This post on Corn Handvo is my nod to snacking season. With the monsoon rains pouring down, a cup of chai and snacks are a must-do activity with family and friends.
![Corn Handvo / www.quichentell.com](https://www.quichentell.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Corn-Handvo-5.1-700x525.jpg)
A lighter handvo
Handvo, as we know is a baked, savoury cake made from a fermented batter of rice and a couple of varieties of lentils, a vegetable (like the bottle gourd or lauki) and yoghurt. Corn Handvo, as the name indicates, is made from a batter of fresh (or frozen), sweetcorn. Since it is corn season, I prefer to use the tender, juicy and sweet kernels of fresh corn. The batter is a simple and straightforward one. It’s mainly corn, some rice flour and gram flour (besan), green chilli paste, grated fresh ginger, turmeric, and chilli powder and a little yoghurt to help with the fermentation. The batter is fermented for 5-6 hours. This helps break down some of the starch and sugar and give the mixture a pleasant, sourness. You could add a little sugar to counter this tang, but I quite like it so I skip the sugar.
You can also choose to add a vegetable like grated carrots, peas or blanched and chopped spinach. Just ensure that you do not add too much, which will make the batter extra wet and result in an undercooked handvo. I always add a small amount of soda bicarb to the batter before baking. The yoghurt activates it and makes the handvo airy and fluffy.
![Corn Handvo / www.quichentell.com](https://www.quichentell.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Corn-Handvo-8.1-700x525.jpg)
The right pan for baking handvo
A cast iron pan is perfect for baking this Corn Handvo. The even distribution and retention of heat in a cast iron pan, gives the handvo a nicely browned, crunchy crust. You can refer to my recipe for traditional lentil handvo to see how it turns out. I baked my Corn Handvo in a pie tin because I made a smaller handvo and my cast iron pans were too large for this quantity. But
If you want to serve more people, you can go ahead and double this recipe without hesitation. And use cast iron (if you have one) to bake it. It can be baked just as successfully in a cake pan, metal, not glass. An important step, that I recommend, is heating the pan with a little oil before you pour in the batter. Doing this will give you a crunchy crust at the bottom.
![Corn Handvo / www.quichentell.com](https://www.quichentell.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Corn-Handvo-3.1-700x525.jpg)
Some people pour the mustard seed, sesame and curry leaf tempering on the uncooked batter before baking. I don’t because the tempering can get burnt and impart an unpleasant bitterness and colour to the dish. Once baked, remove the handvo from the oven, unmould onto a serving plate and then pour on the tempering. Corn Handvo can be eaten warm or at room temperature with a chutney of your choice.
Other corn recipes you may be interested in
Corn Handvo
Ingredients
- 250 g fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels
- 120 g rice flour
- 40 g gram flour, besan
- 30 g slightly sour, plain yoghurt
- 2 tsp green chilli paste
- ½ tsp ginger, grated
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp chilli powder (cayenne)
- A small pinch of asafoetida or hing
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
- ¼ tsp soda bicarbonate
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- A few curry leaves
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Salt
Instructions
- In a blender, grind the fresh corn, rice flour and gram flour with the yoghurt and a little water to make a smooth, thickish batter similar to idli batter.
- Pour the batter into a bowl and stir in the green chilli paste, grated ginger turmeric and chilli powders and asafoetida. Mix well, cover and set aside to ferment for 5-6 hours.
- Heat the oven to 180℃. Pour 1 tbsp oil into a 9-inch pie or cake tin, swirl to coat the bottom and place in the oven to heat for 7-10 minutes.
- Add salt, 1 tbsp sesame seeds and chopped coriander to the fermented batter and mix well. Add the soda bicarb and gently mix it in. Do not overmix or the batter will deflate.
- Carefully remove the heated tin from the oven and pour in the batter. Smooth the top and bake for 45-50 minutes till the sides and top are golden and a skewer inserted into the handvo comes out clean.
- Loosen the sides of the pan with a blunt knife, place a plate upside down on the cake tin and unmould the handvo onto it. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the remaining sesame seeds and curry leaves and turn off the heat. Pour the tempering all over the top of the handvo. Slice and serve with mint or tomato chutney.
2 Comments
Mudita
August 8, 2024 at 7:11 pmThis recipe is amazing … I made it and it was a big hit at home , everyone enjoyed this lighter version of handvo !
quichentell
September 2, 2024 at 11:06 amThank you! So glad you liked it 😀