Steamy affair

You haven't tasted khaman till you've been to Surat ...

Kareena Kapoor finds them "dangerous and explosive", Kunal Vijaykar couldn't resist them on a recent trip to Surat on The Foodie and dieters are thrilled when nutritionists prescribe these tasty snacks. We're talking about khaman dhoklas, the spongy delights that are a mainstay of Gujarati cooking.

Maggi Caruthers

Khaman is a farsan, a course that culinary connoisseur Behram 'Busybee' Contractor described as "tidbits that you have before, during and after a Gujarati meal". It's available across the country at farsan shops in a semi-sweet version known as dhokla, which is a far cry from authentic ones available in Gujarat, its place of origin.

Khaman, was invented by the Kathiawadis of Saurashtra as a smooth version that is known as nylon khaman. It's made from Bengal gram flour using a method similar to the preparation of its cousin the idla. While the former is prepared from rice batter, the dhokla is made from flours such as jowar and mung dal that are mixed into a batter and steamed.

Surat holds a special place in the history of fine dining. Our shastras recommend Surat nu jaman ane Kashi nu maran (dining in Surat and dying in Kashi) as the ultimate experience for the soul. Sometime around the early 18th century, Surtis began preparing khaman from coarsely ground gram dal, which gave it a spongier, crumblier texture. The steamed khaman was then sautéed in a dash of oil sputtering with mustard seeds, a hint of asafoetida and green chillies sliced lengthwise, topped with finely chopped coriander and served with sev and a sweet-spicy chutney on the side. Leela Parekh, 6, reminisces buying, "a delicious handful for Re 1,in the 1930s from Harihar Farsan that existed near the old Ambaji temple".

Sold here are different preparations of khaman. There's the trirangi (tri-coloured) variety, locha khaman, which has 32 versions, khamni, a velvety and sweeter version and a runny type called rasawala khaman. The varieties are differentiated by how they are treated after the khaman is steamed. They're then teased with a hint of garlic at times or sprinkled with dry spices and smothered with either groundnut oil or butter.

Within the by-lanes of the old walled city, little kiosks function from as early as 6 am and close down at 9 pm. Many of the old stalwarts like Surti Khaman and Madhini Khamni, have branched out to the suburbs, selling all sorts of khaman to match up to the ever rising demand for the snack. However, a couple of shops remain exclusive to their innovations and proudly claim that they have no branches.

Gopal Khaman House in Macharpura Kharadi Sheri, opposite the Surat Railway station, is one such place. The shop began 25 years ago as a little hand cart. It now functions like a burger joint with a live kitchen that's done up in steel and is run by Ameetaben and her husband Rajeshbhai Patel who prepare the closely guarded basic recipe by themselves.

The Patels make locho, a type of khaman they concocted by accident. "Locho in Gujarati literally means gadbad (trouble), and we actually discovered this dish by disaster," Ameetaben says. "We added butter and spices to khaman gone wrong and got a hit on our hands." She explains that the khaman is made by soaking gram dal for four hours, grinding it coarsely and then leaving it to ferment for eight hours. A ginger and chilli paste, soda bi-carb, turmeric and salt are added before the batter is steamed. The trick lies in the steaming as unlike other khaman, locho is a collapsed cake.

Locho is usually served with a special chilli pickle and chopped onions. But the fortunate faux pas has led Ameetaben to experiment with different toppings. Gopal boasts of khaman locho in flavours such as Italian - which involves a topping of macaroni that is sautéed with capsicum, onions and garam masala - Punjabi, Chinese, green garlic, royal gold, sizzler and so on. "For youngsters, we have locho pizza, burger and grilled sandwiches," claims the proud owner, who also plans to introduce a few South East Asian flavours.

Another exclusive recipe is rasawala khaman available at Jay Jalaram Khaman at Chowk Bazaar. Founded by the Sakaria brothers, the 45-year-old shop began by selling khaman at 20p per plate. While khaman in other places is sold dry, this one is a glutinous version with gravy that is topped with fresh kachumber and grated coconut.

No one has till date been able to ape the hot, tangy gravy laced with tamarind, jaggery and mung dal, which is poured over this Rs 10 dish. "Our customers relish rasawala khaman for breakfast lunch and dinner and top it with a tumbler of cooling Jayshankar lassi that we sell next door," says Jackie Sakaria, who represents the third generation of khaman masters. "Seven families survive on the income generated from these two hand carts," he says. Meanwhile, the Surati Farsan Mart in California, is heading towards its silver jubilee year. The shop, which has an annual turnover of millions of dollars, was begun in 1986 by Nathubhai Patel who wanted to do something other than start the usual Patel-motel. The store also has an online service that provides doorstep delivery of khaman and other Surti farsan to homesick NRIs throughout America. This just goes to show that you can take a Surti away from Surat but you can't take khaman away from a Surti.