Sevai- A South Indian Delicacy

Sevai is a healthy dish made from rice. It is distinctly different from idiyappam/noolputtu. Both sevai and idiyappam fits into the description of rice noodles. And the similarity ends there. As kids we were happy to learn if sevai is made for evening tiffin. Probably the ladies who has to make may not have enjoyed much. The tedious work involved can easily put off the idea of making sevai. In most of the houses, the help from male members is warranted while pressing the steamed dumplings. In olden days it was the wooden/brass type. It calls for great strength to press them. Imagine the work involved when it has to be made for a family of 10 (I had stayed in a joint family then).


Ingredients
Parboiled rice (Puzhingalarissi) - 3 cups

Tempering
Gingely oil - 3 tblspn
mustard seeds - 1 tspn
chana dal - 1 tblspn
red chilly - 1
green chilly - 5 nos
curry leaves

Garnish

Grated coconut - 1 cup (optional). In my home, it is a must.

Method
Wash and soak the rice in water for 4 hours. Grind the soaked rice with salt to a fine paste. The batter consistency should be thicker than idli batter.

I am giving three ways to prepare the steamed dumplings. Every house has their own way of making it

1)Sauteing the rice batter into dough and make dumplings and cook the dumplings in boiled water (My amma follows this method).

2) Sauteing the rice batter into dough and make dumplings and steam cook the dumplings in an idly steamer

3) Spoon the batter into oiled idly moulds and steam cook for 10 minutes ( I follow this which I learnt from my MIL) . This is the easiest of the three,according to me.

Press the dumplings into sevai using a sevai press. As soon as it is pressed, sevai is left to cool on a plate. While it is warm, gently separate them.

Heat oil, Season with mustard. When mustard seeds crackle, add chana dal. When dal turns light brown, add red chilly broken into two, chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Add to the pressed sevai. Garnish with coconut. Serve with any chuntey of your choice.

The base sevai can made into Lemon/Coconut/Tamarind sevai. You can convert the base sevai into any exotic dish as you would do with rice. Its all up to your imagination.

Click here to see the Automatic Sevai Cooker.

I am sending this to Srivalli's Rice mela

Bugs Bunny's Favourites

I am reposting these two orange coloured delights for

JFI :December: Carrots hosted by The Cooker!

Follow the links for the recipes...

Cooker Carrot and Peanut Sambhar

Carrot Kosumalli

Ragi (Finger Millet) Pizza aka Rotti!

Ragi (Finger Millet) Pizza aka Ragi Rotti!

Black is beuatiful! Ragi dishes are always on the top of my menu list, given their nutritive qualities. Besides being a very rich source of calcium, ragi is one of the few sources of methionine for a vegetarian, especially vegan diet. Ragi known as Finger Millet or African Millet is mostly grown in arid areas in Africa and Asia, and is common in South India.

Ragi Pizza is the name I use to sell Ragi Rottis to my grand children, who are unbelievably ravenous when it comes to “devouring” pizzas! Just adding a few vegetables makes the rotti attractive and more nutritious, and a wholesome food. A ragi pizza breakfast keeps my husband going till he comes back late in the evening after finishing his 18 holes of golf.

INGREDIENTS:
Ragi flour – 3 cups
Salt – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Onion – 1
Carrot – 1
Capsicum -1
Cabbage – to make ½ a cup when shredding
Green chillies – 2
Fresh ginger – 1’’ piece
Chopped coriander leaves – 1 tbs
Oil – for drizzling around the roti
METHOD:
1. Chop onions into very thin slivers.
2. Chop the cabbage similarly.
3. Mince capsicum into very thin slices.
4. Peel and grate carrot.
5. Chop green chillies, ginger and coriander leaves.
6. Mix all the cut ingredients with salt and cumin seeds.
7. Now add the ragi flour and mix again evenly.
8. Add water and make loose dough, so that it can be easily patted on to the tava or pan.
9. Grease the tava with a spec of oil.
10. Place a ladleful of the dough on the tava.
11. Wet your fingers in cold water and then pat the dough as thin as possible into a round pizza.
12. Now turn on the flame.
13. Dribble oil around the rotti and cover with a lid.
14. Cook for 2 minutes and remove lid.
15. The ragi when cooked, will turn into a dark shade, and the vegetables will shimmer revealing their colours, on top of the cooked rotti.
16. Leave the rotti on the hot tava for another minute, turn it to the other side, if you want to toast the other side as well, and then remove from flame.
Hot nutritious Ragi Pizza is now ready to be served. Children will enjoy it with tomato sauce. Any pickle or chutney will also be a good accompaniment. As with most dishes, its taken to a new level if topped with a blob of fresh and soft home made butter!

This dish, (minus the butter topping!) goes to the Challenge at Veda's blog - Iyengar's Kitchen !