Idiyappam (String Hoppers / Sevai)

My mom used to make sevai from scratch.  She would make the rice flour dough, put it in the sevai-making contraption, steam it, and then make either lemon sevai or coconut sevai.   I used to help with the sevai puzhinjufying (putting the dough into the contraption and turning the handle to make the noodles), but never thought that I would be doing this so many years later.

Idiyappams

My friend Usha, who grew up in Sri Lanka, makes idiyappam regularly.  She always uses red rice flour.  This is healthier than the white rice flour my mom used.  She would serve this with a fantastic eggplant coconut milk curry.  On one of her trips, she got me the idiyappam press.  I use it regularly to make idiyappams.  I only use the red rice flour or Chemba flour because I love the texture and the color.

Idiyappam Press

When people see the idiyappams, they think it is very time consuming and labor intensive.  It is not that difficult to make and you can take credit for having slaved over the stove for hours (it probably took me an hour or so to make these for my party).  My idiyappams look a little weird because of the red rice flour and the fact that I steamed it in my idli plate. The noodles also look thicker than they actually are.

Here is what you need:

• 1 cup red rice flour
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp. oil
• 1 cup boiling water (adjust to get the right texture)

Here is how I made it:

1. Add salt and oil to the boiling water.
2. Start adding the rice flour to the boiling water, stirring constantly (or, you can add water to the rice flour).  When this mixture reaches a pasty consistency – you should be able to make a ball with the dough - stop. 
3. Mix well and make sure there are no lumps.  If the mixture is too watery, you may not be able to make the noodles and if it is too dry, it may be too difficult to press.  So try out the dough in your press, to make sure that the noodles come out well.  If not, add more water or flour to get the right consistency.
4. Fill up the hollow chamber in the press with this dough.  Press out the noodles onto greased idli plates.
5. Steam in an idli steamer or pressure cooker for about 10 minutes.
6. Repeat till all the dough is done.

Serve with vegetable ishtew, kadala curry, or use it to make your favorite sevai preparation.