Khandvi is one of those dishes which you will either love or hate. I belong to the former group. This Gujarati delicacy requires a bit of patience and practice to get thin layers which literally melts in the mouth when you eat it. Even if you don't get super thin layers don't worry. Believe me it doesn't really make much difference to the final taste. My maternal grand mother makes a similar dish which we call 'pithod' or 'patindri'. She makes it in a single thick layer and cuts them in diamond shape. It is then topped with tadka and the garnishing.
One has to prepare the batter and cook it until it is just right to spread. If you do it wrong there, the batter won't set at all. I do a simple test to know if the batter is cooked enough. For that I just drop a small spoonful of the batter and spread it. If it sets in one minute then I know that the batter has cooked enough for spreading.
Let's hop over to the recipe now.
Khandvi
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients:
1/3 cup gram flour
2 tsp ginger green chili paste
3 tablespoon oil
1/3 cup yogurt
Salt to taste
A pinch turmeric powder
A pinch of asafetida
1 tsp sugar
1cup water
Tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil
A few curry leaves
Garnishing:
2 tbsp grated coconut
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
Process:
1. Shift the gram flour/besan such that there are no lumps in the flour. Mix together the yogurt and water. Grease the back of 2-3 large thali or your kitchen counter top.
2. In a large bowl add the gram flour, turmeric, asafetida, chili ginger paste, salt, and the besan-yogurt mixture. Whisk to form a smooth batter.
3. Heat a large pan and cook the batter on medium heat stirring it continuously. In about 12-15 minutes the mixture will get cooked and thicken.
4. Spread the mixture over the greased thali or your kitchen counter top as thinly as possible while the batter is still hot and leave it to cool.
5. When completely cold, roll the layer towards you to make a long thin roll. Cut the roll into one-inch pieces. Arrange them on a plate.
6. Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and sesame seeds. When they begin to splutter, pour over the Khandvi.
7. Garnish it with coconut, and chopped coriander. Serve.
