This gujarati delicacy, Khandvi, always intimidated me, by the looks of it. I always stayed away from trying to make it. And then one day, I got up, and was determined to make khandvi – just for the sake of facing my fears :).
I researched and researched, and researched and then some more – so that I can learn the most fail proof way. Two things I learned were: the measurements were more or less quite important to follow, and so was the fact that it had to be spread bit quicker and that I couldn’t just sit and wait once it was cooked. That’s all.
I made it thinking it is gonna take me trials and errors, and many of them, for me to be able to make something edible out of it. I was so wrong. I hope anyone who thinks Khandvi is difficult to make – should try making it once and prove themselves wrong. Just for my sake – do it once 🙂
It felt EPIC! I hadn’t planned to blog about it, hence didn’t click any pictures with my dslr. But I had just clicked on my iPhone, which is shared above. Many of you asked me the recipe, hence sharing it here. You can see how different each piece is, and it’s far from perfect. But nevertheless, I conquered my fear of making Khandvi, and it came out edible at first try! And that is what mattered. Ok ok enough of drama-queenness!
So here is a no-fail, quick, pressure cooker version of Khandvi for you. I know it will come out great for you too. Just in case you feel like it isn’t up to your mark, I have added another fall-back recipe of Khichu or chana na lot nu khichu – another Gujarati recipe, that can me made out of the failed khandvi recipe. Brilliant, isn’t it? No matter how your khandvi recipe turns out, there will be no waste of ingredients as you can always make Khichu / Besan khichu out of it. This was purely my original idea – as I had kept that thought as a back-up 🙂
Khandvi has many different variations – I have tried the basic version, and it can be made in many different ways – in a sauce pan, in pressure cooker, or using a microwave oven. I have tried the pressure cooker version and sharing that here.
Please note: Apart from the pressure cooker time – this takes a total of
max 15-20 minutes to make. Though by reading the steps it might not looks so, it is one of the quickest and easiest recipe.
If making this recipe during coronavirus times when you may not have all ingredients available – you can pretty. much make this with Gram flour, Yogurt, Salt, and water. You can skip the rest of the ingredients and it will still taste delicious.
Khandvi
Ingredients
- 1 cup Besan / Gram flour / Chana no lot
- ¾ cup Yogurt
- 1 ½ cup Water
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Asafetida
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons Grated coconut [I used dried, grated coconut. You can use fresh one as well]
- 1 Green chili
- 2-3 teaspoons Oil Used for greasing the surface as well as for final tempering
- 3-4 Curry leaves
Instructions
- Take a vessel that would fit into your pressure cooker, in which the khandvi can be steamed. In the end, when the pressure cooker is opened, you should be able to pull out that container easily.
- Add besan, salt, turmeric powder, and yogurt in that container. Whisk it well, while gradually adding the 1 and ½ cups of water, making sure that there are no lumps.
- Add some water to the pressure cooker (note this is not the 1 ½ cups listed above – all of that is already used), and place a trivet, then put the above vessel inside the pressure cooker such that water does not seep inside the vessel. The vessel need not be covered. Close the pressure cooker with the lid. Pressure cook for about 5-6 whistles on medium heat. Then turn off the gas.
- While the khandvi is being steamed, prepare a surface to spread the khandvi. I used a cleaned counter top. You may use any kind of big plates / trays etc. apply a few drops of oil to the surface. Get everything ready as once Kahdnvi is out of the pressure cooker, you will need to act fast. Find a flat spatula or something similar and keep it ready – this will be used to spread the khandvi in thin layer.
- When the cooker is ready to be opened, open it and remove the khandvi vessel from it. If there is a layer of water on top due to steam, you may discard that water. Whisk the mixture well, making sure it is lump free.
- Spread the khandvi in thin layers on the surface you have prepared earlier. This process needs to be quick. Once all of the mixture is spread, let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
- In the meantime, get the tempering/seasoning / tadka ready. For that, heat oil, once it’s hot, add the asafetida, mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Then add the green chilly cut lengthwise, curry leaves, sesame seeds. In about 30 seconds, once the seeds have crackled, turn off the heat and keep it aside.
- Now if the khandvi is cooled down, make about 1.5 inches wide cuts with a knife. Length can be about 8 inches. There is no rule – do whatever looks right ?
- Slowly lift the khandvi piece with a knife and start rolling. It should come off easily from the surface. Make a roll, arrange it on a plate, repeat until all the rolls are made. Once all the khandvi rolls are arranged on the plate, pour the hot seasoning over it using a spoon, to pour it evenly. Garnish it with finely chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut.
The crunchy mustard and sesame seeds in the seasoning really gives a great flavor! Enjoy!
Notes
- Note: Water is generally double the quantity of yogurt. Various recipes said not to use greek yogurt, but that is the only one I had at the time of making and hence I used greek yogurt. It turned out fine. Next time I’ll use the regular yogurt to see how different it is.
- Many recipes suggest that after removing the Khandvi from the pressure cooker, you need to test if the khandvi is cooked. You can do so by spreading a little bit on the surface you have prepared. Let it cool 1-2 minutes. If the khandvi easily rolls off with the knife, it’s ready. If it sticks to the surface, it probably needs bit more cooking. I skipped this test, ‘coz I was quite optimistic it would be fine (read: lazy to do the test in case it still needed more cooking ? )
- As I have mentioned in the post, in case you want a fall-back recipe in case the Khandvi doesn’t turn out to the way you had anticipated, don’t forget to check out the Khichu recipe in this post, which you can make from the cooked Khandvi recipe.
♥ Did you like or try this recipe? If so, I would love to hear from you. Please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more delicious posts and recipes. ♥
[nutrifox id=”58578″]ps: I served green chutney on the side, just because it looked good on the plate (and in the picture) 🙂 You really don’t need a condiment with this.
So as promised, here is the Besan Khichu recipe. In case the Khandvi turns cold before you followed the recipe steps and you are not able to spread it, or make proper rolls, don’t let the ingredients go to waste. Make this Gujarati snack Besan Khichu out of it. For that, heat 2 teaspoons of oil, add ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds, ⅛ pinch asafetida, 3-4 curry leaves or instead of all this, you can just warm up the tempering you had made for Khandvi. Once the seeds splutter, add the cooked khandvi batter. Add bit of water if needed and with a spatula, break the lumps. You can add as much water as you want, the final consistency of khichu would be like a very soft dough. If you have added excess water, you can cover the pan and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat on a plate, drizzle it with peanut oil and sprinkle some red chili powder, finely chopped coriander. Enjoy 🙂
♥ Did you like or try this recipe? If so, I would love to hear from you. Please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more delicious posts and recipes. ♥
Sylvia Eastman
Your pics are gorgeous! Recipes look tasty too!
Sonal
Thank you so much Sylvia. Yes, it’s a very simple and tasty snack. Do try it out and let me know if you like it.
Kavita Maheshwary
Can you tell me roughly how many pieces this recipe makes?
Eat More Art
Hi Kavita, it all depends on how big pieces you made. This will make at least 16-20 pieces of Khandvi rolls.