Handvo
We’ve all eaten a cake at least once in our lifetimes. Tea cakes, cream cakes, fruit cakes, chocolate cakes and so on and so forth. How many of you though have eaten a savory cake, made up of vegetables, lentils, seasoned with spices and baked, making it a truly healthy snack or even meal?
Well, let me introduce you to Handvo – or the savory vegetable cake. Handvo is a native speciality of the western region of India – Gujrat * there are times I wonder if I was switched at birth, from a Gujrati family to mine, because I love the food so, so much! *
A mixture of Rice, Chana Dal, Moong Dal, Tur Dal is soaked overnight and ground the next day with curd. Bottle Gourd (Doodhi ) and Methi leaves are added along with an assortment of Indian spices like red chilly powder, turmeric ginger and green chillies to flavor the mix along with pickle masala to give it that tangy taste.
A generous handful of Sesame Seeds and good stir later the Handvo mix is popped into the oven where it bakes at its own leisurely pace.
And while we wait for it to be done, we whip up a fresh green chutney made of Mint and Coriander Leaves with green Chilles thrown in. As the Chutney gets ready the Handvo gets done. Wait for it to cool, if you can that is, and cut yourself a generous wedge and enjoy!
Get the recipe here
H is for Hate. And I Hate Cooking! Yes, you read right, I H.A.T.E it!
When I got married I did not know cooking at all. The first time I cooked a meal, my Dal was almost grey, my Subzi was purple, my Roti’s were like Frisbees and I was in tears.
Then I realized that Maids are unreliable, my lack of cooking prowess had become the talk of familial gossip and discussion, with each failure taking on phantom exaggerated proportions, and I had a Husband who loved good food.
So what did I do? I decided to tame this monster called Cooking! Online recipes guided me and with each success I realized that cooking is not as big a deal as it is made out to be. Yes, right cooking may be a big deal though, where you use the minimal of oil and spices and still whip up delicious food.
I still can’t get accustomed to the fact that I cook, and I don’t enjoy doing so at all. I am still waiting for my inner Nigella Lawson to make an appearance and for me to feel good about it. Till then quick cooking will have to do 🙂
I hadn’t heard about this cake either. Reading you post about Gujarati foods most of the times, I had assumed you were a Gujarati 😀
Hostel Life
I love Handvo. I love all things Gujarati especially after having a Gujju family next door for 5 years in Kenya. MAN, the food was only rivalled by their hospitality. This looks so very delicious and I wish I could gobble it off the page. Also, I hate cooking and no, there is no Nigella lurking anywhere inside.
Sounds yummy. I have heard of it, not tried it. 🙂
I have tried my hand at cooking, but not come close to being any good at it.
Handvo recipe I need .This sounds like a perfect way to make a nice evening snack, without stressing about calories.Taming the monster is something I try too.Though I dont hate cooking,it does make me feel a little stressed.Lovely pic of the savory cake.Looks mouthwatering and I am sure you have Nilgella inside you or maybe someone even better?
Awesome recipe.
Thanks for sharing.
Read-https://creativelifestar.wordpress.com/2017/04/08/gulmarg-a-visit-to-switzerland-of-india/
That’s another first! I have never heard of this vegetable cake :O Should try it out sometime for an evening snack! 🙂
And yeah, I HATED cooking as well. But then I prepared Sambar for the first time after wedding and P finished 3/4th of the 5litres I had prepared, just for lunch. He was literally drinking it! 😛 That got me into cooking!
I have heard about handvo but have never tasted it. Hope to check it out next time when I am in Ahmedabad.
Aha! Same pinch… I hate cooking too, though I do cook well. I learnt and mastered it post marriage. Husband is a chef by passion and he LOVES good food, so I invoked the spirits of Jamie Oliver, Kylie Kwong, (they are husband’s fav chefs), Tarla Dalal etc and managed to do reasonable well in the kitchen. If given a choice, I’d go for one pot cooking and possible same food for at least a week. LOL 😀
I have never heard of this. Though I love most of the Gujarati dishes- Khandvi, Dhokla, Thepla.
I have never heard of this savory vegetable cake. I need to try this once. I like cooking only once in a while when my inner Nigella Lawson, who is Kumbhakarna in disguise, wakes up. Will try it when she wakes up next. Last time was after reading ‘Alphabet Soup for Lovers’ by Anita Nair. I went into a serious cooking mode for a while after that until she went to sleeping mode again. Sigh!
I have never had Handvo. Can you share the link to recipe you follow, Mayuri. This sounds like a healthy snack and I can give it a try 🙂
This recipe sounds interesting…Something different than the usual ones i have heard…
Launching SIM Organics This April
*Menaka Bharathi *
*SimpleIndianMom*
Looks yum and never heard of it. I am going to ask my Gujarati friend about it and a recipe too. I also do not enjoy cooking that much but like making different stuff for my daughters but normal dal sabzi is boring.
I was never a really good cook. Didn’t plan on it. Circumstances made me turn into a handy one in much the same way… online recipes, reading tricks and tips. 😀