GHAVNE

GHAVNE or multi-layered (minimum 7 layers) pancakes of ground rice, jaggery, coconut milk and eggs are a popular sweet delight in Kokani Muslim cuisine of Maharashtra.
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This sweet is also part of a significant ritual in the Kokani Muslim community. Apparently, immediately after the wedding when the groom and bride come to the bride’s house for a short stay (panchmang, dahamang etc), this sweet is served for breakfast on the day the couple is meant to leave for the groom’s home and is aptly termed at times as pathavniche (farewell/send-off) ghavne. It's serving to be considered by the groom as an indication to leave for his house with his bride without the members of the bride's household verbally having to utter the same to the groom.

Below is the recipe for ghavne the way it is prepared in my home.

INGREDIENTS:

• Paste of rice soaked overnight – 1 cup
• Coconut Milk (Thick) – ½ cup
• Egg – 1 nos.
• Jaggery (grated) – 1 cup
• Elaichi (Green Cardamom) powder – ¼ teaspoon
• Mixed dry fruits (raisins, pistachio slivers, almond slivers) & khuskhus (poppy seeds) for garnishing
• Ghee (clarified butter) for shallow frying
• Saffron (optional)

(These ingredients are enough to make one, medium-sized, seven-layered pancake)

METHOD:

1. Mix all ingredients except ghee, dry fruits and khuskhus to make the batter. Ensure that the jaggery dissolves completely and the batter has no lumps.
2. Heat a frying pan preferably non-stick and lace it with ghee enough to shallow fry a pancake or thick chapatti.
3. Once the ghee is hot spread sufficient quantity of batter to cover the base of the pan.
4. Cook on medium heat until the batter in contact with the pan turns golden while the exposed side solidifies.
5. Now add a topping of dry fruits and khuskhus to the pancake.
6. Carefully lift the pancake form one end and fold it over the other to get a perfect crescent shape.
7. Keeping the folded pancake in the pan, add batter to the empty half of the pan in a quantity that will give the same thickness as the first layer that was spread.
8. Ensure that the batter merges with the fold of the pancake in the pan.
9. Again do a layering of dry fruits and khuskhus before the crescent-shaped pancake is rolled over the newly formed half pancake
10. Repeat the process till you have a pancake with a minimum of seven layers.
11. Serve piping hot.

So, do try out this recipe and let me know how it turned out.
Till then, HAPPY COOKING…