"Boiled Rice- Kodo Millet Shevai (Sevai/ String Hoppers/ Idiyappam)" ... few days back when many friends posted shevai in my food group Konkani Delicacies, I badly wanted to have them as it had been quite some time since I prepared it ... keeping aside the fear of shoulder aches that somehow are fond of me, went ahead and prepared this combo of ukdo tandul (white boiled rice) and varagu (kodo millet) sevai without addition of coconut ... prepared it first time using the chakuli/ murukku maker instead of using the shevai dante/ sevai preparing stand machine I always use. The Shevai turned out soft and tasted simply awesome with egg curry ... Yummilicious ..…
** Sheva/ Sevai/ Sevaiyan/ String Hoppers/ Idiyappam is one of the most famous breakfast dish of Amchi Konkani Saraswats. Sort of tedious dish to prepare, yet very delicious that everybody loves to have. Traditionally they were prepared with rice only and then a few concoctions came about. The next one to appear widely was with nachani/ ragi/ finger millet that was prepared both fresh and sun dried for consumption. Recently a lot of hype is surrounding the consumption of millets and many have switched over completely to it discarding consumption of rice, wheat etc. Well, though I believe they are good, I have no intention whatsoever of changing over completely as I strongly believe in roots, eating that which one grew up with, but would love to have them prepared in my kitchen as a change.
** However, I always love preparing varieties and trying out new options and millet is actually not new to Konkani Saraswats. We have always extensively used 2 varieties ie Nachani (Ragi/ Finger Millet), Varai (Indian Barnyard Millet). Varai has always been used during Upvas/ fasting days in my community and we do prepare, Idly, dosa etc. out of the same. The same is the case with Nachani, though with this one we even prepare coolants and bhakri. I grew up relishing a delicious sweet dosa mom prepared using nachani when we returned home hungry from school and it has always been prepared by me over years. Jowar (Jwari/ Sorghum) and Bajra (Pearl Millet) are two varieties of millets I came across in Mumbai after I settled in outskirts after my marriage. So, in all I have always prepared these 4 millets.
** In the last decade, lot of promotion of millet are done and I have come across few more of the same. A packet of Kodo Millet (Varagu) was given to me by a friend of mine to whom again someone had passed it on. She was reluctant to prepare it as hers was a large family with their own food preferences the pattern of which she did not want to disturb. Though I was slightly skeptical, as I had no knowledge of it, I thought of giving it a try. The first time I prepared a little bit of pulav, I had stomach issues for almost a week, while hubby did not face any such issues. I have a very delicate stomach and always changes or heavy garam masala foods upset it very badly giving rise to acidity. I referred to a lot of recipes on net and food groups and gave them a try but always ended up with stomach ache/ discomfort.
** My friend jokingly suggested including the same partially as I was not switching over to it completely and just wanted to have it for a change. Mixing ingredients is something I like and though I have not come across mixing of millet which a few suggested is not good, I was not convinced and thought of giving it a try. The first was bhakri prepared using kodo and boiled rice together which turned out great in taste and I had just slight discomfort unlike before, so this time I tried shevai, soaking it well for almost 12 hours and then preparing the same and it was fantastic, I really did not have any tummy related issue. Slowly I would like to increase the quantity and then I am definitely going to try it out with only single millet without addition of other ingredients, but for now you can try this one out as it turned out perfect.
** I have already written in detail about preparation of the traditional method of shevai/ sevai/ idiyappams/ string hoppers, so will not repeat the details here again. I am sharing a common link to all shevai posts shared in blog and for those of you who are new can browse through the same for step by step procedure pictures and details. In case of this shevai also, I went about in the same method as is our traditional way, by soaking, grinding, cooking to balling consistency, preparing balls out of it, steaming and then pressing through the shevai mold for those delicious idiyappam. This time however I have used the Chakuli preparing machine instead of the regular one with stand which we always use. This is easier for those of you who want prepare the same without wanting to buy the older machine used for it.
** Note : This time I have used the Chakuli/ Murukku Pressing Machine for preparing the Shevai. Many of my friends both in India and worldwide use this method as they do not have the standing machine and also this too gives same results and is easier to handle, can be prepared single handed and also saves on space. I am sharing a picture of it here, the pressing machine has many changeable plates depending upon what dish one wants to make. The one used for preparing of shevai is the one with plenty of medium sized holes.
** Here is my method of preparing "Boiled Rice- Kodo Millet Shevai (Sevai/ Idiyappam)" … My own Style ….
** Wash and soak 3 cups of White Boiled Rice (Ukda Tandul) with 1 cup of Kodo millet (Varagu) in plenty water for 12-14 hours. Wash again very well and drain off the water. Put it in a mixer grinder, I used wet grinder and grind to a smooth fine rava textured paste, adding in enough water while doing so little by little as is required.
** Add in 2 tblsp of oil (I used Coconut Oil, you can use any) in a heavy bottomed kadai, spreading it all over the sides to coat the inner side of the kadai well, so that the batter does not stick to it much on cooking. This step is very important so do not skip it. Now add in ground batter to which about 4-5 cups of water, salt to taste is added and mixed well.
** Important Note : Addition of water to prepared batter is very important and it necessary to bring the batter to somewhat thicker than milk consistency. Do not be misled that if you keep the batter thicker the cooking time will be lesser and it will cook faster saving time. If you do not cook it properly on slow to medium gas evenly until it turns into a balling mass then when you steam and press the shevai it will not turn out proper and will remain sort of sticky/ kacha and when you eat the same may stick to your mouth. So do not skip any process.
** Now keep the kadai on medium to low flame and keep stirring the mixture continuously. After some time, the mixture starts getting thick. Do not stop stirring, as the mixture starts to thicken and leave the sides of kadai turn the heat to minimum and continue taking care to see that the bottom part of mixture does not get burnt. Continue till the mixture thickens completely and forms as a rolling mass, soft but non sticking.
** To check if the batter is done, just touch the mixture with slightly wet hands, if done it will not stick to your fingers, or else a little bit of the paste will stick to fingers, in which case you need to stir it a little bit more. Once completely done, remove from fire and allow it to cool a little bit say for 5-10 minutes or just bearable to prepare the balls with hands.
** Now keep some cold water in a bowl and dip both hands in it take some portion of the mixture and make them into oval shaped dumplings. Be careful, as the mixture is hot. You can wear plastic gloves if not comfortable. Apply a small pressure on the rice dumpling by pressing your finger lengthwise on it, this is done so for even steaming of the rice dumpling.
** Do not let the mixture cool much as it starts hardening and then it becomes very difficult to shape them, therefore you have to make the dumplings fast enough. Keep the prepared oval shaped dumplings in an Idly steaming vessel (pedavana) in which you have already added on the required amount of water below and placed the appropriate plate over it.
** Steam the dumplings kept in the pedavan (Idly steaming vessel) for about 25-30 minutes. Remove and add each prepared ball into the shevai pressing machine and prepare shevai. You can steam this immediately or after a few hours, I always prepare it late night, keep it overnight as it is in the Idly pedavan, steam it next morning and press shevai immediately.
** Note : Check the step by step picture given on the link at the bottom of this recipe for proper knowledge of preparing and pressing the shevai using the machine.
** Important to Check : The shevai pressing machine should be kept ready before keeping the prepared rice dumplings for steaming be it dante or chakuli/ murkku presser if using. Grease the molds of the dante/ shevai pressing machine with coconut oil prior to starting too. Also, check that all the holes in the molds are clear and there are no blocks whatsoever. All these things should be checked before the steaming process.
** The shevai once pressed out from the shevai pressing machine should be placed on a wet cloth immediately once it is pressed out as this ensures that they remain separate and do not stick to each other. So keep prepared a wet ankso/ cotton towel/ cloth lined on a stainless steel large sized plate ready. If the quantity of prepared shevai is more you can put them in layers but each layer should be separated with a wet cloth to retain the shevai intact.
** "Boiled Rice- Kodo Millet Shevai (Sevai/ Idiyappam)" is done and ready to be served. I served it with Simple Masala Egg Curry and the combo was delicious. The same tastes great with both veg and non-veg curry dishes. You can serve it topped with coconut oil and some delicious pickle which is how most of Konkani Saraswat’s relish it. Also the most sought after combo is with spicy batate songa (potato onion curry), tastes awesome.
** You can serve the shevai/ sevai/ idiyappam, string hoppers with any accompaniment of your choice that appeals to you and your family. As the choice of serving these are many depending upon personal taste. Do try out this variation of shevai and enjoy with your family and friends. Children love noodles very much and this one is definitely a healthier and better option than giving them those to which preservatives are added.
** You can also season this the next day with some spices and veggies and crumbling them into a mixture sort. In most homes these are also served with coconut jaggery gravy a simple accompaniment served with it that is loved a lot by kids and others too in my community, but somehow in my home we prefer spicier dishes to sweeter ones. I have included the same also elsewhere so you may try that out too, it is very easy to prepare.
** Here is the link to the recipe of "White Boiled rice (Ukda Rice) shevai", where in there are step by step pictures, please follow the link for the same ….
** Here is the link to recipes that can be prepared using the prepared "Shevai" and also their accompaniments that can be served with, please follow the link give below …
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