Spaghetti Sev (Spicy Fried Gram Noodles)

Snacks are a big part of Indian cuisine. Growing up in a very traditional Indian home, tea and snacks was a big deal when it came to guests coming to our home. My mom would prep days in advance for our guest to arrive and not only cook a really big dinner for them, but she would make so many different savory and sweet snacks to eat as soon as they got to our house!

One particular savory snack she would serve was called “Sev.” It is basically a chickpea (gram) flour based dough spiced with salt, chili and turmeric and then run through a special Indian pasta press called a “Sevya” or “Sev Press” to get thin spaghetti like noodles that were fried up till golden and crispy.

You could eat this “sev” alone or crush them into different snack platters like “samosa chaat, papdi chaat, savory noodle salads, etc.” But – most of what I remember was watching the adults munch on plates of sev with their hot chai tea in hand.

This recipe is pretty simple and can be made with any pasta maker. If you have the traditional “sevya” tool – definitely use it! But I made it with my pasta machine and it came out the same as when my mom made it years ago! The only difference is that with the sevya tool – its small enough for you to press out the sev noodles directly into the hot oil it fries in. The pasta machine, on the other hand, requires you to handle the noodles and manually put them into the oil. Not a big deal, but I will say – just be careful handling the raw sev noodles, because they will break easily if you pull them out of your pasta machine to quickly.

Other than that, here’s the recipe! And now you have another cool recipe that has been part of my upbringing!

SPAGHETTI SEV (Spicy Fried Gram Noodles)

Servings: 5-6

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups chickpea flour (gram flour) + 2-3 Tbsp. for flouring dough rounds
2 Tbsp. oil
¼ tsp. turmeric powder
¼ tsp. asafetida
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. chili powder or cayenne powder
5 Tbsp. water
2-3 quarts oil for frying + 2 Tbsp extra for greasing dough.

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, add flour, 2 Tbsp. oil, turmeric, asafetida, salt and chili powder.
Bind the dough together with water. Dough should be a semi-firm consistency. (If dough is sticky, add a few sprinkles of flour to firm up.)
Cover dough and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Begin to heat oil for frying on medium-high setting.
If using pasta machine, place the spaghetti maker unit on your standalone mixer.
After time, split dough into 4 equal portions and roll into ball.
Lightly flatten 1 round into a semi-round circle and dust lightly with flour.
Place through the spaghetti maker on low setting and allow noodles to come out – keeping hands towards middle to catch the full batch of sev noodles.
Immediately separate strands gently and place in hot to fry. (about 30seconds to 1-minute max.) – the noodles fry extremely fast so keep an eye on them. As soon as they turn a golden color, remove and place on plate covered with napkins to drain excess oil.
Repeat steps 7 to step 9 for remaining dough rounds.
Once all sev is fried, allow to cool completely.
Serve room temperature or break into little pieces and add to any dish as a crunchy option.