Instant Pot Handvo and Dhokla Batter

Handvo is a personal favourite of ours as a tea-time snack. Handvo is basically a savoury cake, a true gem of Gujarati cuisine!Handvo is made of a batter of rice and various lentils and this is my go-to batter that makes soft, spongy, and delicious handvo all the time.  We have our Handvo recipe for once the batter is made.

The batter is made in a high-speed blender and fermented in the Instant Pot.

 HANDVO-ONDOVO BATTER

In Gujarati, it is known as Handva Nu or Dhokla Nu Kheeru! 

Handvo batter is made of rice and various lentils. Either by making Handvo flour or first soaking rice and lentils and then grinding in a blender.

Before making handvo, the batter needs fermentation for soft and spongy results.

The batter needs a lot of warm weather and needs to keep at least 6-8 hours to allow the batter to double in size.

Since we live in a colder climate we had to use so many tricks to achieve the same results.

We used to turn the heating on and leave the pot near the heater. Or leave the batter in a warm oven, but it was always hit and miss situation.

We had to use soda bicarbonate, eno, or sometimes Mum used to use yeast to ferment the batter.

Handvo batter in Instant Pot

Since many of us find it very hard to rise perfect batter all the time, the Instant pot came as a boon in our lives.

We place the batter in the innerpot, cover with the glass lid and set the yogurt button. It provides consistent results every single time.

Which rice is best for Handvo

Usually, Indian households like to use any kind of short grain or broken rice known as kanki in making handvo or dhokra flour.

But we like to use basmati rice, reason for it as mum doesn't like to store too many different rices. Also, basmati has low GI value than any other rice.

Which daal is best for handvo?

For handvo various kind of lentils such as toor, chana, urad, yellow moong and red masoor daal are required but toor, chana, and urad daal must be include at least if not any others.

Sometimes mum like to add a couple of tablespoons of sorghum

Homemade Handvo flour-How to make Handva No Lot at home (roasting method)

Many assume that soaking and grinding the rice and lentils mixture requires lots of time. To get around this problem, why not make Handva flour or Handva No lot in advance in a large quantity and use the amount when needed?

This flour has a shelf life of a couple of months if stored in an airtight container.

Use whatever quantity of flour you need, add yogurt and salt and ferment in an Instant pot using the method of soaked rice and lentils mixture.

First take rice and dry roast on low heat to take out any moisture for 5-7 minutes. Don't let the colour of the rice change. Transfer onto a plate.

In the same pan, roast all the lentils and dry roast until aromatic and again do not allow the colour of the lentils to change.

Let everything cool.

Grind the rice and lentils separately in a high-speed blender until you achieve a semolina-like texture.

Let it cool completely (otherwise, you will get condensation) and store in a container. Keep the container in a cupboard.

Handvo batter consistency

Will have a coarse texture similar to semolina

Should not be runny, but a consistency similar to idli batter

What goes in Handvo Batter?

The perfect tried and tested ratio:

● 2 cup basmati rice
● ¾ cup tuver daal - pigeon peas lentils
● ¼ cup urad dal - black gram
● ½ cup chana - Bengal gram
● ¼ moong dal - yellow moong daal
● ¼ masoor dal - red lentils

● 300g sour yogurt plain

For the ratio of ingredients we have provided, it will make a batter around ¾ of the thickness of the Instant Pot bowl once it rises.

How to ferment Handvo Batter in an Instant Pot

The making of Handvo batter requires three steps, soaking - grinding and fermentation.

Soaking:

In the soaking method, you don't need to dry roast the rice or lentils.
Place rice and lentils in a big pot, wash in clean running but cold water for a couple of times to get rid of any dust.
Soak it in plenty of cold water (not chilled) and leave it for at least 5-6 hours.

Grinding:

Discard the water and place soaked rice and lentils together in a high-speed blender.
Add some clean cold water (¼ cup) and start grinding on the lowest speed first, then gradually speed up higher.
In 5-8 minutes you'll have a batter.

Fermentation:

Pour the batter in the inner pot of the instant pot.
Add beaten yogurt and sea salt.
Mix with your hands or wooden spatula.
Cover the pot with the lid (not actual instant pot lid but a glass lid from another saucepan)
Use the Yogurt function and select 12 hours.
After 12 hours you'll have risen batter.

Tips:

Soak the rice and lentils together in cold water at least 5-6 hours.

Grind using cold water. Warm water will destroy the live bacteria in the batter that help with the fermentation process.

Instead of placing the Instant Pot lid on the bowl, use any other glass saucepan lid that fits the Instant pot - the reason is that the batter may overflow and may jam the lid, and you'll have hard time to open it again!

Do not turn off the Instant pot main plug while the fermentation going on. it may disturb the process.

Turn off the Instant Pot immediately after the 12 hours are up as the Keep Warm function may turn on and we do not want that!

How to store Handvo batter

You can store handvo batter for 12 hours in the fridge, before making handvo bring it to room temperature again.

Our advice is to use up the batter and cook up the handvo and just fridge/freeze handvo instead - it keeps better that way.

Can I make Dhokla batter in an Instant pot?

Absolutely yes!

Here is the dhokla flour ratio either make flour first by roasting it or soak then ferment in the instant pot

1. 1 cup rice
2. ¾ cup toor daal
3. ⅛ cup urad daal
4. ⅛ cup chana daal

Handvo and Dhokla recipes using batter

Of course with handvo batter you can make handvo but also can make handvo waffles using our kothmibir wadi waffles recipe or idli batter waffles.

You can also make khatta vada or bhajiya and khatta dhokla too.

Other Instant Pot Recipes

1. 1 minute Instant Pot Sheer Khurma

2. Instant Pot DIY Mediterranean Orzo Salad 

3. Instant Pot Easy Gujarati Chana Daal

4. Vegan Brussels Sprouts Korma Curry 

5. Matar/Vatana Dhokli 

📖 Recipe