Rice Sevai with Coconut Chutney

Rice Sevai is the Indian noodles of South India. Traditionally, making rice sevai was a long process - first rice dough was made, then it was pressed through a mould into noodles which was then streamed. Then these rice noodles / sevai were tempered and served with chutney. Today, making sevai is easy, cut open a pack and immerse it in boiling water for a couple of minutes and then drain the water out and temper it. And it is ready to serve with chutney. The chutney that is served with the Rice Sevai is a simple one, given in an earlier post here. It may be cheating but trust me, this rice sevai and coconut chutney combination is so simply tasty, especially when it is so easy to make.

I use the brand,  Concord rice seva and one packet is just enough for the two of us. The seva is in small pieces unlike noodles and takes just a few minutes to be cooked. All you have to do is put the sevai in a bowl and immerse it in salted boiling water and let it be for 3 to 4 minutes. Don't wait for the sevai to be completely cooked, drain it when there is still a bite to it because it will continue to cook when draining and tempering. Drain the water out with the help of a colander and fluff it a bit to keep it from sticking.

for the tempering

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Udad dal - 1/2 tsp

Dry red chilli - 2

Green chilli - 2

Break the dry red chilli into 1 inch pieces and slit the green chillies. Heat oil in a pan add the mustard seeds and udad dal and let the mustard seeds splutter. Immediately add the dry red chilli and green chilli pieces and saute for a minute. Keep the heat low and add the drained sevai and toss it well with the tempering so both are mixed well. Spread it out in the pan and let any leftover moisture evaporate. The rice sevai is served with Coconut Chutney - it's recipe is given in an earlier post here.

Rice sevai and chutney is mostly served for breakfast and occasionally for a light dinner.

 

Coconut Rose Sago / Tapioca Pudding

This Coconut Rose Sago / Tapioca Pudding is an adaptation of the recipe for Coconut Lilac Tapioca Pudding from the book, Cooking with Flowers by Miche Bacher. That recipe used lilac blossoms and candied lilacs. Since lilac is not a blossom we commonly use in Indian cooking, I substituted it with Gulkand which is made from preserved roses. This Tapioca / Sago pudding is thick and combines tastes of both the coconut milk and rose / gulkand.

Ingredients

Tapioca / Sago pearls - 1/2 cup

Coconut milk - 1 cup

Whole milk - 2 cups

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Gulkand - 3 tbsps

Rosewater -  couple of drops

Soak the sabudana or tapioca / sago pearls in 3/4 cup water for a couple of hours. Then drain the water, if any, and keep the sabudana or tapioca / sago pearls aside.

 

Take a saucepan and add the milk and sugar and let it come to a simmer then add the drained sabudana or tapioca / sago pearls. Cook on low to medium heat stirring it occasionally so the sago does not catch the bottom or stick together to a lump. It will take some time to cook. When the pearls start becoming translucent add the coconut milk and continue stirring occasionally till cooked. To check if it is done, take a sago pearl and bite it, it should be soft without a bite to it. Take off the heat and add the rose water and let it cool. Once cool add the gulkand and mix in. Refrigerate and serve garnished with rose petals.  

My Coconut Rose Sago / Tapioca Pudding goes to
- Cooking with Herbs & Flowers hosted by seduceyourtastebuds
- Valentine's Treat hosted by riappyayan
- Lets Cook Sweet Treats for Valentine hosted by Nayna