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I recently paired up with Sanskar Teaching to share a couple Gujarati dishes with unique names! The first recipe I’m sharing with you guys is Surti Locho. The word surti refers to Surat, a major city in Gujarati where this dish orginates from, and locho, means a messy mixture. The word locho is used to describe ruining or making a mess out of anything. My mom often used it to describe my laundry folding skills. ??
I only learned about Surti locho in the past year! When my grandfather passed away last year, my dad and his brother went to India for the funeral. Every day my uncles and my dad would send up photos of all the food they were eating via WhatsApp and one day they had locho! One of my cousins was inspired and invited the family members who were still in the US to come over for a locho party! I learned that locho a street food served in Surat and it is basically unfermented khaman batter that is undercooked.
After that first taste I was hooked! I love the combination of textures and flavors. You get crunchy sev with soft, gooey locho, spicy chutneys and tangy pickled onions all in one bite and it is heaven!
This dish is super easy to make and you can find all the ingredients at your local Indian grocery store or on Amazon (links in the recipe). If you decide to make it be sure to tag me in your photos or share them with me!
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Surti Locho
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Locho is steamed Gujarati street food and farsan originated in Surat made from chickpea flour (besan). It’s an easy gluten free Indian street food recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 cup chana dal (split chickpeas)
- 1/4 cup urad dal
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 tsbp ginger paste
- 1/2 tbsp green chili paste (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tso turmeric powder
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp ENO fruit salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder
QUICK PICKLED ONION
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- pinch of salt
- pinch of red chili powder
GARNISH
- 1 cup nylon sev
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup green chutney
- 1 cup sweet chutney
- 1 tsp black salt or chaat masala
- 1 tsp garam masala
Instructions
Locho
- Add chana dal and urad dal to a medium bowl and cover with water. Soak for at least 5 hours or up to overnight.
- Drain the dal, making sure to save at least 1/2 a cup of the soaking water. Add the dal to a blender with the yogurt and 1/3 cup of soaking water. Blend until you have a semi-smooth mixture. You don’t want it to be completely smooth, but you don’t want whole dal in there either.
- Pour the dal mixture into a large bowl. Mix in ginger, green chili, salt, turmeric, and vegetable oil. The mixture should be like a thick cake batter.
- When you’re ready to steam the locho, add Eno to the mixture and gently stir in. Immediately pour the batter into an oil-greased 8-inch pan. Sprinkle the top with black pepper and red chili powder. Tap 2 times to level the batter out and then steam for 15 to 20 minute. The locho is done when you pierce it with a knife and the knife comes out clean.
QUICK PICKLED ONION
- While the locho is cooking, make the pickled onion. In a small bowl mix together onion, lime juice, salt, and chili powder and set aside.
ASSEMBLE
- Serve the locho immediately when it’s done and piping hot! Spoon about 1 cup of locho onto a plate. Top with sev, drizzle of vegetable oil, green and sweet chutney, a pinch of black salt or chaat masala, and a few quick pickled onions. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Appetizer, Snack
- Cuisine: Indian
