This is a time consuming recipe that requires a lot of effort . However, once made, you will not want to stop eating. It is one of the best Gujarati recipes. As the name suggests, it is as soft as a cake but a spicy one.
The phrase, the way to a mans heart is his stomach, is very true and i learnt that when my husband couldnt stop praising me after eating this dish. To this date, whenever i have to get my way out of him, i cook this dish. So if you want to know the secret formula of getting what you want from your spouse, here is it 🙂
Ingredients:
- 200gm thick Rice
- 25gm Toor daal (Lentils)
- 25gm Moong daal (Lentils)
- 25gm Masoor daal
- 25gm Chana (Gram Lentils) daal
- 50gm Udad daal (Lentils)
- 200gms green fresh peas
- 200gms grated bottle gourd
- 200gms grated carrots
- 1 big bunch of fenugreek leaves (washed and chopped )
- 1 big bunch of coriander leaves (washed and chopped )
- ½ tsp cooking (baking ) soda
- ½ tsp fruit salt
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp mix ginger, garlic & green chilli paste
- 2 big serving spoons oil for tadka
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp sesame (teel) seeds
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- 2Cup curd
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2tbsp sugar
Method:
- Wash rice and all the different daals (lentils) and soak them for 4 to 5 hours. After soaking them, grind the rice and daals and make a thick paste of the mixture.
- Add curd to it, mix it well. Keep it covered for at least 8 hours. If you prefer a sour taste, add some more curd and keep the paste for minimum 12 hours.
- To give tadka heat oil in a medium size deep fry pan on the gas. Add mustard seeds in it. Add half sesame seeds in it after mustard seeds start making popping sounds. Add asafoetida, red chilli powder and turmeric powder in the tadka. Stir and add all the chopped and grated vegetables and peas. Stir again. After 2 to 5 minutes you will get a nice aroma of asafoetida and fenugreek leaves. Stir the mix vegetables and switch off the gas. Add them to the paste. Add the ginger garlic & green chilli paste, salt, cooking soda or baking powder, fruit salt, salt and sugar to the paste. Stir and mix well.
- Grease the oven’s non stick cake pan or Handvo cooking pan for gas. Pour the mix in it evenly.
- Spread the remaining sesame seeds on the surface of the mix. If you are baking on gas, pour sand in the plate which has to be first kept on the gas. And then keep the Handvo pan on it. Bake on medium flame gas for about 40 minutes. Insert a knife to see whether it is cooked properly or not! If necessary bake for some more time till the outer surfaces turn biscuit brown.
- And if you are baking in an oven, then bake on 2ooc preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Here also the surface will turn biscuit brown. The Handvo will be crunchy from outside and super soft from inside.
Once ready, you can remove it upside down on a plate. It takes the form of a cake and hence called Spicy Cake. This can now be cut into pieces and served with tea.