Do you want to know the ultimate secret of how I make Khasta Sev super khasta without even adding baking soda or any other leavening agents?
Sev is the most popular Indian snack that you will find in every Indian home. It is such an integral part of our lives that all our events are incomplete without sev. We Indians can forget other essential items but not sev whether we are traveling, going for a picnic, holding a party, playing games, having breakfast, afternoon tea, or midnight snack. Sev is there for every moment. It doesn't stop just there, we put sev in every dish that you can possibly think of, in curries, on pizza, salad mix, tacos, and the list goes on. Have you ever tried sandwiches stuffed with sev? Sounds bizarre right... but tastes aaamazing. Sev is also one of our top goodies to make for the festive season. When it comes to Diwali snacks, you must have sev.
Sev is so versatile and tasty that it's hard to stop eating it, particularly when prepared according to my recipe. Make it once and everything I just said will start making sense. You'll never ever consider leaving the sev community.
Skip to recipe Khasta Sev - Vegan Recipe or continue reading for tips and stages of making the recipe
Here are basic ingredients that are easily found in every (Q)kitchen to make crispy, crunchy, and irresistible Khasta Sev.
Chickpea flour (Besan), Water, Oil, Black pepper, Cloves, and Salt.
Stages of Making - 5 Simple and quick steps
1. Mix dry ingredients
Sieve chickpea flour (besan) into a large bowl. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper and cloves. The amount of black pepper may be increased to make the sev spicier if desired.
I didn't add turmeric, but you can if you want the sev to have a deeper yellow colour.
Combine the dry ingredients well.
2. Emulsify Water and Oil
This is the most crucial step, and you must not miss it. I repeat, do not skip this step. Because this is the secret to making your sev highly porous, light, and crispy. Thus eliminating the use of baking soda.
Water and oil, as everyone knows, do not mix well, but if you put them in a blender and whirl them on high for a few seconds, you will get a frothy white liquid. In this water-oil emulsion, the two components are spread evenly.
3. Make the dough
As soon as the water-oil emulsion is ready, pour this mixture into the dry ingredients (i.e flour, salt, and spice mix) and knead it into a soft dough. The dough will be sticky and that is what we are after. Avoid the temptation to add more flour. Grease your hand to give the dough a good knead and smooth finish. Cover and set it aside for 10 mins.
Important note, do not let the emulsion sit on the counter or else water and oil will separate. If that happens then blend it again just before pouring it over the flour.
4. Setup sev maker machine
A sev machine is required to make sev. When I mention the sev machine, I don't mean any sort of complicated engineering mechanism; instead, I mean a simple sev pressing device (see the pic below) that can be found in most Indian shops. If you don't have access to a sev maker, you can use a potato ricer instead. It's nice to have a juggad on hand.
Remove the sev maker's base and insert the die with the holes. I'm using a medium-sized die plate for this project. Using the selected die, reattach the base. Remove the piston by detaching the top part of the sev maker. Grease the machine's insides as well as the piston. This will prevent dough from sticking to the walls.
Re-knead the dough once it has rested for 10 minutes. Scoop up a small portion of the dough with lightly oiled hands. Make a log out of it and place it in the greased cylindrical sev maker container. Remember to leave enough room on top for the piston. Place the sev maker's piston on top of the dough. Move the cylinder cover closer to the cylinder by pulling the piston rod up. Fix the lid firmly to the container's top. We're all set to cook the sev now.
5. Frying sev
Heat frying oil in a saucepan halfway full. Before frying the sev, make sure the oil is at the correct temperature. You may test the temperature of the oil by dropping a tiny piece of dough into the oil. If it quickly rises to the top, the oil temperature is too high. Allow for a little cooling down period. If the dough is taking an excessive amount of time to rise, the oil temperature is too low and has to be increased. If the dough rises to the top of the oil in 2-3 seconds, the oil is hot enough to fry the sev.
Hold the sev machine over a hot oil pan and squeeze the handle to force noodle-like sev through the machine's pores. Continue to press the machine handle and rotate it in a circular motion as the sev noodles drop into the heated oil. Stop moving the machine after you've completed a full circle. Snip the sev noodles from the machine's base and drop them into the oil to fry.
With the help of a perforated large spoon flip the frying sev once to allow it to cook evenly from all sides.
As soon as the oil comes into touch with the sev, it will begin to sizzle and pop. Flip the sev carefully and cook the second side once the first side is brown and crisp. Fry the sev until it becomes golden and looks crisp. The oil will also cease sputtering after the sev is thoroughly cooked. Scoop it out of the oil using a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Carry on with the remainder of the dough. When sev is hot, it is soft. As it cools, it crisps up and darkens slightly in colour. Once they've cooled, use your hands to apply pressure and break them up into smaller pieces. Store it in an airtight container at room temperature.
Final result
That's all there is to it. It just took 15 minutes to cook them all, and they'll be gone in the blink of an eye.
Can any other kind of flour be used to make sev?
Yes, you may substitute wheat flour, rice flour, ragi flour, and other flour for besan. You may also use a combination of flours. But note, the texture of sev will vary depending on the flour and how much gluten it contains.
Sev made using besan flour will be the flakiest and crunchy.
Does the thickness or sev matter?
Although the flavour of sev is unaffected by its thickness, its use in various dishes varies.
Nylon sev, or very fine (thin) sev, is often seen in chaat dishes such as sev puri, radga patties, and bhel. While chiwda or any other Diwali savory snack calls for medium-sized sev. Medium sev is also great for sev curry. Thick sev makes a satisfying afternoon snack when served with a cup of tea or coffee.
Flavour variation Ideas?
You can use the same recipe, but alter it to make different types of flavoured sev. Examples include: This same recipe can be modified to create different flavoured sev such as Green Sev which is made by substituting spinach juice for the water or adding pea powder to the flour, Red Sev is made by replacing water with tomato juice, Beetroot Sev is by mixing beetroot powder to dry ingredients, Mint Sev by adding dried crushed mint leaves to dry ingredients an many more.
Storage and Shelf life?
Allow sev to cool fully before serving. Crush them to the desired size and store them in an airtight container in the pantry at room temperature. These will last for 2 months if properly stored in an airtight container. To avoid oil turning rancid quickly, use high-quality oil.
Make Khasta Sev for your Diwali treat basket this year and impress your loved ones.
Instead of buying packaged sev from the supermarket, make your own delicious homemade Khasta Sev and stock up your pantry. These may not be the healthiest snack, but they for sure are free of any artificial additives and preservatives.
Recipe link below
Comments