Sev / Omapodi (Gram Flour Noodle Snack)

- Submitted by Eliza

(Omapodi, Gram flour Noodles, Oma Podi)

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Today was a rainy Friday and a perfect weather for that million dollar evening nap. As I got up, with my evening dose of ginger cardamom tea, I quickly decided that I will share my omapodi recipe with all my friends here. Omapodi or commonly known as “sev” is one of the most commonly found snack in any part of India. We can see the presence of the golden sev or the omapodi as an add-on, but an important ingredient in snacks like south Indian mixture, and in all chaat items. Usually the sev that is added is store bought, but it is very easy and quick to make the sev at home. We make the traditional “omapodi” during diwali to be added to the special diwali mixture. The omapodi with a cup of hot coffee is a perfect evening snack during the weekends. As the name suggests, “Omam” in Tamil means ajwain or carom seeds which is mixed into the batter of gram flour and spices. Gram flour has the inherent characteristic of causing flatulence or bad stomach which is nullified by the digestive properties of the carom seeds. The method of making this snack is very simple and can be made in a jiffy.

Recipe For Sev

Preparation Time : 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 minutes
Serves : 6-8

Ingredients

• Bengal Gram Flour (Besan, Kadala Maavu) - 1 cup
• Ajwain (Omam)- 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Salt - to taste
• Water - as needed to make dough (app. 3-4 tbsp)
• Oil - for deep frying

Method

1. Dry roast the carom seed (Omam) in a pan and soak in ¼ cup of water for 30 minutes.Grind the carom seeds along with the soaked water to as smooth as possible.Filter the ground mixture using a tea strainer. 
2. Mix the bengal gram flour, salt, asafoetida, turmeric powder and red chili powder together. You could also add 1 tsp of rice flour for the dough preparation to get the crispness in sev.
3. Add the strained omam water to this. Add some additional water and knead it to make a soft, sticky and gooey (but not watery) dough.
4. Add few drops of oil to your palms, to the dough and to the inside of the sev press to reduce the stickiness.

   

5. In the meantime, heat up the oil in a kadai to fry the sev.
6. Fill the dough into a idiyappam maker or sev press with the appropriate 'sieve' - the one with the smallest holes or with slightly bigger holes can be used. (Note :- For purposes like chaats, the thin sev is a must. For enjoying sev (omapodi) as a snack or for making mixtures, either one would do.)
7. When the oil is hot enough, press out thin strands of the dough into the hot oil.

   

8. Deep fry till the sev turns crispy. Generally the sev is done when the vigorous bubbling of the oil subsides.

   

9. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

   

Serving Omapodi (Sev)

• Cool and store in a air tight container. This is a perfect snack by itself with a cup of tea. 
• It can be used for making different chaats and mixture.

Tips

• If you want to have sev (omapodi) as a snack by itself, you can add other flavorings in the dough like dried herb powder, garlic etc.
• Do not add too much Omam (ajwain) as it will give a bitter taste to the omapodi.
• Do not leave the dough open for a long time as it will become hard and will be tough to press.

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