Handvo

Dassana Amit presents Handvo as a Gujarati savory cake made with fermented rice-and-lentil batter. Her pan-cooked recipe came through her sister from a Gujarati friend’s mother and uses more moong dal without the offered chana-dal addition.

Rice, moong dal, tuvar dal and split husked urad dal are rinsed, soaked and drained. Yogurt joins for grinding to the described rava-like consistency, followed by baking soda and fermentation until the batter has tiny bubbles and a faint sour aroma.

A separate paste grinds ginger, garlic and green chili with water. Oil starts mustard, fenugreek, hing and curry leaves before the paste, grated bottle gourd, turmeric and ground coriander join; chopped coriander follows off the heat.

That same tempered vegetable mixture and salt are mixed into the batter. Portions cook in a separately oiled pan with white sesame on top, first covered and then turned for uncovered cooking until both sides are golden.

The author describes a crisp outside and soft interior and offers the finished Handvo hot or warm, with ready coriander chutney selected here. Her oven, special-cooker, other-vegetable and fruit-salt versions remain separate preparations.