Handvo – Rice and Lentil Cake with Vegetables
A savory cake made with rice and lentils with vegetables mixed in that is a vegetarian powerhouse. Kids love it and it is great for breakfast or snack.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
For Handvo batter
- 1 cup rice
- ½ cup chana daaal split bengal gram
- ½ cup toor/arhar daal split pigeon peas
- 2 tablespoon urad daal split and deskinned black gram
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 cup grated bottle gourd/lauki See Notes
- ¾ cup grated carrot
- 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves Plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 green chili finely chopped optional
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder optional
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric/haldi
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon Eno fruit salt See Notes
For tempering:
- 1.5 tablespoon oil
- A pinch Asafoetida/heeng
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves about 10-12 leaves
Other:
- Oil to grease the cake pan
Instructions
- Plan Ahead – Rinse and soak the rice and all the lentils together in enough water for 4-6 hours.
- Drain rice and lentils and grind into a slightly coarse batter using the ½ cup yogurt.
- Preheat your oven at 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C. Grease and line a circular cake pan with parchment paper.
- Add all the other ingredients of handvo batter into the blended mixture, except Eno. Do not add Eno yet!
- Mix completely. At this stage, I like to try the batter – I know it is raw but this is your only chance to adjust seasonings before baking. So go ahead and do it.
- Add Eno and give the batter a big mix. It will immediately get light and fluffy. At this point, transfer the handvo batter to prepared cake pan.
- Set a flat, heavy bottomed skillet on medium high heat and add the oil for tempering. Once the oil is hot and shiny, add asafoetida (heeng). Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and sesame seeds. Wait for the mustard seeds to pop and then add the curry leaves and turn the heat off.
- Spoon this tempering over the handvo batter. Transfer the cake pan to the middle rack of your oven.
- Bake handvo in the oven for 40 minutes. Start checking at 35-minute mark by inserting a toothpick in the middle of the cake. The cake should turn deep yellow with slightly brown and crisp edges.
- Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes until cool enough to handle. Take the handvo out of the cake pan, cut into wedges and enjoy!
- Serve with chutney/ketchup of your choice.
Notes
This is traditional Gujarati dish made with bottle gourd, aka doodhi or lauki. If you cannot find it, feel free to use grated zucchini. You might want to squeeze out a little moisture from zucchini by wringing it using a clean kitchen towel. Eno helps in instant fermentation of Handvo batter. If you do not have Eno or do not want to use fruit salt, let the ground handvo batter ferment 4-6 hours at draft free spot in your house (for eg. Oven).
