Sevai and santhakai are South Indian rice noodles that can be made with rice, wheat, or ragi flour. They are versatile and popular in vegetarian Indian cuisine, often flavored with lemon and coconut. Making sevai from scratch involves boiling rice, mashing it into a paste, kneading it with salt and oil, and steaming it to achieve its unique texture.
Sevai is a type of South Indian rice noodle that can be eaten plain or used as a base for more elaborate Indian cooking. Indian home cooks typically make sevai with parboiled rice extruded through a specialized rice press. Sevai gets its texture from rice noodles that have been further softened in a steamer. These noodles are usually eaten with small amounts of oil and are popular in many Indian homes as part of both dinner and breakfast.
Santhakai refers to another method of making these types of rice noodles. Instead of rice, santhakai is usually made with wheat or a type of flour called ragi. The process of creating from scratch is very similar to that of creating sevai. In some areas of India, the terms are used interchangeably for the same types of noodles. Indian cooking experts argue that the two are separate dishes due to the difference in raw materials.
Rice noodles are common in Indian diets due to their versatility and ability to blend well with different flavors. Along with vegetables, noodles are one of the staples of traditionally vegetarian Indian cuisine. Lemon and coconut are the preferred flavor choices for sevai.
To make sevai rice from scratch, the home cook begins by boiling the rice, then steeping it until it’s soft enough to mash into a paste. Although dried and prepared sevai can be found in specialty Indian stores, experienced Indian cooks recommend starting with rice, stating that the flavor of the resulting sevai is more authentic. Making rice noodles for sevai is the most labor-intensive part of the process, but mixing and kneading are essential to achieving a good end result.
Many Indian home cooks grind the soaked rice, then cook it until it resembles a very thick paste resembling bread dough, which it then cools slightly and kneads. At this point, salt is mixed in for flavor and oil is added to keep the pasta from sticking inside the steamer or pasta machine. The home cook then rolls the dough into small round or oval balls which are easier to feed through the extruder.
Before the dough balls can go through the dough extruder, they need to be steamed for about 15 minutes. This step is important to give these rice noodles their unique texture. The finished noodles can then be mixed with added flavorings such as shredded coconut, curry, lemon zest and sesame oil.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
