handvo

The first time I had Handvo was when my friend/co-worker brought it to the office for lunch.  Having grown up in Bombay and familiar with Gujarati food, I was quite surprised at having never encounted this one before.  Still remember taking that first bite and being wowed.  Spicy, tangy with a hint of sweetness…..really a symphony of flavors and textures. I wanted to grab that box and finish it all by myself!  And from then on, I would secretly look forward to her lunchbox, telling her often how much I loved that dish and hoping she’d take the hint 🙂

Made from a mix of a few different lentils and rice fermented with yogurt (see note below in case you want to make it vegan), a couple slices of this with some tea would make a complete meal.  Not only is it rich in protein with all the different pulses and lentils, it also has quite a few vegetables added in.  Almost always shredded opo squash and sometimes other vegetables like carrots and greens.  I tend to add whatever vegetables I have on hand in addition to the opo squash and generally keeping a proportion of  one cup vegetables to one cup flour.

Handvo is traditionally made in a tube pan that is quite similar to an angel food cake or bundt pan.  The batter is poured in the pan and topped with a seasoning before being covered with a lid.  This rests on another ring that has some sand and goes on the stove-top.  The sand heats up forming an oven of sorts, resulting in a perfectly browned, dense and super crisp savory cake.

It’s important to grind the dals and rice to a coarse texture to avoid the Handvo getting gummy.  One can get the ready-made Handvo flour in the Indian grocery stores here but I prefer to make my own.  I usually make a mix by rinsing the rice and dals, drying them completely and then powdering it to a coarse powder.  My friend, Asha, has an instant version of Handvo where she dry roasts the dals and grinds to a coarse powder.  Whichever way you end up making the mix or even using the store-bought one, you can be sure you will end up with something completely delicious.

While making this, I remembered my weakness for simple teacakes topped with fruit and figured that vegetables needed a chance to preen too 🙂  So I topped it with some thinly sliced cauliflower and onions and it just made it look a tad bit pretty.  You can totally avoid it if you like.

The list of ingredients and procedure might seem very long but it really is worth it.  A simpler option is to soak the rice an dals separately overnight and grind to a coarse paste.  This is such a great anytime dish and especially good with a cup of good masala chai.

Handvo

For the mix:
2 cups brown rice
1 cup chana dal
1/2 cup tuvar dal
1/4 cup urad dal
1/4 cup moong dal

Mix all the dals and rinse under running water until clear.  Drain completely and dry on kitchen towel under completely dry.  Repeat the same process with the rice.  When both are fully dry, powder to a coarse powder in the blender to resemble sand.  The rinsing step prevents it from becoming a fine powder.  I usually store the mix in the freezer.  An easier way is to soak the dals and rice separately overnight and grind the next day to a coarse paste.

For the cake:
3 cups of the Handvo mix
1/2 cup of sour yogurt
1 cup coarsely grated opo squash or zucchini
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 cup cauliflower, finely chopped and steamed
1-2 tbsp ginger-green chili paste
3 cloves garlic, grated
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp corainder-cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
5 tbsp canola or peanut oil
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
3 tsp raw sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
salt to taste
Sliced cauliflower and onions for decorating the top (optional)

Seasoning:
2 tsp mustard seeds
3 tsp sesame seeds
1 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
1/4 tsp asafetida powder
3 tbsp canola or peanut oil

Mix the Handvo flour, sour yogurt, salt and enough hot water to make a very thick paste.  It will thin down considerably after the vegetables are added.

Cover and leave in a warm place to ferment overnight.

The next day, add the grated opo squash, grated carrot, cauliflower, corn, ginger-green chili paste, garlic paste, grated onion, cilantro, coriander-cumin powder, sugar, lemon juice, turmeric powder, baking soda and more salt if needed.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F

Heat the 5 tbsp oil in a pan and take it off the flame.  Add the red chili powder and mix this into the batter which would have thinned down by now.

Grease a 9-inch tube or bundt pan really well and place in preheated oven for 3-4 minutes, bring it out and pour the batter.  Its important to grease it very well because the batter will stick otherwise.

Heat the 3 tbsp oil for the seasoning and add the mustard seeds.  Once they start to pop, add the sesame seeds, carom seeds and asafetida.  Once the sesame seeds change color, pour this all over the batter.

Place in oven and turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F.  Bake for 50-60 mins until a skewer inserted in comes out clean.  If the top starts to brown too quickly, cover with an aluminum foil.

Cool on wire rack until completely cool and then transfer to a plate.  Cut into pieces and serve with some cilantro chutney.

*  For a vegan version, omit the yogurt and mix in hot water.  Just add two to three more tbsp of lemon juice the next day.