Paruppu Sevai is one of the staple breakfast/dinner in South India. Learn to make this traditional rice noodles/sevai with step wise pictures. Although, these rice noodles take a while to prepare, it tastes amazing and is also very nourishing. Made with steamed lentils, this vegan snack is hearty and fulfilling.
If there is one dish that I crave for all the time then its got to be this one! I love this Lentil & Rice Noodles/Paruppu Sevai so much so that even on the day I make it, I cannot wait to have it. For this one dish, I am glad to have been born as a South Indian. It's because of that fact, I got to taste this dish which eventually became my favorite. While I kept believing that its only Tamilians who eat rice noodles, I was in for a pleasant surprise. When I started reading about global cuisines, I was amazed to learn that many Asian countries use rice noodles in their cooking. Although, their way of cooking it was poles apart to ours. But even today, I cannot bring myself to try some other version of sevai using some international flavors. I still stick to basics (only in this context) as that is how I love it and prefer it. Sevai is a type of rice vermicelli which is extensively used in South Indian cuisine. It is also prepared from a dried sevai packs (or rice sticks) like the instant ones easily available in the Asian grocery stores. I always get these
.
My mom would make different varieties of sevai at-least once in two weeks. Usually it would be a Saturday night meal and the leftovers would be devoured as Sunday breakfast. It was only after many years that I got to know this that it was my dad's favorite meal and that is why she would make it frequently. Ain't that cute? In a traditional setup, this has always been the case. The woman of the house loves to cook for her family and knows each one's favorite dish. She always remembers to make it for them and sometimes if you are lucky, get hand fed by her. I am still from this old school of thought, but I welcome the new age where the man of the house contributes in the kitchen as well. I like it when KR cooks up my favorite meal - Chickpea Stir Fry/Tawa Chole or Maggi. But it is an altogether different story of how he messes up my kitchen while doing so. Sigh! But that's OK I guess.
Anyways, coming back to this recipe, the steps to make it are little elaborate but not complicated. Let me explain. Soak tur dal
lentils for an hour at least. Drain the water and grind it to a coarse paste along with dried red chillies
, salt and asafoetida
with very little water. It should resemble a crumbly coarse paste. Then shape them as balls, flatten it and steam it for 13-15 minutes using any steamer
. Allow it to cool down completely before taking them out of the steamer. Crumble them with your fingers. Be careful, they could still be hot. Simultaneously, boil the instant sevai
as per the instructions on the packet. Strain them and keep it aside for now. I prefer to spread it out onto a large tray to prevent them from sticking to one another. Heat oil
in a kadai
. Temper mustard seeds
. Once they begin to crackle, add urad dal
. Once they begin to turn golden, add chopped curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds. Then add the crumbled lentil mix to the pan.
Mix it well and continue to fry the steamed lentils for 5-6 minutes. It will crumble even further. Use the ladle to crumble it. Then add the cooked sevai/rice noodles to the pan. Mix them all together and cook it for another 2 minutes. Check and add salt as required. Garnish with chopped cilantro and take it off the pan. Serve it warm. Now you can serve sambhar for side with this dish but I like to enjoy it as is. It is like Upma for me and I absolutely love it. I prepare this dish at least once a month and therefore I prepare lots of it! I eat it for lunch, dinner and next day breakfast. Every South Indian family may have its own way of preparing this Lentil & Rice Noodles/Paruppu Sevai and this recipe is our way of doing it. There are some who add grated coconut to the recipe but we prefer without it. I just feel that this recipe is so unique and different that I want to preserve this family recipe for years to come through this blog. Hope you too enjoy making it as much as I always do. 🙂
Lentil Rice Noodles | Paruppu Sevai
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup tur dal
- 5-6 dried red chillies
- 1/2 tsp asafoetida
- 250 gms instant rice noodles
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp urad dal
- 4-5 curry leaves
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Soak tur dal lentils for an hour at least. Drain the water and grind it to a coarse paste along with dried red chillies, salt and asafoetida. Then shape them as balls, flatten it and steam it for 10 minutes using any steamer. Allow it to cool down completely before taking them out of the steamer. Crumble them with your fingers. Be careful, they could still be hot. Simultaneously, boil the instant sevai as per the instructions on the packet. Strain them and keep it aside for now. Heat oil in a kadai. Temper mustard seeds. Once they begin to crackle, add urad dal. Once they begin to turn golden, add chopped curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds. Then add the crumbled lentil mix to the pan.
Mix it well and continue to fry the steamed lentils for 3-4 minutes. Then add the cooked sevai/rice noodles to the pan. Mix them all together and cook it for another 2 minutes. Check and add salt as required. Garnish with chopped cilantro and take it off the pan. Serve it warm.
Nutrition
Next time you come across a packet of Indian rice noodles or sevai, then pick it up. You can prepare Lemon Rice Noodles/Sevai with it apart from this recipe. All you noodle lovers, here are some vegetarian and/or vegan noodle recipes that you can try - Chilly Garlic Noodles, Vegan Cilantro Basil Noodles, One Pot Spicy Thai Noodles, Teriyaki Noodles with Broccoli & Beets and Yakisoba Stir Fry Noodles with Mushroom and Almond Butter.
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