Before You Start
Khandvi has a reputation for being fiddly, and it is, a little, although the idea behind it is plain enough. Gram flour, yogurt and water are stirred together over a flame until the batter thickens, then smoothed out thin while still hot, sliced into strips after it sets, and curled into tight spirals. The difficulty lies less in any one step than in the narrow window the batter offers: if it is undercooked it will not set or roll, and if it is overcooked it sets so stiffly that it cracks when you try to roll it. That window closes quickly once the pan is on the heat.
It pays to make it once while watching the texture and not the clock, because stoves and pan thicknesses differ enough that minute counts alone cannot be trusted. After you have learned what a ready batter feels like on the spatula, repeat batches go faster and feel far more forgiving.
Where It Comes From
Khandvi comes from Gujarat and draws on the same pantry of gram flour and yogurt that produces dhokla, even though the two are cooked in entirely different ways. Dhokla is steamed as a batter, while khandvi is stirred on the stove into a paste and rolled afterward. It has long belonged to Gujarati and Kathiawari home kitchens, where it appears at festivals and when guests are expected, more than it belongs to street stalls, although today it is a regular item at sweet shops and snack counters throughout Gujarat, and in Gujarati neighbourhoods in other parts of the country as well. Its history is not contested the way that of some dishes, pani puri for instance, is; writers on Gujarati food consistently place khandvi within the state's domestic tradition of gram flour snacks, alongside dhokla, handvo and patra.
How to Make It
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Prep
Whisk until there are no lumps
Beat the gram flour, yogurt and water together hard until the batter contains not one lump, and strain it through a fine sieve whenever in doubt, since any lump that makes it into the cooked batter appears later as a hard speck that refuses to roll. Then whisk in the turmeric, the ginger and green chilli paste, and the salt.
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Prep
Oil the work surface first
While the pan is still cold, brush a thin film of oil over the undersides of two or three big steel plates, or over a clean part of the worktop. Once the batter is ready you have to move quickly, so setting up the spreading surface beforehand matters more here than in nearly any other Indian snack.
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Cook
Cook while stirring without a break
Transfer the batter to a heavy pan set over medium heat and stir for ten to twelve minutes, reaching into the corners and scraping the base throughout. At first it is thin and bubbly, and then it gradually firms up. Do not stop stirring at any point, as the bottom sticks and burns very quickly when the spoon is idle, even briefly.
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Cook
Check that it is ready
You can call the batter done once it is thick enough to leave a heavy coating on a spoon, and a small smear on a plate, given half a minute to cool, curls up neatly with no cracks and no sticking to the finger. A smear that cracks on rolling needs another minute or two on the stove, and one that stays loose and will not hold shape needs longer still. Trust this check over any timer.
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Cook
Spread it thin straight away
Without waiting, tip a ladleful of the hot batter onto an oiled plate and work it out into the thinnest even sheet you can, using a spoon held upside down or an offset spatula; go thinner than feels sensible, until the edges are nearly see-through. Do the same on the other plates, and if the batter starts to stiffen in the pan between rounds, warm it briefly over low heat.
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Assemble
Cut into strips and roll
When a spread layer has cooled and set, which normally takes a couple of minutes, run a sharp knife or pizza cutter through it to make strips of roughly an inch to an inch and a half in width. Beginning at one short end, roll each strip tightly into a spiral with your fingers. If the consistency was right, it rolls without tearing. Set the rolls on a serving plate.
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Finish
Temper the oil and pour it on
Warm the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds. Once the seeds have crackled, throw in the sesame seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, red chilli and, if you want it, the green chilli. Pour the hot tempering evenly across the rolls, sprinkle the grated coconut and coriander over them, and serve at room temperature.
Swaps That Work
Gram flour that is fine and recently milled makes a smoother batter with fewer lumps, and if yours tends to clump, sifting it twice and whisking carefully counts for more than the brand. Fresh grated coconut gives the nicest finish, but desiccated coconut soaked for a moment in a teaspoon of warm water will do. If rolling proves too hard, the set sheets may simply be sliced into diamonds or squares and laid out flat under the same tempering. That is less traditional, but it rescues a batch that set a touch too firmly to roll.
Turning the Heat Up or Down
Khandvi is traditionally mild and delicate, taking its character from the tang of the yogurt and the crunch of the tempering and not from chilli. To go gentler still, omit the green chilli from the tempering and keep the ginger and chilli paste in the batter light. For more heat, put a minced green chilli into the tempering and a bit more paste into the batter, though khandvi is seldom made very hot, since on a thali it is meant to offer a quiet contrast to spicier dishes.
Where Cooks Go Wrong
The biggest error is undercooking the batter, which produces rolls that look fine yet taste starchy, with an unmistakable raw gram flour note. Keep cooking until the roll test works cleanly, even if that adds a few minutes. The next most frequent mistake is spreading the layer too thick, which makes tight rolling hard and gives a chewier, less delicate result, so aim for a layer you can almost see through. A further mistake is leaving the batter to cool in the pan between rounds of spreading without warming it gently again, because it seizes and can no longer be spread evenly.
Keeping and Warming Up Leftovers
To keep: Khandvi will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you plan to store it, keep the rolls plain and pour the tempering on just before serving so that the curry leaves and mustard seeds stay crisp. Since it contains yogurt, it should not stand at room temperature for long, especially in warm weather.
To warm up: Because khandvi is eaten at room temperature or just slightly cool, and never hot, it seldom needs reheating. After a stay in the refrigerator, leave it on the counter for a quarter of an hour or so before it goes to the table; microwaving can make the delicate rolls rubbery.
Safe Handling
Because the batter contains yogurt, do not let it stand for long periods before or after cooking, particularly in hot weather. Put it on the stove shortly after mixing, and chill the finished rolls within roughly two hours whenever they are not going to be eaten straight away. Once heated, the gram flour batter is fully set and can be kept in the refrigerator for the period given above, like any other cooked, dairy-based snack.