String hoppers ..by many other names

Idiyappam or sevai..or rice noodles

Lemon Sevai

String hoppers in Srilanka, idiyappam in Kerala.Sevai in Tamil Nadu, and rice noodles in some Asian countries, these soft and steam stringy—only in shape—stuff made of parboiled rice, are tasty and nutritious. And also versatile in terms of how one can eat them.

I like them best the way I used to eat them at Woody’s Drive In, when I was a studying at Stella Maris College in Madras, in the early 70s. The sprawling Woodland’s Drive In restaurant had few tables and chairs, and more people eating seated in their cars, to be served by favourite waiters. The place had great weekly menu items—one day was dedicated to Idiyappam and kurma—made of diced vegetables cooked in a spicy gravy of coconut, cashew nut, khus khus(poppy seeds), apart from giner,onion,garlic and chillies. That without a doubt will remain the string hopper accompaniment I enjoy the most. In fact, my college years will never be complete without that stainless steel oval shaped plate in which they served the idiyappam and kurma.

The Sevai Magic!

Back then, making the idiyappam was a laborious affair—soak,grind,steam, exert a lot of pressure, and still never be sure whether the string hoppers will turn out right.

 Home kitchens had a tripod stand with a rotatable portion that would also spiral up and down, pressing out the string hoppers on banana leaves or oiled plates. In some homes, they had the simple handpress that has turned a bit more fancy these days, one variety even looking line a long-tailed canine atop a tower.

The batter

My friend Mala who has been making the sevai ever since she got married over 30 years ago, proudly shows a new contraption, with which she says they can be made lot more conveniently, and with fair guarantee of good result. 

Mala at it

It is a pressure cooker and steam pressure based gadget that seems pretty daunting at a glance, and has to be used carefully—so that you don’t scald your arms , or there is no minor explosion in the kitchen. 

A bit of a mess this made in Coimbatore gadget can lead to, if you forget one of the three or four gaskets that have to be fixed appropriately!

Many companies in Coimbatore make these idiappam makers, and all of them have applied for patents! Google “sevai maker Coimbatore” and you will be able to read all you want to know about them.

Here goes the ingredients Mala used to  make the basic sevai:

Parboiled rice—2.5 cups

Soak for eight hours, grind fine.

Following the instructions of the sevai maker, make the sevai, with no oil or salt.

It took exactly 40 minutes (not counting the soaking and grinding time) to make enough sevai for large servings for six to eight people.

 

Sevai squeeshing out of the magic maker!

Ready to be garnished, dressed.

Spread the thread stuff on a wide plate or tray to cool, before  converting them into savoury lemon sevai or coconut sevai, or a sweet sevai with a sprinkling of jaggery, grated coconut and cardamom.

Or eat plain, with any vegetable or chicken or mutton dish with gravy. Or even some raita.

Purely on an experimental basis Mala tried out some wheat based sevai. It turned out well too.

Golden wheat sevai