Khandvi Topped with Hot Tempering

First, a word on this dish

If you have ever pulled a sheet of khandvi off the counter and watched it crack in your hands, you already know the secret: it all comes down to when you stop cooking the batter. Cook it too little and it never sets. Cook it too long and it sets hard and splits as you roll. The window between the two is small, and it closes quickly once the pan is hot.
The dish itself is straightforward. Whisk besan with yogurt and water, stir it over heat into a thick paste, spread it thin while it is still warm, and cut and roll once it firms up. Plan on your first attempt being a learning session, and rely on what the batter looks and feels like instead of the clock, because stoves and pans differ more than recipes admit. After you have seen the right moment once, the next batches go much faster and feel far less nerve-racking.

The story behind the dish

Khandvi is a Gujarati dish. It draws on the same pantry as dhokla, besan and yogurt, but the two are cooked in opposite ways: dhokla is steamed as a batter, whereas khandvi is stirred into a paste on the stove and then rolled. Home kitchens in Gujarat and Kathiawar made it first, and it showed up at festive meals and when guests came, instead of at street stalls. Nowadays sweet shops and snack counters across Gujarat, and in Gujarati communities elsewhere, sell it every day. Its story is not disputed the way pani puri's is. Writers on Gujarati food all place it among the state's home-cooked besan snacks, with dhokla, handvo and patra.

The method, in order

1. Prep

   Beat the batter until there is no graininess

   Put the besan, yogurt and water in a bowl and whisk with energy. Any lump that survives into the pan will cook into a hard speck in the finished sheet, so if you are not sure, push the mixture through a sieve. Then whisk in the turmeric, ginger-chilli paste and salt.

2. Prep

   Oil your plates beforehand

   Brush the backs of 2 or 3 large steel plates, or a clean stretch of countertop, with a thin coat of oil before the batter goes on the stove. When the paste is ready you will have seconds, not minutes, and fumbling for oil at that point is how sheets end up thick and ragged.

3. Cook

   Stir without pausing

   Pour the batter into a heavy pan over medium heat and stir all the time for 10 to 12 minutes, scraping the bottom and corners. It will thin out and bubble first, then slowly tighten into a thick paste. Never step away. This mixture burns on the base in a moment if left alone.

4. Cook

   Do the roll test

   The paste is ready when it coats the back of your spoon heavily. To confirm, smear a small spoonful on a plate, count to thirty, and try to roll it. If it curls up neatly and does not stick to your finger or split, you are ready. A crack means a minute or two more on the heat, and a paste that stays soft and loose also needs more time. Trust this test over any timer.

5. Cook

   Spread it before it cools

   Hurry. Pour a ladleful onto a greased plate and sweep it out into a layer so thin it looks almost translucent at the edges, using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Repeat on the other plates. If the paste left in the pan begins to stiffen, warm it briefly over low heat between rounds.

6. Assemble

   Cut into strips and roll

   After a couple of minutes, when a sheet has cooled and set, slice it into strips 1 to 1.5 inches wide with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Beginning at a short end, roll each strip into a tight scroll with your fingertips. If the batter was cooked well, it will curl without tearing. Arrange the scrolls on a serving plate.

7. Finish

   Pour the sizzling tempering over

   Warm the oil in a small pan, add the mustard seeds, and wait for them to crackle. Then add the sesame seeds, curry leaves, hing, dried chilli and the green chilli if you like. Pour the whole sizzling mixture across the rolls, top with the coconut and coriander, and serve at room temperature.

Ingredient stand-ins

Finely ground, fresh besan makes a smoother batter. If yours clumps, sifting twice and whisking longer will help more than changing the brand. Fresh coconut tastes best, but dry shredded coconut softened with a teaspoon of warm water is a fair replacement. If the sheets set too firmly to roll, you can cut them into diamonds or squares, lay them flat and pour the same tempering over them. That is less traditional but saves a batch.

Making it milder or fiercer

Khandvi is meant to be delicate, with its character coming from tangy yogurt and crunchy tempering instead of chilli. For a milder plate, omit the fresh chilli from the tempering and go easy on the paste in the batter. For extra heat, put chopped green chilli in the tempering and a bit more paste in the batter. Few cooks make it fiery, though, since it normally acts as a cool, gentle contrast to spicier dishes on a thali.

Storing what is left

Fridge or counter: Khandvi lasts up to two days in an airtight container in the fridge. When you plan to store it, leave off the tempering and add it right before serving so the curry leaves and mustard seeds stay crisp. Since the rolls contain yogurt, do not leave them out for long, especially when it is warm.

Bringing it back to life: You do not need to reheat khandvi, because it is served at room temperature or slightly chilled. After refrigeration, let the rolls stand for 15 to 20 minutes, rather than microwaving them, which makes the delicate scrolls rubbery.