Handvo

I am always in favor of quick and healthy meals for busy weekdays. There are so many easy recipes I have, but one of my favorites and with lots of memories atached is my mom's Handvo. Yes, this recipe is my mom's way of grinding a cooking handvo. So what is Handvo? I know my Gujarati friends would know the answer :) To explain it in a gist, Handvo is a savory cake and a well balanced meal of proteins, carbs, and fats for vegetarians.

Few months ago I bought a Kitchen Aid mixer, which has been a great investment for making dough and kneading pav dough. It surely saves a lot of time and effort. I stumbled upon kitchen aid grain mill attachment and was so excited to see it. Fresh chakki atta. Yes, good quality grains milled fresh right in my own kitchen was a great idea. I just do not like the Dhokla and handvo flour available at the Indian store. It is not fresh and I just do not like the taste. Buying a grain mill attachment has been such a good idea and great addition to my kitchen gadgets and my lifestyle. And specially with recipes like dhokla and handvo...wow I can now enjoy those recipes away from home.

Like I said earlier, my mom makes the best handvo and there are few reasons behind it. Firstly, she buys whole grains, mixes them into a certain ratio, and gets the grains ground into coarse flour. This flour is made with the wonderful combination of cereals and pulses to add nutrition to daily diet. The second reason why my mom's handvo is the best is that she mixes the tempering with the batter unlike most of the recipes where the temper remains at the bottom of the pan. As the temper mixes into the batter, the flavor, crunch and spices mix well to give the best end result. Try it out and I am sure you will love it.

Traditionally hando flour is made from grains ground and flour stored in air tight container. Whenever needed flour is mixed to form a batter, allowed to ferment overnight, and then made into handvo.  I understand that everyone does not own a grain mill and it is difficult to grind grains to make flour. There is a solution. Soak grains first and then grind in a food processor. You can then add yogurt and allow this ground grain batter to ferment overnight and then prepare it into delicious and nutritious handvo.

Also Handvo can be cooked in different ways: on stove top as well as baked in an oven. Bellow I have various ideas and options you can use to prepared handvo.

Ingredients to make handvo flour. This flour should be stored in an airtight container and used as and when needed. The below ingredients are in a ratio but you can make slight changes based on the availability of grains and your palate.

3 cups ponni or idli rice
1+1/4 cup urad dal
1/2 cup chana dal
1/2 cup whole wheat
1/3 cup toor dal
1/3 cup Moong dal
1/3 cup whole moong

Mix all the grains and grind in a grain mill on coarse setting. If you are in India, you can mix and get the grains ground in a mill/chakki. Tell the vendor that you would like the grains slightly coarse and not as fine as whole wheat atta.

Ingredients to make Handvo
2 cups handvo flour
1+1/2 cup sour yogurt
Water to make thick batter
2 tbsp. oil
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. ginger and green chilli paste
1 tsp. red chilli powder
1 tsp. turmeric powder
Veggies of your choice:
1/2 cup grated bottle gourd (doodhi/lauki)
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped green beans
1/2 cup green peas

For tempering
3 tbsp. oil
1 tbsp. urad dal
1/2 tbsp. mustard seeds
3-4 dry red chillies or boriya mirch
4-5 curry leaves
Pinch of hing/asofotida
1 tbsp. sesame seeds/till (optional)

• In a bowl mix flour, yogurt, and water to form a thick batter. Cover and let the batter rest for 8-10 hours to ferment. The place where I live and depending on the type of yogurt, I keep the batter for 24 hours to ferment and get the best taste. Your batter might rise and have great bubbles but if it does not, do not worry. You should not keep the batter to ferment for more than 24 hours.
• Add salt, ginger and green chilli paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, oil, baking soda, and veggies. Mix well.
• For tempering: heat oil in a skillet or kadhai in which you would like to cook handvo. Fry urad dal till it slightly turns color. Add mustard seeds, dry red chillies. curry leaves, and pinch of asofoetida. When the temper crackles. add prepared batter to the skillet and immediately stir to mix in the temper. Cover and let batter cook for 30-45 minutes on medium heat till you get a good crust at the bottom. 
• Poke center of handvo with thin knife or toothpick. It is done if it comes out clean. If not, cook for more time. 
• To bake in an oven proof skillet or cast iron skillet: Use the same tempering method as above. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and then bake in a 375F preheated oven for 1+1/2 hour or till center is cooked. 
• To bake in a bundt pan or cup cake pan or loaf pan:  Use the same temping method as above. Mix the temper into the batter. Grease baking pan generously. Pour tempered batter in the baking pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake in 375 F preheated oven for 30 mins to an hour depending on the size of the pan and quantity of batter. Check if it is done by piercing the center with a toothpick or a knife.  You should get a beautiful crust on the bottom and top of handvo. 
• The combination of crusty sides and soft center makes it super delicious :) 
• Serve with fresh cilantro chutney or sweet God Keri pickle.
• Enjoy!!

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Mix all the grains and grind in a grain mill on coarse setting. If you are in India, you can mix and get the grains ground in a mill/chakki. Tell the vendor that you would like the grains slightly coarse and not as fine as whole wheat atta.

KitchenAid Grain Mill

Here is a video of grinding grains in my KitchenAid grain mill

In a bowl mix flour, yogurt, and water to form a thick batter. Cover and let the batter rest for 8-10 hours to ferment. The place where I live and depending on the type of yogurt, I keep the batter for 24 hours to ferment and get the best taste. Your batter might rise and have great bubbles but if it does not, do not worry. You should not keep the batter to ferment for more than 24 hours.

Add salt, ginger and green chilli paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, oil, baking soda, and veggies. Mix well.

For tempering: heat oil in a skillet or kadhai in which you would like to cook handvo. Fry urad dal till it slightly turns color. Add mustard seeds, dry red chillies. curry leaves, and pinch of asofoetida. When the temper crackles. add prepared batter to the skillet and immediately stir to mix in the temper.

Cover and let batter cook for 30-45 minutes on medium heat till you get a good crust at the bottom.

To bake in a bake proof skillet or cast iron skillet: You can start the process on the stove and move the skillet to the oven to bake handvo. Use the same tempering method as above. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and then bake in a 375F preheated oven for 1+1/2 hour or till center is cooked.

Cook handvo in regular kadhai. Temper using the above method. Mix in the batter with the temper, cover and cook for 30-40 minutes on medium heat. You will have crusty bottom and soft top. Delicious!!

To bake in a bundt pan or cup cake pan or loaf pan:  Use the same temping method as above. Mix the temper into the batter. Grease baking pan generously. Pour tempered batter in the baking pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake in 375 F preheated oven for 30 mins to an hour or more depending on the size of the pan and quantity of batter. Check if it is done by piercing the center with a toothpick or a knife. 

Enjoy this piece of Goodness!!!