Usually, ‘The festival of Diwali’ is seen as ‘The festival of sweets’ but that’s not true at all! Savoury dishes also play a huge role in Diwali menu too. On Diwali and New Years Day, when guests, friends and family pay a visit to wish Diwali greetings, we offer a plate full of Diwali Sweets and Snacks. We enjoy having sweets and savoury goodies turn by turn. That’s how I like to enjoy Diwali feasts, a couple of bites of Habshi Halwa, then a spoonful of Poha Chevdo, sweet and savoury combination works so well with these delicacies. Most of the Gujarati households prepare a huge batch of sev, either plain or with flavoured during Diwali period. It is so easy to prepare, stays fresh for longer and can be made with basic ingredients that can be found easily in any Indian kitchens.
What is Sev
Sev is one of the Indian snacks that is prepared with gram flour and deep fried in oil. It’s crispy and crunchy thin or thick noodles that can be plain salty or spiced with spicy masalas such as red chilli powder, turmeric, black pepper powder or lemon juice. Sev is easily available in Indian shops, but can be made at home in no time. Sev is a snack and can be consumed on its own, or with tea, also used as a topping on chaat dishes such as BhelPuri, Sevpuri or Dabeli. Gujaratis use sev in making authentic kathiyawadi sabji ‘ SEV TAMETA NU SAAK‘ – Sev and tomato curry. There are many varieties of sev you can find in the market, Thin Sev, Thick Sev, Nylon Sev and Ratlami Sev.
Ratlami Sev
Ratlami Sev is a well-known snack from the Indian city Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. Sev made in Ratlam is very popular and one of the tastiest snacks found in India. Usually, sev is made with a couple of spices, but in Ratlami Sev, you can find quite a few various spice powders. The sev is then again sprinkled with a tongue-tickling seasoning to make this sev more spicy, tangy and delicious.
How to store Ratlami Namkeen Sev
Once you have prepared a batch of sev, let it cool completely. Then break the sev into 1″ or 2″ sizes. Store in a clean and dry airtight container and keep it at room temperature. Ratlami sev will stay fresh and crunchy for 2-3 weeks.
How to serve Ratlami Sev
Ratlami sev can be served on its own or can be consumed with hot or cold beverages. I love to add this sev in my bombay sandwich for extra crunch. You could also top it with finely chopped raw onion, pomegranate seeds and fresh coriander.
Ingredients for Ratlami Sev
For this delicious and tongue tickling snack, you will need Gram flour aka Besan or chickpea flour. You will need fine variety. Whole spices such as clove, cinnamon, peppercorn, cumin and whole coriander seeds, carom seeds and star anise. Tangy and spicy powders like Garam masala (optional), Black salt ( Kala Namak-Sanchar) and Chaat Masala. Oil to deep fry the sev. I have used sunflower oil.
Equipment
To make any kind of sev you’ll need SEV SANCHO ( hand pressed machine ) which is easily available in the Indian shops or online. Frying Pan Slotted spoon – Jaro
How to make Ratlami Sev
First, dry roast all the whole spices on a skillet without burning them. Once, cooled down grind roasted spices. In a mixing bowl mix some oil oil and water, whisk well until well mixed. Add ground spice mix, garam masala, Black salt, regular salt and chaat masala. Mix well once again. Then add gram flour ( little by little ) and mix it well and knead a soft dough. Heat the oil in a kadai, add a couple of tablespoons of hot oil into the dough and mix it with the spoon. Take a sev machine and use a medium whole disc. Fill the machine with the dough and press in hot oil in a large circle. After a minute, sprinkle just a couple of drops of water on it. This process will make sev soft inside but crispy and crunchy outside. Fry the sev both sides and remove it with the slotted spoon. Repeat the same procedure with the remaining dough. Once it’s done, break sev in to small pieces. Sprinkle the remaining spice mix on the fried sev. Let it cool. Break it into small pieces and store in an airtight container.
Other Diwali Snacks Recipes
Farsi Puri Kenyan Chevdo Cornflakes Mixture (Makai No Chevdo) As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations! Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
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