Idiappam or Sevai(Rice Noodles)

Popularly known in Canada as String Hoppers, Sevai or Idiappam is a delicious South Indian dish made with rice flour. It is home made rice noodles. It is a tedious job to make it the traditional way. When I was in college, my neighbor taught me an easy way to make this. I love to eat it plain with sweet coconut milk. My mom makes lemon sevai and coconut sevai. It is similar to lemon rice and coconut rice. In Tamil Nadu, people have it for breakfast.  I had brown rice flour at home and made Sevai with it for lunch one day last week.

Ingredients:
2 C rice flour or Sevai flour
4 C water
1 t salt
1/2 t oil
2 C sweet coconut milk

Method:
1. Boil 4 cups water in a heavy bottom pan with salt and oil. Stir in the rice flour. Keep stirring to make a dough. Make sure that there are no lumps. Reduce heat and stir till the dough is cooked. A tooth-pick inserted should come out clean. Remove from heat and keep covered.
2. Take enough dough in Sev maker and press to make noodles over greased idly plates.Steam cook for 10 minutes. Remove from cooker. repeat process with remaining dough. Serve with sweet coconut milk or make lemon or coconut sevai. Look for recipe below.

Lemon Sevai
Juice from one lemon

Mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, red chili and green chili,and curry leaves, for seasoning
salt to taste
1 t turmeric powder
1/4 t asafoetida

Loosen cooked and cooled plain sevai(2 cups) in a  large bowl.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a pan and temper mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, chili and curry leaves. Stir in turmeric powder and asafoetida. Remove from heat and stir this to plain sevai, along with lemon juice and salt. Serve with coconut chutney.

Coconut Sevai:
1/2 C fresh shredded coconut
Mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, green chili and curry leaves, for seasoning
salt to taste
1/4 t asafoetida

Loosen cooked and cooled plain sevai(2 cups) in a large bowl.
Fry coconut in 1 teaspoon ghee to golden brown. Remove from heat and mix it with plain sevai.
Heat 1 teaspoon ghee in the same pan and temper mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, green chili and curry leaves. Mix this with sevai. Add salt and asafoetida and mix gently. Serve with coconut chutney.


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