My sisters and I grew up on a steady diet of homemade traditional food that my Mom would make for us with so much love. This love for food and cooking is something that I inherited from her. I try and cook traditional and seasonal food as much as possible for my kids and family as well, so they enjoy the food I grew up eating as well.
Yes, we all had a few favourite dishes and today I am sharing a recipe with you that I fondly love even today – Handvo. It’s a Gujarati favourite and is super healthy. This one-pot meal is actually packed with nutrition – since its made with dals and vegetables, its got a good mix of carbohydrates & proteins.
This makes a perfect 4 PM snack because it goes lovely with chai! I popped it in the oven, set the timer and it’s was done! I think the oven is the most underutilised appliance in Indian homes! You can make this in the oven or on the gas. But I would vote for the oven since it means you just need to pop it into the oven, set the temperature and timer and you can go about finishing your chores or do an activity with your kids without worrying that it may burn.
But if you don’t have an oven, don’t despair we have included the ‘on the flame’ version too!
Let’s start cooking!
Ingredients
To Make Handvo Flour
- 150g Rice
- 75g Tuvar/Arhar Dal
- 75g split Bengal Gram/ Chana Dal
- 50g split Black Beans/Black Urad Dal
For the Batter
- 350g Handvo Flour
- 200g Bottlegourd/Lauki grated
- ¾ Cup Green Peas boiled – optional
- ½ Cup fresh Corn boiled – optional
- ½ Tsp Turmeric/Haldi
- 2 Tbsp Eno
- 2 Tsp Sugar – optional
- ¼ Tsp Lemon Juice
- 2 Tsp Green Chilli Paste
- ½ Cup Sour Curd
- 2 Tbsp Oil
- 1 Cup Water – warm
- Salt to taste
Tempering
- ½ Tsp Mustard Seeds/Kali Rai
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon Powder
- 3 Cloves
- 6 Red Chillies
- 2 Tsp White Sesame Seeds/Til
- 3 Bay Leaves/Tej Patta
- Pinch of Asafoetida/Hing
- 3Tbsp Oil
Equipment
- Non-Stick Shallow Pan/Baking Tray
Method
For the Handvo Flour
- Dry grind the dals together and keep aside.
For The Batter
- To the handvo flour, add the grated lauki, peas, corn, green chilli paste, haldi, curd and water and mix well.
- Cover and keep for about 6 hours to ferment.
- Add the Eno, salt & lemon juice and stir rapidly.
Note: Squeeze the lauki/bottlegourd dry before adding to batter.
For the tempering
- In a small pan heat oil and add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
- Add the cinnamon sticks, hing, red chillies, cloves and bay leaf.
- Pour the tempering into the batter & mix well.
Handvo In The Oven
- Spread the batter into a greased tray
- Sprinkle sesame seeds on top
- Preheat the oven to 220° C
- Bake till golden brown crust forms
Handvo on the Gas
- Spread the batter into a greased pan.
- Sprinkle sesame seeds.
- Cover & cook on low flame for 20-25 mins.
- Carefully flip it over and cook for another 20 mins until crust is golden brown.
- Cut and serve with green chutney/chunda/sweet pickle.
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Parul Gupta
