This Gujarati snack is having its moment in the Sun

Factories have tripled with Ahmedabad daily consuming 10,000kg
It’s so quintessentially Gujarati among dishes that the dhokla easily secured a place of pride on plates served to state heads like Chinese premier Xi Jinping and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe visit to Ahm with PM N Modi. Dho Khaman, t snack with soft hear has remained the favourite of hoi polloi i n Ahmeda and elsewhe long.
But wh be a once-a-week indulgence has now become a staple breakfast item for a growing number of fans thanks to its easy availability and lack of oil compared to other farsan (savouries).Riding on the wave, the dhokla steaming factories have witnessed a threefold jump within a decade. This multicrore business is mostly dominated by Lohana Thakkars.

“In 2008, there were about four big factories – making over 1,000 kg daily – and catering to the demand for khaman and dhokla. Now, there are 12 factories across the city in areas such as Maninagar, Saraspur, Bapunagar, Memnagar, Satellite and Naroda,” said Mukesh Thakkar, a shop owner in Maninagar who supplies about 2,000kg dhokla/khaman to different outlets in the city daily.
Thakkar said that the popularity of dhokla has gone up due to a rise in the number of health-conscious customers. It’s also an affordable snack that appeals to those with a tight budget like students and daily workers.
“Compared to the variety made from chickpea flour (besan), the demand is increasing for khaman made from coarse ground chickpea (vaatidaal). The khaman that one gets from shops or handcarts are not made at the spot – a majority of vendors source it from factories to maintain the economy of scale – the only additi they make is of garnishi ney,” Thakkar said.
The value addition takes the khaman sold at Rs 65 per kg to over Rs 200 in the retail market. On the assumption of daily 10,000kg sale, Amdavdais easily consume khaman/dhokla worth Rs 20 lakh each day.
Sonal Thakkar, a resident of Uttamnagar, makes ‘live dhokla’ – a growing concept in Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat. “We make about 1,000 kg of live dhokla every day. My father-in-law used to make khaman and sold it on handcart. I have continued his legacy with a shop. Even today, we have to ensure the consistency every morning when hundreds of plates full to the brim with besan is placed in the trays for steaming,” she said.
Sundays are particuy busy as cuses by about 20%.
can be seen popular joints in the city with Amdavadis waiting patiently to purchase khaman – both traditional and vaatidal variant, dhokla and sandwich dhokla.
Giving a peek into the process, Harsh Thakkar, a factory owner in Memnagar, said they soak the chickpea overnight and grind it in the morning. The mix is then spread in the plates which are kept in specially-designed cages where they get steamed. “We had started with about 150 kg daily in 1998. Today, we make about 1,500 kg to cater to the growing demand. Vaatidaal variant is more popular in the western city parts whereas in eastern Ahmedabad, khaman is still associated with the spongy squares,” he said.