Rice noodles, known by many names – Idiyappam/ Sevai/ Sandhavai/ Rice noodles/ String hoppers/ noolappam is a creditable dish of South India. You can call this dish as a comfort food.
Making this dish used to thrill me when I was young. I get excited to see the noodles come out like thin threads from the instrument. But making this dish then, was tedious job. Rice has to be soaked and ground into watery batter, and then fried in the pan for the water to evaporate and then steamed and then pressed in the equipment specially meant for it.
But now, it has become easy with the readily available rice flour in the market, and not to tell about the easy press. Potato stew or kurma serve as a tasty accompaniment to this. I made potato stew to go along with the idiyappam and it turned out to be very tasty and lipsmacking.
Rice Noodles
Ingredients
- Rice flour – 2 cups. ( store-bought idiyappam flour)
- Water – 4 cups
- Salt to taste
- Vegetable oil- 2 tsps
Directions
1. Bring 4 cups of water to boil. Add salt and oil. When the water boils, add the rice flour litlle by little and knead it into a smooth dough. Grease the “idiyappam press” and fill the press with the dough and press in circles on the idli plates. Steam it for 12 mts .Allow it to cool and transfer it into the serving bowl.
You could buy frozen idiyappam and can either steam or microwave it and skip all the above steps.
Potato stew
Ingredients
- Potatoes- 4 chopped into cubes. (You can use cauliflowers and carrots along with potatoes)
- Onion – 1 chopped
- Green chilies- 4 (slit)
- Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
- Cardamom- 2
- Cinnamon stick- 1 piece
- Bay leaf- 1
- Coconut milk – 1 cup. ( available in cans)
- Salt to taste.
- Vegetable oil/ canola oil/ olive oil- 2 tsp
Directions
1. Add some oil to the pan. Splutter the cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf. Stir in the onions along with the chilies and ginger garlic paste. Let the onions become translucent.
2. Add the potatoes and veggies and sauté them for 3 to 5 minutes. (don’t brown the potatoes).
3. Add the coconut milk and simmer the stove. If you think coconut milk is too thick, add half cup of water. Bring it to boil in low flame and switch off the stove.Add salt and mix well.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice noodles.
Notes
1. Don’t cook the coconut milk much as it will lessen the taste.
2. Add salt only after switching off the stove . Salt will curdle the coconut milk if added earlier.
One Response
June 10th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Hi uma
This dish came very well.Its is simple and easy to make the gravy with coconut flavor in it.
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