A savoury cake of fermented rice and lentil batter with grated bottle gourd, baked or pan-cooked until crusty and topped with a mustard and sesame tempering.
What makes it handvo
A coarse, fermented batter of rice with toor, chana and urad dal.
Grated bottle gourd and yoghurt folded in.
Cooked slowly under a lid until crusted brown, with sesame on top.
Where it comes from
A Gujarati tea-time and supper dish, traditionally baked in a special handvo pan over a flame, or on a griddle with a lid, so it gets a crisp, browned crust top and bottom and stays soft in the middle.
The batter is rice and several lentils, soaked, ground coarsely and left to ferment, then mixed with grated bottle gourd, yoghurt, ginger and chilli. Surat's version is often singled out.
How it varies
Instant handvo
Made with semolina or ready-mixed flour, raised with fruit salt instead of fermenting.