Handva with bowl of tomato soup

Handva: Savory Lentil Cake

October 13, 2020 / 2 Comments

Handva or Savory Lentil Cakes are a staple in our house, especially during winter when they make for a wholesome meal with a cup of soup. They vegan and gluten free, loaded with lentils and vegetables to make a balanced main course.

Handva
Pin
Print

Handva

Recipe by NidhiCourse: MainCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 
Fermentation time

6

hours
Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

This savory lentil cake is a staple in every house in Western India. It is a healthy one pot meal traditionally cooked in an oven made by placing sand in a covered wok. The wok is pre heated for 30 mins and once hot, the batter is placed in a container on a sand. Having an oven makes it much easier to make. I bake it in a 8″ cast iron pan to give it a charred crust (which is absolutely delicious). Give it a try and enjoy!

Ingredients

  • Batter to Ferment

  • 2.5 cups Handva flour

  • 1/3 cup Yogurt / Plain Almond Yogurt if Vegan

  • 1 tbsp Cold Pressed Oil (Olive or Sesame or Canola)

  • 1.5 cups Warm Water

  • 3 – 4 Grated Zuchini

  • 1 piece Ginger (Grated)

  • 2 to 3 Green Chillies (fewer if using thai chillis)

  • 1 tbsp Minced Garlic

  • ¼ tsp Turmeric

  • 1 tsp Fenugreek or Methi Seeds

  • Tempering

  • 1 tbsp Mustard Seeds

  • 1 tbsp Ajwain (Carom) Seeds

  • 1 tbsp Oil

  • 2-4 Dry Red Chillies

  • 1 pinch Asafetida /Hing

  • Before You Bake

  • 1 tbsp Fruit Salt/Eno/Baking Soda

  • 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds

  • Salt to taste

Directions

  • Mix the batter ingredients above. Let the batter ferment for at least 6 hours
  • Make tempering mixture by heating oil in a cast iron skillet. Add mustard seeds. Once they start spluttering, turn off the heat, and add sesame seeds and dried red chilies.
  • Add tempering mixture to the batter. Mix well.
  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Add fruit salt or baking soda to the batter and mix well. Pour the batter in the cast iron pan, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Leave the pan on low-medium heat covered for a couple of minutes. This forms a nice crust and starts the baking process while the oven pre-heats.
  • Bake between 40-60 minutes in the middle rack of the oven, checking after 25 minutes. If a toothpick in the center comes out clean change the oven to broil
  • Broil on upper rack for about 5-10 minutes to get the brown color on top
  • Once brown remove and let it cool before cutting into it.
  • Tastes best when warm and eaten with mint chutney, ketchup or soup

Notes

  • You can soak and grind the lentils and rice if handva flour is not available. Ratio is 2 cups mixed lentils to 1 cup broken rice. They should be soaked for at least 4 hours and then ground to a paste using a food processor

2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *