Sevain : story of the Indian vermicelli
I grew up in a rural Punjabi setting and one of the most
fascinating sites that I remember was my grandmother deftly rolling seviyaan
(indian vermicelli ) on an inverted ghada (pot) I used to thing she was quick
till I entered the google and youtube age and saw that there were Chinese chefs
who could make upto 5000 lomian noodles a minute , by hand of course !
Its here that I decided to study a little more of this historically
intriguing culinary delight.
Heres a plausible story about how “Seviyaan “ became a
household name in India
.
Noodles are now established to be of Chinese origin after
much tussle with the Egyptians. The earliest “Fossils “of noodles have been
found in china i the banks of the yellow river and they date back 4000years !
Its from the Mongols (mughals) Chinese origins that the noodles came to India
and gradually got absorbed in the culture eventually to find a way to the
commoners home in form of sevain .
Heres a traditional Sheer Khurma recipe from My Lucknowi repertoire
Sevain 50gms
Ghee 3tbsp
Chironji whole , Pistachio and almonds slivered 4 tbsp
Raisins and dates soaked in water and chopped 2 tbsp
Milk ( buffalo milk preferred ) 8cups
Green cardamom seeds 1
tsp
Sugar 100
gms
Saffron ¼
tsp
Method
1 . Reduce the milk to half on low flame
2 . Roast the nuts in ghee along with green cardamom
3 . add milk to the nuts and the dry fruits , simmer for 5
minutes
4 . add the vermicelli and sugar and simmer for another 5
minutes
5 sprinkle saffron and serve at room temperature
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