Handvo ( gu, હાંડવો) is a savory vegetable cake originating from

Gujarat, India Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. It is a part of the

Gujarati cuisine Gujarati cuisine is the cuisine of the Indian state of Gujarat. The typical '' Gujarati thali'' consists of '' rotli'', '' dal'' or ''curry'', rice, and ''shaak'' (a dish made up of several different combinations of vegetables and spices, which m ...

. It is often made with a

bottle gourd Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...

filling, though many other vegetables can be added. Sometimes crushed

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...

s are also added.

Preparation

Handvo batter is made by mixing rice and various lentils, which are rinsed, dried, and then ground. The pulses are mixed with yogurt to prepare a fermented batter. The batter is mixed with yogurt and spices and is then steamed.

Variations

Handvo can be made with moong dal (split yellow gram) or chola dal (split cow peas) instead of rice. Vegetable handvo is a variety based on

gram flour Gram flour or kadala maavu is a pulse flour made from a variety of ground chickpea called Bengal gram or ''kaala chana''. It is a staple ingredient in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, including in Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali, ...

and contains vegetables like

peas The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

, cabbage, and also includes

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. It is often eaten along with pickle or tea.

References

Indian wheat dishes Gujarati cuisine {{india-food-stub