Our very own Gujarati snack.. Handvo.. A lentil and vegetable cake

Our very own lentil and vegetable cake.. Handvo 

This is the first time I made this 'every Gujarati's favorite snack' Handvo. Never knew it is made up of rice, three lentils and vegetables. But once I learnt how to make it, i couldn't wait to make it. I worked on baked Handvo version.

Here's the recipe. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rice soaked for 6-8 hours

1/4 cup channa dal soaked for 6-8 hours

1/4 cup udad dal soaked for 6-8 hours

1/2 cup moong dal soaked for 6-8 hours 

1 cup grated bottle gourd( water squeezed)

1/2 cup thinly cut cabbage

1/2 cup grated carrot

1/2 cup curd

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander 

3/4 tsp baking powder or eno fruit salt

1 tsp salt ( or more as per taste)

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

2 green chillies chopped

1 inch grated ginger

2 tsp lemon juice

4 tbsp oil

8-10 curry patta 

2 tsp Sesame seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 pinch asoefoetida (hing)

Procedure

1) Grind rice and all lentils separately in a food processor or a blender. Let the consistentcy be just like idli batter, coarseIf.  If water is required to grind the lentils, add minimal required amount. Bring together daal and rice mixture in a bowl, mix it well. Cover it with an aluminium foil and let it ferment in a warm place for 4-6 hours. You will see the batter doubled in amount.  If you can't wait to ferment it, you can carry on with the rest of the steps immediately.

2) Now to the batter, add grated bottle gourd(lauki), carrot, cabbage, ginger, green chilli,red chilli powder, turmeric powder, sugar, salt, coriander leaves, lemon juice and curd. Mix well.

3) Let's start preparing the tadka. We will pour 1/3 of the tadka in the batter now.  Remainin g 1/3rd part will be used at the bottom of the baking dish before pouring the batter and rest on the top after pouring the batter.

Add oil in a hot pan. Add mustard seeds. Let it crackle. Add cumin and sesame. Once it crackles add curry patta and hing. Put 1/3rd of it in batter now. Stir it well in the batter.

Keep the rest of tadka mixture aside.

4) Preheat the oven to 200°c. Grease the baking dish generously with oil.  Pour 1/3rd of remaining tadka mixture in the baking dish. Spread it evenly. Now pour the Handva batter in the baking dish. Now pour the remaining tadka mixture on top of the batter. Sprinkle some red chilli powder over the top. 

5) Bake the lentil cake for around 20 minutes. It would be crisp and brown on the top once the Handva is cooked. Also a knife inserted in the cake should turn out clean.

6) Let it cool down. Cut in small pieces and serve it will any chutney of your choice. :-) 

Enjoy our very own Indian lentil and vegetable cake 'Handvo' with your loved ones... Bet if you don't like it. :-)

Cheers,

Shweta