Govan Shevai Panna/ Seasoned Wheat Idiyappam.

"Govan Shevai Panna/ Seasoned Wheat Idiyappam" ... a simple GSB Konkani Saraswat delicacy prepared with sun- dried wheat shevai/ sevaiyan/ idiyappam ... tastes best served as a snack/ breakfast/ tiffin ... Yummilicious ...  

** Govan Shevai is made of wheat and is a sun dried and stored item. Wheat is soaked and ground to a fine paste. Then it is left over to settle down by keeping it in one place without shaking it. The water on top is strained over and the residue remaining at the bottom is then stirred on medium heat till you get a mirror like texture. It is then passed through shevai machine and dried on sunlight till its dry and there is no moisture whatsoever in it.

** It is then stored in air tight tins and used by soaking it was 10-15 minutes in water and then seasoning it. The process however is lengthy one, but was generally carried out in the months of April-May when the heat is at it best / highest. My mother used to prepare this and we used to help her in making many sun dried items as it was our holidays them. We enjoyed this most as we prepared these items early in the morning so that the items prepared got enough time and good sunlight for drying. Those days such items were prepared at home and never brought from outside. Nowadays these are easily available in the grocery shops as times have changed and we are all hard pressed for time.

** You can now buy them in any South Indian Stores, by asking for dried wheat sevai. It is easily available in Mangalore Stores or any other Indian/ southern stores all round the southern part of India. These are stored mostly during rainy season for easy accessibility of food to cook in case of heavy rains and one cannot venture out to bring vegetables or for the matter when children come hungry home from school.

** Here is my simple recipe for "Govan Shevai Panna/ Seasoned Wheat Idiyappam" ... traditional method which I learned from amma ...

The above picture is a Old Click. 

** Soak about 250- 300 gms of sun- dried gova shevai/ wheat idiyappam in normal water for 15-20 minutes, it turns soft, so keep checking. The timings of soaking depend upon the quality of wheat used. Some get soaked fast while some may take more time. Just run your hand through the soaked shevai, if you find it soft and breaks if pressed between fingers, it means it is ready. Remove, put it in a colander and rinse under running water from tap. Leave it to strain properly for a good 5-10 minutes, shaking it often to loosen them from sticking to each other or becoming mushy.

** Note : If you find the Govan Shevai/ Wheat Idiyappam is not softened slightly by 10 minutes, you can add in some hot water so that it is soaked in lukewarm water. Sometimes some sevai takes too much time and even then does not get softened from within properly, so in such cases lukewarm water does the needful. But you have to be careful and drain off the water once it has softened and not make it mushy. The trick always lies in correct soaking and draining of the shevai, so always keep a keen watch on it. It takes maximum 15-20 minutes.

** Heat 2-3 tblsp of coconut oil (nariyal tel/ narlele tela) in a thick bottomed Kadai, when hot add in 1 tsp of urad dal (black gram dal), when the colour changes slightly add in 1 tsp of mustard seeds (rai/ sasam) and when it begins to splutter lower the heat add in 10-12 curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu), 1 tsp of hing (asafoetida) powder, 4-5 green chillies (tarni mirsanga/ hari mirchi) slit lengthwise and 1-2 dry red chillies (byadgi mirchi/ kumte mirsanga) cut to pieces, a handful of dry fried ground nuts (kadlo/ shengdana) which is Optional. Stir this seasoning for a minute or two.

** Lower the heat and dd the strained govan shevai to the above with salt (namak/ meeta) to taste and mix well. Cover and cook in its own steam for 10-12 minutes stirring gently in between a few times. Lastly add ½ cup of freshly grated white part of the coconut (soyi/ nariyal) and mix well. Once again cover and let cook for another 4-5 minutes, then remove from heat and keep it aside, it is done and ready.

** "Govan Shevai Panna/ Seasoned Wheat Idiyappam" is done and ready to be served. This is a simple dish by and large served during breakfast or in the evening with tea especially when children come home hungry from school. Amma always prepared this as a combo pack breakfast item along with either buns, bajo's, sweet (godi) idlies etc. Do try this dish if you have access to sun-dried shevai/ idiyappam.