Ulutham Sevai / Indian Rice Noodles Spiced with Black Gram

Sevai is a short and delicate rice noodle that's popular in South-India. It takes on the flavor of the seasonings in which it is mixed, so there are many different ways of spicing these noodles. I have been posting some of the more common versions in this space. In this version, the rice noodles are mixed with a simple spiced seasoning made from black gram.

There are also a few different ways of making the rice noodles with either rice batter, or rice flour. I have written about two methods here and here. Today, I am writing about a third method.

This is a method that is very commonly used by most families. My in-laws follow this method, but this requires one to act fast and with skill, because the noodles need to be squeezed out when the cooked rice balls are hot. When they cool down, it becomes hard to squeeze them. This method also works much better using a traditional sevai nazhi made with iron and with a rotating equipment on top to squeeze out the noodles.

For an easier version to make the noodles, please refer to this post.

Please refer to the Glossary for more details on the Indian ingredients listed here.

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

1. 1.5 cups raw white rice / idli rice or parboiled rice
2. a few tablespoons of sesame oil
3. salt, as needed
4. 3/4 cup whole, skinned black gram / ulundu / urad dal
5. 2-3 green chillies
6. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
7. 1/2 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
8. a few curry leaves

Preparing the Rice Noodles: 

1.  Wash and soak the rice overnight. In the morning, drain the rice and grind it in an idli/dosa grinder (if possible) to make a soft, smooth batter. Add a total of 1 cup of water (you may need slightly less or more, depending on the quality of your rice) in regular intervals to grind the rice. Add salt while grinding, to ensure even mixing. The consistency of the batter will be like that of idli batter. When you drop the batter, it will fall in ribbons (see picture below). 

2. In a big, heavy-bottomed pot, bring to boil 2 1/4 cups of water (with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil). Slowly add the rice batter to the water and continuously whisk and stir to avoid forming lumps. This is the most difficult part of the process, especially for me, who has the arm-strength of a six year old! Keep stirring on low-medium heat, until it becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pot and comes together as a sticky mass (see picture below). Since I can't stir continuously, I reduce the heat to low (level 2 on a scale of 0-10) and cover the pot, and let the rice cook. I check in every few minutes to stir and check. If the mass is sticking too much, add some sesame oil, but worry not if it sticks.

3. When the mixture is ready, transfer the gooey rice mass onto a tray, and using a wet cloth or paper napkin shape and form the mass to a manageable size (picture above). Don't worry if it appears sticky, it will get to the consistency of a dough when it cools slightly. Keep the mass covered with the wet cloth, and check every few minutes until it reaches the consistency of a very soft dough. When warm enough to handle, grease your hands with sesame oil or water and knead the dough gently and pull it together. Then form oblong shapes of the dough.

4. Meanwhile bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the oblong dough pieces to the boiling water and cook until the rice "balls" float on top. Remove them, and when still hot/warm, put them in a sevai press (greased inside) and squeeze out the noodles. This requires the rice balls to be hot, otherwise it is extremely hard to squeeze out the noodles. Plus, this works better when using a traditional sevai press because the small metal press that's used in recent times becomes hot due to the hot dough inside and it's hard to handle it while squeezing out the noodles.

When the noodles are squeezed out, gently fluff them.

 Preparing the Black Gram Seasoning:

1. Wash and soak black gram for 1-2 hours. Drain, and grind with salt and green chillies to a coarse paste (as shown in the picture)
2. Transfer this to a greased steamer (or greased idli plates) and steam for 10-12 minutes until done (tester comes out clean)
3. When warm enough to handle, crumble the cooked gram into small pieces or gently pulse in a processor to break it down (pulsing in a mixer/blender is more effective).
4. Heat a tablespoon (or two) of sesame oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Add hing, and curry leaves. Add the crumbled gram and fry on medium heat until it begins to crisp and brown slightly (takes about 15 minutes). Remove from heat. 

Add 3.5 cups or as much of the prepared sevai (noodles) as you like to this seasoning and toss gently to mix and carefully break down the noodles into shorter strands. This is one of my favorite kinds of sevais.

Serve with sambar or chutney for a very flavorful meal.

Variations:

If you have left over noodles, try coconut or lemon flavored sevai, or paruppu usili sevai (noodles with spiced lentils), or mix the noodles with pulikachal (a spicy tamarind concentrate) to make puli sevai, or mix with sesame spice blend to make yellu sevai.