Dhokrays, a prawn and vegetable stew served with fish, is traditionally made in the winters — often to mark a special occasion or for big family gatherings. What makes dhokrays particularly unique is the addition of savoury and sweet dumplings, which gives the dish its name.

Dhokray isn’t as famous as that other Memoni dish that seems to have hogged all the limelight: khao suey. It isn’t surprising that, despite its popularity within the community, few outside of it have heard of it or tried it.

Seafood stews or, for that matter, most seafood cuisine, can often be polarising and dhokrays also falls into one of those love-it-or-hate-it dishes. It’s also very time consuming to make and harks back to the days of pages-long recipes and slow cooking. But the effort and time that goes into making this dish is worth it: you savour every bite even more, knowing what it took to make it. And that you’re eating a dish ‘hidden’ from the world only adds to its allure.

The Memoni seafoood dish dhokray isn’t as famous as khao suey but is just as delicious…

Dhokray

Ideally, the fish should be cooked fresh — nothing saps the flavour and texture of fish like putting it away in the freezer (wholesalers flash-freeze fish which our plebeian freezers are incapable of doing). The same rule applies to the prawns. If you can’t get to the market on the day, then marinate the fish and prawns the day before and put away in the fridge.

Making dhokrays is time-consuming, so lean into the slow-cooking mindset and set aside half a day to prep and cook the dish — it’s worth it, I promise.

Ingredients
For the Fish

1 kg surmai or pomfret, deboned and cut into small fillets
1 cup yoghurt
2 tablespoons chickpea flour
10 medium green chillies (crushed in a blender)
1½ teaspoons or to-taste salt
½ teaspoon ajwain [bishop’s weed] seeds
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder

For the prawns

1 kg prawns
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
1 tablespoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt

For the namkeen dhokray

[savoury dumplings]

1 kg bajray ka aata [pearl millet flour]
1 tablespoon yoghurt
1 tablespoon oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon zeera [cumin seeds]
1 tablespoon red chilli flakes
1 tablespoon medium green chillies (crushed in a blender)

For the meethay dhokray

(sweet dumplings)

½ kg wheat flour
250g gurr [jaggery]
1 tablespoon yoghurt
2 tablespoons oil
10 raisins (optional)
10 almonds, blanched and chopped (optional)
10 pistachios, blanched and chopped (optional)

For the vegetable and

prawn stew

Oil, as needed
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
1 tablespoon zeera (cumin seeds)
½ kg tomatoes (puréed in a blender)
1 kg prawn
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
8-10 peppercorns
4-5 cloves
2 barri elaichi [black cardamom]
1 eggplant, diced
1 cup spinach, chopped
1½ cauliflower, chopped
1½ cup sem ki phali [broad beans or fava beans]
1½ cup mongray ki phali [radish pods]
1½ cup gawar ki phali [cluster beans]
½ kg potatoes, diced
1 ear of corn, boiled with kernels removed

To-taste salt

1 tablespoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 cup yoghurt

Method

1. Marinate the fish and prawns. Add yoghurt to a bowl and whip it lightly. Crush the green chillies in a blender. Add this and all the other spices to the yoghurt and mix well. Pour the mixture on the fish fillets and rub the marinade on. Set aside in the fridge.

2. Add prawns to a bowl. Add the ginger-garlic paste, salt and pepper, and rub the spices into the prawns. Put away in the fridge.

3. Make the savoury dhokrays. In a large flat-shaped bowl, add the bajra flour and the spices, and mix in. Crush the green chillies in a blender, and add it and the yoghurt to the mixture. Add water as needed and mix the flour paste till a dough forms. Knead the dough and form into a round shape and set aside.

4. Make the sweet dhokrays. Blanche the almonds and pistachios in boiling water. Remove the skin and chop them. Pull the sticks out from the raisins. Set all aside in a bowl.

5. Melt the gurr in a saucepan. Add water as needed. Stir continuously until a thick syrup forms. Set aside to cool. In a flat-shaped bowl, add the jaggery syrup to the wheat flour and mix the two until it becomes dough-like. Roll the dough into a round shape and set aside.

6. Make the prawn and vegetable stew. In a large pot, heat oil. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cumin seeds. Add the tomato purée. Then, add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, cardamom seeds and cloves. Stir well. Then add the prawns and cook till they are halfway done. Add all the chopped vegetables, followed by the remaining spices. Stir well. Add the yoghurt. Stir again. Add water until it covers all the ingredients. Cover with a lid and let it simmer to a boil.

7. Take the dough out from the fridge. Grab a fistful of the savoury dhokrays and roll into a cylindrical shape. Repeat this step until the dough is finished. Set aside.

8. Now make the sweet dhokrays. Take a fistful of the dough. Sprinkle in a spoonful of the chopped nuts and raisins, and fold into the dough. Flatten the dough into a disc and press your thumb in the middle — it should resemble a doughnut without a hole. Repeat these steps until all the dough is finished.

9. When the stew comes to a boil, add all the dhokrays and lower the heat to a simmer. The stew is done when the dhokrays are cooked and the stew comes to a second boil.

10. Pan-fry or grill the fish.

11. Serve the fish and the vegetable-prawn-dhokray stew. Ladle spoonfuls of the stew in a deep plate and place a fish on top.

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 16th, 2025