Combine rice and dal. Wash 4 to 5 times or until the water is almost clear. Do not rub the grains while washing. Soak them in water for about 8 to 10 hours. At the time of grinding, drain out the water BUT DO NOT DISCARD. We will be using the same water for grinding as the water has bubbles from udad dal and it will help to ferment the batter. Wash poha once and soak it in water for 10 min before grinding.

Add asafoetida and sugar in the batter. Add WARM water if needed to gain pouring consistency (see the video attached).

Combine everything well using a whisk. Whisk well in order to create air pockets in the batter. Cover the pot and put it in a warm place to ferment. The time to ferment varies depending on the weather conditions. Check out step 6 of the idli batter recipe to get all the tips on fermentation.

When the weather is hot and sunny, I soaked the grains in the morning, grinded at night, and kept it in the oven overnight. Then, I took it out of the oven in the morning and kept it on the countertop until dinner time. This way, the batter got fermented more than double, yet it did not turn sour.

Grease the tray with oil. In a separate bowl take out 3 ladles of batter. Add 1 tsp ginger paste and 1 tsp garlic paste. Add ½ tsp or little less salt. Gently combine everything well. Just when the steamer is ready with boiling water, dissolve ⅛ tsp (1 pinch) of soda bi carb in 2 tbsp water. Add it in the batter and gently combine well. Pour this batter in the tray. Sprinkle blackpepper all over. Transfer the plate to the steamer. Cover and cook for 8-10 min.

Take the tray out of the steamer. Pour 1 tbsp oil and spread it all over the dhokla using a spetula. Let it cool for 3-5 minute and cut square pieces using a sharp spetula. Serve hot with green chutney (coriendar leaves, garlic, salt, sugar, green chillies, lemon juice and just a little water to grind.) and/or aam ras.