Traditional Gujarati Handvo is a savory cake which is served as an appetizer or afternoon snack; made with rice, lentils and loaded with vegetables. Cook on stovetop, bake, or steam it, either way it is a filling snack.
Gujarati cuisine from India is a world famous for its afternoon tea snacks like gathia, fafra, handvo, dhokla, etc. These are heavy afternoon snacks served with green chutney and other sauces along with a hot cup of Masala Chai. Handvo is one of those quintessential vegetarian gujarati snack foods which is like a savory cake. Made from rice, lentils and loaded with vegetables, it can be a fairly healthy snack.
Some soak the lentils for hours, then add yogurt and ferment again for hours before cooking. Takes time and planning ahead. I have found a few shortcuts to save time, you can grind the lentils and rice into a flour and let it soak to ferment. You can cook it on the stove in a small frying pan, or you can bake it in the oven or you can even steam it for a healthier option.
What I love about handvo is that the recipe is very flexible and forgiving. There are so many vegetable options you can use depending on what you have on hand, from corn, peas and carrots to zucchini, cabbage, bell pepper, or lauki. Use whatever you have on hand.
Here is a simple step by step recipe and instructions for a perfectly soft and spongy handvo with various options to cook it. Try it out and see which you prefer.
Makes: 8″ X 8″ dish, or 9 in muffin tray or steamer dish
Time: 6 hours to soak and ferment, 10 mins to cook on stove, or bake for 45 mins, or steam for 15 mins.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup rice
- 2 tbsp Urad dal
- 2 tbsp Moong dal
- 2 tbsp chana dal
- 2 tbsp toor dal
- 2 tbsp red masoor dal (no skin on)
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup small diced onion
- 1/8 cup chopped cilantro (dhania) leaves
- 1/4 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper powder (kali miri)
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 green chili – add more or less depending on how spicy you like it.
- 3/4 cup of mixed vegetables (any combination of shredded carrots, sliced cabbage, grated zucchini, grated bottle gourd (lauki), green peas, diced bell pepper, corn can be used)
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds (rai)
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
- 5-6 curry leaves
- 1 tsp Eno/fruit salt or baking powder
- There are 2 ways to make the batter: 1. In bowl add the rice and lentils, rinse in water a couple of times to get rid of the cloudy water. Cover with water and soak for 3 hours. Drain the water out. OR 2. You can take the dry rice and lentils and dry grind them into a flour powder. No soaking is necessary, move the next step. This shortcut will save you 3 hours of soaking time if you have a good grinder!
- Whichever you are using, the flour mixture or the soaked lentils and rice, add them to a blender, add yogurt, warm water and sugar and grind into a smooth paste.
- Cover and let it sit for 6 hours or overnight to ferment. The batter mixture will look like the below before cooking.
- Prepare the tarka: heat a pan with oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, sesame seeds. Once they splutter turn off the heat.
- Mix into the batter all the vegetables, spices, salt, ginger garlic paste and the Eno/baking powder.
- There are 3 ways to cook it: 1. Bake: grease a baking dish glass or metal with the tarka oil mixture, pour the batter on top, add some tarka and sprinkle with sesame seeds on top and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 mins. Some people like a crusty top so you can go longer. Use toothpick to poke the center to be sure it is fully cooked through like a cake. You can use muffin tin for smaller individual portions which may take less cooking time. 2. Stovetop: You can also cook it on the stove in a small 8″ frying pan on low heat. Add oil, curry leaves, mustard seeds, sesame seeds, then the batter on top. Cover and cook for 5 mins, then flip and cook the other side for another 5 mins. Flipping it can be tricky, so baking may be an easier option. 3. Steam: You can use steam it in a steamer for 15 mins. Check center with toothpick.
- Let the handvo sit for 5 mins to cool before cutting into it.
- Serve with green chutney or any sauce you like.
Tips:
- If you are going to make this often, go ahead and grind the lentils and rice and store a larger batch. When you want to make it, just use the already made flour and move to the fermentation step.
- Ideally do the prep the night before and make it the next day, or in the morning for the the evening. Plan backwards from when you want to serve it.
- Once you add the Eno cook immediately to let the activation make it rise while cooking.
- You can easily reheat it in the microwave for 30 secs, but be careful not to heat too much as it will get hard. If it feels dry and crumble, sprinkle some water on it before reheating to soften it up.
Very yummy