This savory cake could be a perfect brunch served with a soup or dip. The combination of a crisp, nutty sesame seed outer crust and softness at inside is an extremely delicious treat! This recipe may look a bit long but it is definitely easy and worth every bit of your effort for the rewarding taste.

Serves

3 to 4 Persons

Part 1: Preparing the batter

Soaking time: overnight or at least 6 hours

Fermentation time: 8 hours

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice
¼ cup chana dal (split bengal gram)
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon yellow split moong dal (split green gram)

Method:

1. Thoroughly wash rice and lentil. Soak them together in approximately 6 cups of water overnight or a minimum of 6 hours.
2. Drain all the water and give a quick wash to the mix. Grind the mix in a blender to a coarse paste of medium thick consistency.
3. Transfer into a big bowl (approximately 4 quart) to reserve some space for the rising batter during the fermentation process. Cover the bowl with a tight lid and place in a warm place* for fermentation for 8 hours.

Part 2: Getting ready and cooking

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: Bake for 40 min followed by 10 min broil

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups lauki
1 ½ teaspoons grated ginger
¼ teaspoon de-seeded and minced green Thai chili (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons raw sugar
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon carom/ajwain seeds
1 tablespoon lime juice
½ teaspoon baking soda

For seasoning:

1 tablespoon ghee
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
3 curry leaves

Method:

1. Add lauki, ginger, green Thai chili, olive oil, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, carom seeds to the fermented batter made by following steps of  part 1 of this recipe.
2. Add the baking soda, lime juice and mix well. Pour the batter into a rectangular baking dish (approximately 2.6 L). Evenly spread the sesame seeds over the batter.
3. Heat the ghee in a small sauce pan for 1 minute on a medium high temperature. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves into the ghee. Wait for a few seconds until the mustard seeds pop. Drizzle this seasoning over the laid sesame seeds in the baking dish.
4. Place the baking dish in a preheated oven and bake at 360 F for 40 min. Broil for another 10 min.
5. Cut into square pieces and serve hot.

Note

Warm place*: An oven which is not switched on could be one such promising warm place to ensure right fermentation. The pilot light in oven can be left on for adding some more warmth

Tip: Persons who tend to show signs of indigestion/acid re-flux towards fermented foods :

1. The best time to have them is for brunch or lunch and avoid them for dinner.
2. Skip mustard seeds