Farali Handvoફરાળી હાંડવો
A fasting version of handvo, made with samo flour, curd and grated bottle gourd. Crisp on top, soft inside, and a complete one-pan meal on a fasting day.
Ingredients
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- 1½ cups samo flour
- 1 cup grated bottle gourd, squeezed dry
- ½ cup sour curd
- 1 tsp ginger-chilli paste, rock salt, 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp Eno
- Tempering: ghee, cumin, sesame, slit chillies
Method
- Mix the samo flour, curd and a little water into a thick batter and rest 20 minutes.
- Fold in the bottle gourd, ginger-chilli paste, sugar and salt.
- Heat ghee in a non-stick pan and crackle cumin, sesame and chillies.
- Add the Eno to the batter, stir once and pour it into the pan.
- Cover and cook on low for 15-18 minutes, then flip and cook 8-10 minutes more.
- Cut and serve hot with curd.
Tips
- Squeeze the gourd properly or the handvo stays damp.
- Low heat throughout, or the crust burns before the middle sets.
Storing and reheating
Eat farali handvo hot. Leftovers keep a day in a box in the fridge, though samo flour firms up as it cools. Reheat on a tawa with a little ghee on both sides and the edges crisp again. Do not make the batter far ahead: the bottle gourd keeps releasing water and thins it out.
What you can swap
- Rajgara flour can replace samo flour, but it absorbs more liquid, so increase the curd. You lose the slightly grainy bite samo gives.
- Grated potato or grated yam can stand in for bottle gourd. Grate potato straight into the batter so it does not darken.
- If your fast excludes curd, use lemon juice and water instead. You get the sourness, but a slightly less fluffy handvo.
- Many households do not allow baking soda during a fast either. In that case rest the batter forty minutes instead of twenty and use properly sour curd.
What to serve with it
Eaten on fasting days such as ekadashi, during Shravan or Navratri, usually at midday or in the evening, with plain curd, a farali green chutney and dates. For anyone eating one meal in the day, this is the filling option.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not thin the batter too much. It should fall slowly off the spoon. A loose batter stays gummy in the middle and breaks when you flip it.
- Do not let the batter stand once the Eno is in. Stir once and pour it straight into the pan, or the lift is gone.
- Do not rush the flip. Wait until the base has set and the edges pull away. Flipping before fifteen minutes will tear it.
- Rock salt does not taste as salty as table salt, so taste the batter before pouring. You cannot fix the seasoning once it is cooked.
Questions people ask
Is Eno allowed during a fast?
That depends on your household. Some families do not use Eno or baking soda in farali food. If yours does not, use sour curd and rest the batter longer. The handvo will be denser but perfectly good.
The centre stays uncooked. What should I change?
Keep the heat low, keep it covered and give it time. A wider pan spreads the batter thinner and it cooks through evenly. For a thick handvo use a small pan and add five to seven minutes per side.
Is samo flour the same as samo?
Samo is the whole grain, cooked like rice. Samo flour is the same grain ground down, used for handvo, dosa and thepla. This recipe needs the flour, not the grain.
