Indian and Chinese Rice Noodles

Chinese have really been popular with thier noodles -:), but many people in India don’t know that we have our own noodle dish to be proud of. This one comes from South India; Called Sevai In Tamil or Shavige in Kannada, it is thinner than the ordinary chinese noodle. Also popularly known as Idiappam, these Indian rice noodles come both in sweet as well as spicy flavors. Traditonally it is prepared with Idiappam moulds, but Major Indian food brands like MTR bring out dry rice noodle packets which make your job easier.

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Indian Rice Noodles / Sevai / Idiappam / Shavige

Major requirement of this recipe is the Sevai press or the Idiappam mould; If this is not available, readymade dry rice noodles (Indian) can be used. Ready-made rice noodles just require boiling and straining the noodles.

1 cup ordinary rice
1 cup parboiled rice
2 tbsp. oil
salt to taste
water

Wash and soak rice together overnight. Grind together to a fine paste. Keep aside for 5-6 hours. Put into idli moulds and steam till cooked. Grease a sev press. Place warm idli in it and press.

Press out sev in a 4″ circle. See that ends overlap. Allow to cool a bit. Use greased palms and lift. Place in a double walled colander or steamer to keep warm. Serve hot with ghee and chutney, garnished with coconut and Dhaniya.

Top with powdered sugar and ghee while serving. Cool, break unevenly. Heat oil in a pan, add finely chopped chillies and Pyaz (onions), fry till tender, add sev, salt, nimbu (lemon) juice, Dhaniya, grated coconut, and mix.

Serve warm or cold. Optionally sun dry the idiappams till dry and crisp. Store and fry or steam when desired. Will keep for a few weeks in dry form. Enjoy it with coconut milk and sugar or with shredded coconut and sugar or with any curry.

Another Sevai Recipe at our site

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Ok, here’s another tradtional Chinese-Indian noodle recipe that you can try out if you find Idiappams are not your area of expertise -:)

Chinese noodles or any other chinese recipe make extensive use of Soya sauce and less spiciness. These are however a rage in Indian fast food outlets that tweak and change Chinese noodles to meet Indian spiciness standards…. -:)

Chinese Noodles (Rice)

Dried rice noodles 250g
2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion cut into inch/2cm long thin strips
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 red pepper cut into strips
1 yellow pepper into strips
1 bunch zucchini cut into strips
1 pack smoked tofu, cut into similar sized pieces (optional)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of sesame oil

Cook the rice noodles according to the instructions on the packet – often this is just pouring boiling water over them and leaving them for a while. Cook the onions and garlic in the sunflower oil for a few minutes and then add the chilli and stir in well.

Add your vegetables and soy sauce and cook for a few moments until slightly softened and then add the tofu and stir fry for another 10 minutes or so before adding the rice noodles and combining well (you may want to cut them up if they are very long). At the last minute sprinkle the sesame oil over the dish and serve at once. Serve it with Tomato and Chilli sauce.

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Don’t forget to check out our Indian recipe site for a growing collection of Desi and Videsi (coming soon) recipes.

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Photo Courtesy and related copyrights: Flickr.com (Sevai Photo), Hamachi (chinese noodles).