Surti Locho

Made with ingredients like chana dal, urad dal, and poha, this Surti Locho is protein-rich and uses very minimal oil in it. It is one type of Indian street food that can be enjoyed as breakfast, a snack, or as a light dinner. If you are someone who loves Gujarati food and looking to have a tasty and healthy recipe, then this recipe could be your preference!

Jump to:

• What is Surti Locho?
• What is the story behind this dish? History of Locho –
• Why I Love making this recipe?
• Ingredients require –
• How to make Surti Locho? Step by step process –
• Notes, pro-tips, and quick FAQs.
• More Gujarati breakfast recipe –
• Surti Locho
• Video

This is one dish that no matter how much you are full, you just can’t stop yourself from having a bite. 😉

The flavors, the texture, and the aroma….. are just mind-blowing!

It is just too tempting.

What is Surti Locho?

Locho is a steamed Gujarati Snack /Side Dish originated in Surat, the city known for diamonds in India. It is made from the batter of Bengal gram (chana dal).

The consistency is loose and It is often topped with butter, Sev, locho masala, cilantro, onion, etc.

What is the story behind this dish? History of Locho –

In Gujarati, Locho means something is not right (fishy).

It has its name from the fact that it was created while making Khaman. In the process of making khaman, it turned out like a lump (locho we call it in Gujarati) instead of getting pieces like Khaman!

So The story behind it is something like this –

Once a chef by mistake added more water to the khaman dhokla batter. So the better turned out very runny and that’s why khaman also turned out a little softer and mushy than the regular one.

So he said,” arre aa to LOCHO thai gayo” means It becomes lumpy and not right.

To hide his mistake, he served that dish along with the tasty and colorful toppings like green chutney, sev, onion, masala, and butter.

And this mistake is loved by his customers and this dish was born.

This dish is super easy to make. Plus you can find all the ingredients at your pantry, local Indian grocery store, or on Amazon.

The preparation is quite similar to Khaman, however, more water is added to the batter in this recipe. This recipe can be had as breakfast or snack at any time of the day.

It is important to serve this dish piping hot to get its perfect Locho (soft) texture and taste!

Why I Love making this recipe?

• very easy to make and is loved by everyone.
• Requires very less oil
• Perfect for snack, breakfast, lunch and light dinner
• Needs the only a handful of ingredients and 30 minutes of your active time.
• I love the combination of textures and flavors. You get the crunch from sev and onion with soft, gooey locho, and spicy green chutneys all in one bite and it is simply heaven!

Ingredients require –

This is an overview of the ingredients in the recipe (very handy to use as a visual grocery list at the store). Quantities are mentioned in the recipe card.

For toppings, you will need

Green chutney

I use my Mint and coriander chutney.

Onion

You may use any onions of your choice. Make sure you cut onion very finely.

Sev

For sev, use the smaller/finer version of sev, called nylon sev.

Butter

We use butter but you may use oil too. Peanut oil would taste great.

Locho masalo

This spice mix is easily available in India but not here In the US. So I make it in bulk and store it in my pantry. It stays fresh for up to 3 months.

For this spice mix, you will need, Chili powder, Black salt, black pepper powder, and roasted cumin powder. You can also use only chili powder and chaat masala.

There are so many varieties locho

• Butter locho
• Chaat locho
• Schezwan locho
• Cheese locho
• Pizza locho
• Italian locho
• Lasiniyo locho(garlic)
• Tandoori locho
• Chinese locho
• and many more…

But out of all, my favorite is chaat locho, butter masala locho and cheese locho with schezwan.

How to make Surti Locho? Step by step process –

Wash both the dals very well and soak both together for 6 hours or overnight in water. (photo 1 to 6)

Wash and soak the poha in water for 10 minutes at the grinding time. (Photo 7 and 8)

Once you are done with a soaking of dals and poha, drain all the water from dal and poha. (photo 9)

Take everything into a blender. (Photo 10 and 11)

Blend them into a smooth but little bit coarse paste using 1 and ¼ cup of water. (Photo 12 and 13)

Now take this batter into a bowl. Cover it and keep this batter to ferment in a warm place for about 6 to 8 hours. (photo 14 and 15)

Once the batter is fermented, add ginger chili paste, oil, salt, and turmeric powder. Mix well. (Photo 16 to 20)

Slowly add 450 ml of water in the mixture and try to make a smooth batter from it. The batter should neither be too thin nor be too thick. (Photo 21)

Now, heat some water in a steamer. Take a steel plate (I am using a 9-inch diameter plate) and grease it with some oil. (photo 22 and 23)

After that add baking soda and lemon juice. Mix very well using a whisk. (photo 24 and 25)

Pour ⅓ rd of the prepared batter in the greased plate neatly. (Note – Batter Quantity is depended on the size of the plate/mould you are using). (Photo 26)

Now, place the batter filled plate in the steamer carefully, cover the steamer with lid and let it cook for at least 10 minutes. (photo 27 and 28)

Surti locho appears to be puffy and cooked. (Photo 29)

Take out the plate and with the help of a spatula, transfer the locho in a serving plate. (Photo 30 and 31)

Lastly, drizzle it with some butter, locho masala, sev, chopped onion, and serve immediately with green chutney. (Photo 32 to 35)

Notes, pro-tips, and quick FAQs.

• The consistency of the batter is the key, so make sure it is perfect.
• You can store locho masala in an airtight container for months.
• You can add garlic too to the batter for garlicky flavor.
• Sprinkle some black pepper powder on the batter before steaming if you wish too.

Can we make this instant pot?

Sure you can.

Pour the batter into a greased pan (I prefer to use my 7-inch cheesecake pan with a removable bottom for easy removal).

Place the pan on top of the trivet.

Secure the lid, close the pressure valve, and cook for 3 minutes at high pressure (use the “pressure cook” button on an ultra model or “manual” mode on a duo).

Naturally, release pressure for 5 minutes, then quickly release any remaining pressure.

Can we use only Chana dal?

Yes, you can use only chana dal.

What if we don’t have time to ferment the batter? Can we still make this recipe?

Absolutely, you can make without fermenting the batter.

Add all the spices and water in the grounded batter. Take ⅓rd of the batter in a bowl.

Add 1 teaspoon ENO fruit salt and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Skip the baking soda here.

Gently mix and steam the batter.

Can we use besan (gram flour)?

Honestly, I have never tried making locho with besan, so I don’t know what the result will be. If I happen to try in the future, I will update the result here.

The cooking time is not much. So, the next time you have a get-together, a party at home, do try out this recipe.

It’s that one delicacy that everyone’s surely going to love.

More Gujarati breakfast recipe –

Khatta dhokla

Methi thepla

Sandwich dhokla

Vegetable Gharvda

Farali pattice

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Warm regards,

Dhwani