A soft and spongy Gujarati snack made from chickpea flour, flavored with a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves.
A Gujarati Jain and merchant-community staple from the 19th century, when the steam-cooked besan (chickpea-flour) snack diverged from its older cousin dhokla. Surat and Ahmedabad farsan (snack) shops popularized the soft-and-sour 'nylon khaman' style in the 20th century — softer, airier, sweeter than the firmer rural dhokla — selling it by the 100-gram from steamer-warm trays.
Surat and Ahmedabad farsan-shop staple from the 19th century, when steam-cooked besan diverged from older firmer dhokla into the softer-airier-sweeter nylon khaman. Two leveners working together: overnight wet ferment plus baking soda whipped in last second.
Yellow squares the size of a domino, spongy and faintly sour, glistening from a tempering oil of mustard seed, green chili, curry leaf, and sesame. A little sugar water gets sprinkled on at the end — Gujarati cooks make it sweet-and-savory by design. Eaten warm with green chutney, fried green chilies on the side. Should compress under the finger and spring back; dense means the besan batter wasn't whipped or the soda lost its fizz before steaming.
A single instant leavening: a pinch of citric acid plus a heavy dose of baking soda (or fruit salt) whipped in just before steaming, which drives the foam. The sour note comes from the citric acid (or a little lemon), not from fermentation. The order matters — soda goes in last, batter goes in the steamer immediately, or the gas escapes and the squares come out flat. Skipping the ferment gives a flavorless sponge that tastes only of soda.
Variations
Nylon khaman is the soft Surat shop version with citric acid; traditional khaman is firmer and slower-fermented; sandwich khaman layers green chutney between two squares; khatta dhokla in central Gujarat is the older sourer cousin made with rice and dal, not pure besan.
On the Palate
Where Khaman sits in the Indian flavor cloud
Ingredients
How it's made
5 steps · 45 min
- 13 min
Mix chickpea flour with yogurt, water, and spices to form a batter.
Watch outWhisk the batter smooth and lump-free before anything else — this is your last chance, once the soda goes in you can't stop to fix lumps.
- 25 min
Let the batter ferment for a few hours to develop a tangy flavor.
- 310 min
Steam the batter in a greased tray until set and spongy.
Watch outBeat the soda in and get the tray into the already-steaming pot within seconds — dawdle and the gas escapes, leaving flat, dense squares.
- 45 min
Prepare a tempering with mustard seeds, sesame seeds, and curry leaves.
Watch outIt's set when a toothpick comes out clean and the sponge springs back under a finger — a wet center means more time.
- 54 min
Pour the tempering over the steamed khaman and cut into squares before serving.
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