What You Are Making
Khandvi has a reputation for being fussy, and it is a little fussy, but the logic is plain. Besan, yogurt and water cook together on the stove, stirred without pause, until they turn into a glossy paste. That paste is smeared thin on an oiled surface while it is still hot, cut into ribbons as it cools, and rolled up. The trouble is timing. There is a narrow gap between undercooked, when the paste will not set or curl, and overcooked, when it stiffens and cracks as you roll it, and the gap closes quickly once the pot is hot.
The first time, go by texture, not by minutes, because burners and pan thickness vary too much for a timer to be trustworthy. Watch the paste move from thin and bubbling to heavy and sluggish, and feel the spoon begin to drag through it. Once you know what that change feels like, the next batch goes faster and forgives more.
The Dish’s Backstory
This is a Gujarati dish, made from the same besan-and-yogurt pantry as dhokla, though the method is quite different. Dhokla is steamed as a loose batter; khandvi is stirred over heat into a thick paste and rolled afterwards. It sits in Gujarati and Kathiawari home kitchens and on festive tables, more than at street stalls, although sweet shops and snack counters across Gujarat, and Gujarati communities in other states, sell it freely today. There is no quarrel over where it comes from, unlike with pani puri. Writers on Gujarati food keep placing it in the state's home tradition of gram flour snacks, in company with dhokla, handvo and patra.
At the Stove, Step by Step
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Prep
Whisk until perfectly smooth
Whisk besan, yogurt and water vigorously in a bowl until no lump is left. When in doubt, strain it through a fine sieve, because even one lump that makes it into the pot will turn up as a hard fleck in the finished sheet, and a fleck will not roll. Then stir in turmeric, ginger-green chilli paste and salt.
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Prep
Oil your work surface before cooking
Before the pot goes on the stove, rub a thin layer of oil on the undersides of 2 to 3 large steel plates, or on a clean stretch of counter. The batter is ready all at once and cannot wait, so a surface prepared in advance matters more here than in nearly any other snack.
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Cook
Cook the batter, stirring all the time
Pour the batter into a heavy pan over medium heat and stir without stopping, scraping the base and corners, for 10 to 12 minutes. First it bubbles and runs thin. Then it tightens, slowly. Do not leave it for a moment, because this mixture sticks and scorches on the bottom almost instantly.
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Cook
Judge it with a quick test
It is ready when it coats the back of a spoon thickly and when a small smear on a plate, left for 30 seconds, rolls up neatly with no cracks and no sticking to your finger. A crack means a minute or two more on the heat. A smear that stays runny and will not hold means more time too. Trust this test over any clock.
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Cook
Smooth it out thin while hot
Pour a ladleful onto an oiled plate and, working fast, push it out with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula into the thinnest even sheet you can make, nearly translucent at the edges. Do the same on the remaining plates. Should the pot stiffen between rounds, warm it a moment over low heat.
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Assemble
Slice the sheets and roll them
After a couple of minutes, once a sheet has cooled and firmed, slice it into ribbons about 1 to 1.5 inches wide with a sharp knife or a pizza wheel. Starting from a short end, curl each ribbon tightly with your fingertips. If the batter was cooked right, it rolls without tearing. Line the spirals up on a serving plate.
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Finish
Pour a hot tempering over the rolls
In a small pan, warm the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add sesame seeds, curry leaves, hing, dried red chilli and, if you wish, green chilli. Spoon the sizzling oil evenly over the rolls, strew coconut and coriander across the top and serve at room temperature.
Stand-ins If You Are Short
Freshly milled besan that is very fine makes a smoother batter with fewer lumps, but if yours tends to clump, sieve it twice and whisk well, which helps more than a change of brand. Freshly grated coconut is the best topping. Dried coconut that has been dampened for a few minutes with a teaspoon of warm water will pass. Should the sheets resist rolling, cut them into diamonds or squares and dress them flat with the same tempering. It departs from tradition, but it saves a batch that set too firm to curl. A cup of sour, slightly aged yogurt gives the sharpest taste; fresh yogurt works but needs a spoonful of lemon juice for the same tang.
Dial the Chilli Up or Down
Traditionally khandvi is gentle, and its flavour comes from sour yogurt and a crunchy tadka, with little chilli heat. To keep it very mild, omit the green chilli from the tempering and use only a touch of ginger-chilli paste in the batter. To raise the heat, put chopped green chilli into the tempering and a little more paste into the batter. Even so, khandvi is rarely made fiery, because it is meant to calm a thali full of stronger dishes.
Where It Goes Wrong
An underdone batter is the main failure. The rolls look right but taste raw and starchy, so keep cooking until the roll test works, even if that costs a few more minutes. Spreading too thickly comes second, since it makes tight rolls impossible and leaves a heavy, chewy bite; aim for a sheet you can nearly see through. Third, a pot left to cool between rounds without gentle reheating will seize into a stiff mass that no longer spreads evenly. A fourth, small mistake is rolling the strips after they have cooled completely. Cut and roll while the sheet is just set and still faintly warm, since a cold sheet is stiff and cracks.
Leftovers, Kept and Revived
Keeping: Khandvi lasts 2 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. For storage, keep the rolls plain and add the tempering just before serving so the curry leaves and mustard seeds stay crisp. The yogurt means it should not sit out for long at room temperature, particularly in warm weather.
Reviving: Khandvi is served at room temperature or slightly cool, so it seldom needs warming. If it is too cold from the refrigerator, leave it on the counter for 15 to 20 minutes. Skip the microwave, which can toughen the fragile rolls into something rubbery.
Handle This Part Carefully
Because yogurt is in the mix, do not let the batter stand around before or after cooking, especially when it is hot out. Cook soon after mixing, and put finished rolls in the refrigerator within about two hours unless they are about to be eaten. Heat sets the gram flour batter completely, so once cooked it is safe to keep chilled for the time stated above, just like any cooked, dairy-based snack.