remove mixture into a bowl and add Chickpea Flour, Salt, Turmeric Powder, Asafoetida. If you used a food processor to grind and did not add the 1/4 cup water for grinding, add it now.
5. Mix well, cover and keep in warm place overnight to ferment.
6. Once fermented, add Green Chili Paste, Ginger, Oil and Lemon/Lime Juice. Mix well.
7. Grease a steel dish with a high rim and place it empty in a pot with 1 inch water for steaming. Use another bowl at the bottom of the pot to prop up the dish out of the water. Cover pot and allow the water to come to a boil.
8. When the water starts to steam, add Baking Soda to the batter and mix well in one direction.
9. Remove the empty dish from the pot and pour in batter.
10. Place dish back into the pot, cover and steam for 20 minutes.
11. After 20 minutes, remove Khaman from the pot and leave on counter to cool for 15 minutes.
12. When 5 minutes are left, start on the Seasoning.
13. Heat Oil in a small skillet.
14. Add Mustard Seeds and allow them to pop.
15. Add Asafoetida and Slit Green Chilies. Cook for 1-2 minutes, turn off stove and sprinkle a little salt. Keep aside.
16. In a small bowl, mix 6 Tbsp Water, 1 Tbsp Sugar and 1 Tbsp Lemon/Lime Juice. Keep aside.
17. Grease a sharp knife and cut Khaman into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Remove and arrange pieces on a platter.
18. Mix Water/Sugar/Lemon solution with Green Chili Seasoning and mix well.
19. Drizzle the mixture over the Khaman pieces and allow them to absorb all of the liquid.
20. Garnish with chopped Cilantro Leaves and grated Coconut.
21. Serve with Coriander or Mint Chutney.
First time success. Thanks to your detailed measurements and tips!!
Hi Tasneem,
Excellent! Enjoy the Khaman ?
Hey I’m having a party of 35 ppl. This is one of the menu item.. How much do you think I need to soak?
There is no servings info on this one!
Hi,made the khaman today using your recipe. I made 2 sets. It came out so great!! Everyone loved how it came out!! Definitely a great recipe!!!Thanks !!!
Thanks for your wonderful, tasty yet easy to make recipes. I have been watching your video recipes forever and have became a better cook. In fact, my mother and mother-in-law are asking me for recipes. What a great compliment is that?? 🙂
Would you please post recipe for steamed muthiya with dudhi(loki/squash), etc.?
Hi Grishma,
Wow! That is some compliment. Kudos to you! We will put steamed muthiya on our list to do. Thanks!
I have kept the batter for fermentation . Can’t wait to have kaman..
U both are really sweet .. Love u guys
I have kept the batter for fermentation . Can’t wait to have kamman..
U both are really sweet .. Love u guys
Sorry i hit reply on #92 i have a question.. is there something i can substitute with instead of using yogurt/dairy?..
Hi Sam,
You could possibly use just water. The yogurt provides a special tartness that you wold miss out as well as some softness to the texture. You can add more lemon juice or use citric acid for the tartness.
Thanks for this recipe….as a lazy cook I avoid soaking and grinding but I’ll give this a go. Is there any reason you can’t add the seasoning mixture to the cooked dish before cutting into squares?
I’m not a Gujurati but have been making what we’ve referred to as “dhokla” with coarse suji and a little besan as a favourite snack – am now totally confused as to what this should be called, any ideas?
Hi Milady,
You can add the seasoning before cutting…no hard and fast rule. We just feel that the oil gets incorporated better when the pieces are cut (all around as opposed to just on top). Dhokla is made from either sooji or rice and daal. Khaman is only daal.
Thanks Hetal. Have you tried cooking this in the microwave, and if so does it give a good result?
I finally found the right sized, straight-sided pyrex dish for my rotating microwave plate and after a bit of trial and error with the texture of the batter and timings, I have now perfected the microwave version of your recipe. Just 5 mins in my microwave now gives me a good sized plate of khaman / dhokla – no way would I ever go to the trouble of steaming this again!
Am happy to be mastering the art of Gujurati snacks, thank you ladies 🙂
Hi Milady,
Really??? That’s great! Will have to try it sometime.
Hello anuja & Hethal
can we use 3 tier traditional dhokla stand to make it in deep stock pan covered with a glass fitting lid.
Hi Shweta,
Khaman is usually thicker than dhokla but you could use your dhokla stand. The taste will be the same.
Is there a substitute for yogurt/dairy in this recipe..
Hi Anuja and Hetal,
I am a big fan of Khaman (dhokla) as a knew it before watching this video. Thank you for letting me know that these are two different things. I am planning on buying a food processor; could you please advise which one is your and what size (how many cups)? I get so confused looking at so many different varieties. But i am sure the one you have will be of optimum use for me as well. Will wait for your reply.
I will definitely try this one and share my experience with you.
Hi Sam,
Our food processor was a Black & Decker. I say “was” because it has since been retired. Also, it was really old and they don’t make that model anymore. There are a lot of good food processors out there…Black & Decker, Cuisinart, etc. Look for one with a powerful motor at a price that you are comfortable with. Also, regarding the size, think about your family size and how often you entertain large crowds. Someone with a small family usually does not need a really large one.
Hey,
I made this for dinner today..As usual it came out awesome..Actually I had khamman for the first time..its so good:)
Hi,
After watching the Khaman video i immediately soaked the chana dal and urad dal, but got confused that after grinding you guys told to add chickpeas flour (besan) which are two different flour (chickpeas flour is kabuki chana and besan is chana dal.
Please help me out which flour should i add
If u let me know sooner i can prepare khaman with proper ingredients.
Please advise
Thank you
Sorry i made a spelling mistake it should be kabuli chana and not kabuki chana
Hi,
Thank you very much for the recipe of khaman, I prepared it according to the recipe, it came out very well.
You told to add 1 tbsp of chickpeas flour but I added 1 tbsp of besan.
The khaman had lot of fluffiness and tangy taste, I liked your recipe of Khaman very much. Once again very much thank you.
This is the first time i visited your site, hereafter i would like to try all of your recipes.
bye.
Hi Khoushiya,
Besan is the same as chickpea flour.
Why the khamans do not come out nice bright yellow. Mine always come out muddy looking yellow. And I follow your recipe to the ‘T’.
Hi Jay,
Sometimes, the color of the turmeric will have an effect on the final color. On different occasions, I have purchased turmeric that was either bright yellow or burnt yellow.
I was wondering the same thing. Am wondering if Eno would give it a brighter color than the baking soda.
ENO is a mixture of baking soda and citric acid.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
Many thanks for all your great recipes.
I just follow your recipes blindly whenever I try something new because your measurements are very accurate and they turn out very delicious.Sometimes my husband just wonders if I can cook so tasty. I have already tried this recipe for my little but naughty boys first birthday party and all my guests took and tried the recipe.Please could you confirm how much is 1cup measurement in all your recipes as I just try to find it out each time in the comment sections of different recipes.I would be grateful if you could mail me asap since I would like to prepare it this weekend.
Thank you so much once again for all your time and dedication.
Best wishes,
Sindu
Hi Sindhu,
We use a standard US measuring cup which is 8 fluid ounces.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
I tried this recipe and the taste was good. It came out soft as well but it was dense.
What could have caused my khaman denser?
Please advise.
Thank You
Anitha
Hi Anitha,
Khaman tends to be dense because of the chana daal. Usually, restaurants use a LOT of oil to help the khaman go down easy. This recipe is a “healthier” version but the water/oil mix that you drizzle at the end should help the problem. Did you drizzle it evenly and make sure that all of the khaman were covered?
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
You have a nice website with great dishes and yummy recipes. I have been looking out for a nice Kaman recipe and your provides the detail description and photos are very tempting. I am planning to try this out for my son’s birthday party which is is 2 weeks.
Can you please answer the below questions-
1. If I use the steam tondoor, can I pour the batter in 2 vessels and stack it up in steam tondoor? It helps in getting more Kaman done in a batch but want to check with you if its ok to steam that way.
2. Can I steam in a pressure cooker again stacking up vessels?
You guys rock and your videos are awesome with intricate details about the recipe. Thanks for all the yummy recipes and a great website.
With best wishes
Anitha
Hi Anitha,
If you can fit deep trays into your steamer or pressure cooker, it should work fine. We have a dhokla stand with 4 trays but we don’t like to use it because the khaman do not come out very thick.
hey hetal and anuja,
I am learning so many different items from your website.
I did tried this Khaman …it turned out soft but I m afraid the colour was not the same.
Although I added turmeric powder. 🙁
It was little yellowish brown..I am disappointed. Can you please advice.
Hi Surabhi,
Sometimes if the batter is not mixed properly, the turmeric powder clumps and becomes almost brownish. Don’t know if that is what happened to your khaman but that is the only thing I can think of.
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
I tried Ur recipe and it was great!!. Thanks for sharing this….hats off to U guys for giving the perfect tips. Kindly let me know if besan could be used as a substitute for chana dal and if I would get the same texture.
Jaya.
Hi Jaya,
There are instant recipes that use besan but the texture is really different. The recipe is a little different so you would not be able to just substitute besan in this recipe.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
I tried this recipe but khaman were not spongy and fluffy. I followed exact measurements for ingredients. What could have gone wrong? One thing I can imagine could be fermentation. Please share your thoughts.
Hi Meha,
It could have to do with the fermentation but also, the lemon juice/sugar/seasoning liquid plays an important role. It must be drizzled on evenly to make sure all of the khaman is coated properly.
Hello Hetal,
I tried again but no luck. I did add the solution evenly but Khaman didn’t absorb. They were not spongy at all. I still have a feeling that it is to do with fermentation. When can I say it is fermented? As this one doesn’t rise like Idli batter.
Sorry, I am out of ideas. Even though the batter does not rise like idli/dosa, you can see tiny bubbles if it has fermented.
Thank you for quick reply Hetal…. 🙂 can’t wait to try this delicious khaman…:)
Sorry I was unclear about my question… My question was hong long do I need to let my batter ferment because I made my batter in the morning…sorry about the confusion dear… And thank you for your quick reply on the 1st post… 🙂
Hi Pari,
If you grind in the morning, you should be able to steam in the evening. You can warm you oven a bit, turn it off and then keep your batter in it. The warmth will also help the fermentation.
i am going to try this recipe tomorrow… i just soaked both daals today… n will be grinding them tomm morning… how long do i have to let it ferment before i can make khaman? because i will be grinding the daal around 9 am. please let me know.. thank you… can i make them in the evening or i have to let it ferment overnight? thank you in advance.
Hi Pari,
If you already soaked the daals this morning, then grind them this evening or night. This way, it will give you more fermentation time. Daals do not need to be soaked for more than 6 to 8 hours.
hi Hetal and Anuja:-
your all recepies are always awesome teaching way is also so good and very clear. I had prepared the Khaman Dhokla completely as it was considered by you but my dhokla could not spongy and soft. Can u please tell me it’s solution.
Hi Shikha,
The water/oil/lemon juice solution that is poured onto the khaman is what makes them soft. It has to be evenly poured to make sure all areas are covered. Also, the khaman has to be steamed immediately after adding the baking soda.
i ;ove gujrati food…:)
Hi Hetal n Anuja..
I tried ur recepies, they were perfect but this time khaman was little hard. Plz correct me. I made it as u mentioned but it wasn’t much soft.
Hi Dipti,
The khaman on its own is a little hard. They get soft by adding the sugar/lime/water/oil solution. Did you add enough of it and more importantly, did you soak the khaman evenly, from all over?
Hi Hetal..
Thank you for reply soon.
I will try it again with concentration on applying the solution evenly.
Thanks a lot..
you both are awesome.. and your efforts to make cooking easy and interesting are just wonderful.
Hi!!
can khaman be prepared in microwave??plz let me know.i want to try it.but don’t hv utensils.
Hi Pooja,
We have never made khaman in the microwave. You don’t have to have fancy utensils to make khaman. We show you in the video how you can take every day pots and pans and still steam them.
Hi
I don’t know how to thank you for this great recipe.I tried to make khaman 3 times before with some other ecipies and each times it was a flop.But with ur recipe it came so good.Thank you again for the recipe
Hi Deepa,
That’s great! Thanks for the feedback!
Hi Hetal/Anuja,
Thanks for all the wonderful recipes. Can you please upload video for Surati Sev Khamani.
Thanks,
Aanal
Hi Aanal,
We will put that on our list. Thanks for your support and feedback 🙂
If you go to Baroda(Vadodara-Gujarat) and try
Raju Khaman on Raj Mahel Road or
Anadi Khaman in Chokhandi area or
Lalaji Khamn at Nyaymandir
their test and chatni(they makes using khaman) is completely different. do you know how do they make it?
They use only channa dal.
hey… khaman comes out sooooooo good ….. thankyou soo much…..for such a nice receipe…..
Hi Komal,
Thanks for your feedback and glad you enjoyed the khaman 🙂
Hi Anuja & Hetal
I am the silent spectator of your site..today i tried out the Khaman & it came out so good that my hubby thought its better than those oily restaurant Khamans…Now i am going to making this for potluck..I really appreciate your efforts ladies..keep up this good job..i love all your recipes especially the fusion ones..thanks a ton..
varsha
Hi Varsha,
Good Luck with the potluck, we are sure it’ll be great 🙂
Hi,
Khaman recipe was superb.it was a big hit with my family. all loved it a lot.
Keep up the good work.
keep wondering if u guys speak hindi.what abt one demo in hindi. what say….
Dear Hhetal,Anuja
You guys are awesome. No recipe of yours can go wrong if ur instructions are followed. GR8 work. Keep it up.
Gonna try ur khaman recipe today.
Hi Guys,
You two are amazing! love to read all your posts. Love Khamman tried making it skiped a step and it turned out like pudding. I’m going to try a double batch to accomadate my pan and follow the steps exactly this time.
You guys rock!!!!! Any advice?
hi hetal & anuja i reed ur recipe & it’s look good but i haven’t try yet.i don’t know where u from but i’m from village in surat & i miss my khaman i could’t find in leicester in england & i tried to make home but i couldn’t do it.we call nylon khaman in gujarati to ur khaman.but our side khaman is not sweet & not really soft if u know how to make please tell me i’m from kathor (kamrej charrasta) in india.thanks alot sejal.
Hi Sejal,
Nylon is the instant version of our recipe.
We will put it on our list and may show it at a later time.
Hey,
I regularly check your site & when I want to make something special I count you guys.
I don’t have baking soda right now can I se the eno fruit salt insteat of it?
Vindhya.
and one more question how can i cook them in pressure cooker?
Hi Vindhya,
You can use about 3/4 tsp of Eno and it should come out right.
Regarding using the pressure cooker – You can use a pressure cooker without the weight to steam.
This recipe rocks love it. I cook it all the time. A big thank you.
Hi Shazia,
Glad to hear that you are enjoying the Khaman and the website 🙂
I had heard numerous horror stories of how even the most seasoned cooks have had humbling experiences with “khaman” (or “dhokla” as I knew it then). I am so glad I chose to follow your recipe and managed to make delicious fluffy khaman in my first-ever attempt! It is one of my favorite snacks. Thanks a ton, guys. I have tried your suji dhokla recipe too. That turned out just fine. Please upload a traditional dhokla recipe soon. Also, would you consider telling us how to make instant khaman with besan? I do not mind pre-planning at all. Just that I have tons of besan that I have to put to use soon. 🙂
Hi Suchismita,
So happy to hear about your khaman experience! We can put instant khaman on our list but it will be a while before we go through our long to do list. In the mean time, you can try khandvi or Gujarati Kadhi to use your besan.
Hey ladies, you are simply the best. Our family love khaman. We buy it from the store regularly. Now, that I’ve found your site and your well demonstrated recipe, I will try it out and hope my result is as good as yours.
Love the way the two of you demonstrate recipes. Keep up the good work.
i dont want to use yeast/baking soda/eno so on…..can u please tell me the natural way instead of these thing…or need to ferment more time. den how much time
Hi Rekha,
The batter is already being fermented so you will not be able to ferment it more without it spoiling. The baking soda is to make the khaman lighter because it uses so many heavy daals.
i dont want to use yeast/baking soda/eno so on…..can u please tell me the natural way instead of these thing…or need to ferment more time. den how much time
Hi
I have tried your many recipes and all was fantastic
I m doing hotel management and with your recipe i impressed my faculty in my institute
So my request is that you please bring some foreign cuisine food. Please reply to me to my mail id
THANK YOU
Hi Zohaib,
That’s great to hear! We do have many foreign recipes. Please see the “Fusion” tab.
The instant mix I buy at the Indian stores says to steam it in pressure cooker. Can I do the same? If using pressure cooker can I steam by placing couple of batches at once like placing the steel dishes on top of each other and steaming them together?
You can use a pressure cooker without the weight to steam food. You can also use stackable plates to steam provided that they leave some room in between each plate for the steam to reach the food.
Thank you so much for your response. Shalini
Hi Girls!
I have a question regarding khaman. If i have to make it for a big gathering (say 30 to 40 people)how early i can make it and how do i warm it up before serving.I can season before serving but not sure about preparing ahead of time. Kindly guide. Thank you o much. I really enjoy watching your video and so helpful. I loved the trifle video with all the kids in there-that was so cute.
Hi Shalini,
You can make the khaman (seasoning and all) 1-2 days in advance. Store them in the refrigerator but serve them at room temperature…no need to reheat. Just pull them out a few hours in advance. You can always add just a bit of fresh seasoning (without the sugar/water) at the end for a freshened taste.
Hi,
I have my eye on your recipe for khaman for ages and now I am at home on holiday I will be starting to make this tomorrow. Please can you tell me if I can pour the batter into typical 8″ round non-stick baking tins then put them into the steaming pot?
Also approximately how deep should the batter be, and approximately how many pieces will I get out of one batch?
It is Diwali soon and I want to take some in to work. Gonna get some sev to serve it with too…
Thanks again for a great classic favourite. If I get it right I will feel like a true Gujjie!
Sorry I didn’t get to your question on time Bindu.
I have never tried steaming in a non-stick baking pan but it should work. Khaman are known to be thick and spongy but they will taste great no matter how high they are. You can fill your pan about 3/4 way full to give the khaman some room to rise. Our pan was much larger than 8″ so you will probably need to make a couple of batches to use up the batter. Be sure to divide the batter before adding the baking soda so you can add it just before steaming to each batch. We got about 28 pieces.
dhokla is one of my favorite receipe of all the items. and i really enjoy this receipe. it comes out very well every time. but this time i tried dhokla with refined semonila.usually i try it with normal rava.my dhokla did not rise.and secondly i was running short of eno so i added eno and baking soda. could that be the mistake.
[Reply]
Hi Gayathri,
Did you add sooji to this khaman recipe? We have a Sooji (Semolina) Dhoka recipe but we have never tried sooji in khaman. If you are running short of eno, you can substitute baking soda and lime juice or citric acid.
hi, I remember visiting my aunt in Baroda and eating something called as nylon dhokla (or was it khaman??)…it was very very soft and extremely spongy. do u have any recipe for that?
Hi Dipti,
Sorry, I have not heard of nylon dhokla but you can try either this khaman recipe or we also have a Sooji Dhokla recipe you may like.
I was looking for a dhokla reciped and stumbled on your blog. Have enjoyed reading your cooking blog. I had a question – I bought dhokla flour from the indian stores – it does not tell me what it in it,please suggest me. Thanks.
Hi Preeti,
Dhokla flour will have rice and urad daal in it.