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Khandvi
Silky Gujarati gram flour and yogurt rolls with a mustard, sesame and coconut tempering
Khandvi are delicate, melt-in-the-mouth rolls from Gujarat, made by cooking gram flour with sour buttermilk until thick, spreading it paper-thin while hot and rolling it up. They're finished with a sizzling tempering of mustard seeds, sesame and curry leaves, plus fresh coconut and coriander. They're soft, tangy and gently spiced, and a favourite at Gujarati weddings and tea-time. They look tricky, but once you know when the batter is cooked, they're quick. Chef's tip: keep a plate by the stove and test the batter often; when a spoonful spread thin on the plate sets in 30 seconds and peels off in one piece, it's ready, and not a minute before.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the batter
For the tempering
To garnish
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Lightly grease the backs of 2 large steel plates or trays, or a clean worktop, with 1 tbsp oil, and keep them close to the stove. You'll need to spread the batter the moment it's ready.
Step 2: Whisk 3 ½ oz gram flour (besan), 3 ½ oz sour plain yogurt and 1 ¼ cups water together until completely smooth; any lump now stays in the khandvi. Whisk in 1 tsp ginger and green chilli paste, ¼ tsp ground turmeric, ¾ tsp salt and 1 pinch gluten-free asafoetida (hing). It will look very thin, like milk.
Step 3: Pour into a heavy non-stick pan and cook over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or flat spatula, scraping the base and corners. After about 5 minutes it starts to thicken; keep going.
5 minStep 4: Cook for another 6–8 minutes until it's thick and glossy like soft mashed potato and leaves the sides of the pan. Test it: spread a teaspoon thinly on a greased plate, wait 30 seconds and roll it. If it rolls cleanly, it's done; if it's sticky or tears, cook for another minute and test again.
8 minStep 5: Working quickly while it's hot, spread a ladleful of batter as thinly as you can over a greased plate with a flat spatula or palette knife, about 2 mm thick. Repeat with the rest. Once it cools it won't spread.
Step 6: Leave for 5–7 minutes to set. Cut into strips about 5 cm wide with a knife, then roll each strip up tightly from one end like a little Swiss roll. Arrange the rolls on a serving plate.
7 minStep 7: For the tempering, heat 2 tbsp oil in a small pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tsp mustard seeds and, when it starts to pop, 1 tsp white sesame seeds, 10 curry leaves and 1 green chilli. Let them sizzle for 15 seconds until the sesame turns light golden.
1 minStep 8: Pour the hot tempering over the rolls, then scatter with 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut and 2 tbsp fresh coriander. Serve at room temperature the same day, with green chutney if you like.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does khandvi take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sour plain yogurt?
- Sour cream or buttermilk, same amount.
- What can I use instead of ginger and green chilli paste?
- 1 finely chopped green chilli per tsp.
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