Omapodi Recipe | Plain Sev | (Quick) Diwali Snacks
How to make CRISPY Sev or Omapodi?
How to STORE Omapodi/Sev the RIGHT way, so it stays crispy till you finish the jar?
Let’s get started!
What is Omapodi/Plain Sev?
Omapodi or plain sev is a tasty & crunchy savoury dish prepared using gram flour (also known as besan in Hindi) as the base ingredient.
It resembles that of noodles or semiya, but crispy and thin in texture.
Plain Sev is mildly flavoured with chilly powder and/or carom seeds (ajwain/omam).
In India, Besan ki sev (Karapusa in Telugu) is prepared during Diwali festival in most of the houses.
Besides being a perfect evening snack, it is also added as a topping for Chaat items like bhel puri, masala puri, sev puri, dahi puri etc.
This Omapodi or Plain Sev or karapusa is the base dish that is prepared while making Mixture Recipe.
The thickness of the Sev may vary depending on the size of the holes in the sev maker or machine.
Video Recipe: How to make Crispy Omapodi Recipe
Plain Sev Namkeen
Plain Sev Namkeen is a small savoury dish or snack made of Sev that is usually salty and/or spicy.
There are many varieties of Namkeen such as spicy mixture, chivda or poha mixture, spicy murukku, white murukku, ribbon pakoda and many more.
Besan Flour or Besan Powder
Besan flour or besan powder is made from chickpea or gram.
It is commonly used to prepare snack varieties all over India.
Nylon Sev Recipe
Nylon Sev Recipe is the thinnest form of Omapodi prepared using kadalai maavu (gram flour in tamil).
It looks as thin as a thread and is mostly prepared to be used in Chaat items (famous in Mumbai).
Spicy Sev Recipe
Spicy Sev is simply, plain sev variety sprinkled with a little chilly powder and tossed up.
The same savoury dish can be prepared by adding extra chilly powder while mixing the dough for Sev.
Rice Flour Sev Recipe
Rice flour sev is yet another savoury dish. It is prepared using rice flour (arisi maavu), gram flour (kadalai maavu) and spices.
Unlike Omapodi, rice sev is made with rice flour being dominant over besan.
Rice flour sev is made slightly thicker than omapodi and may contain black pepper too (optional).
How to Prepare Sev Recipe Without Machine?
Sev can be prepared without machine by using small cone shaped bags or covers with tiny hole at the tip.
Stuff the dough inside a piping bag or any plastic cover that is cone shaped and has one tiny hole at the tip and/or many tiny holes at the bottom (slightly distant).
Step-by-Step Procedure to Make Omapodi or Plain Sev Recipe
Step 1: Preparing the Dough
- Take a bowl. Add gram flour, rice flour, chilly powder, salt, cooking soda. Mix the ingredients well.
- Add a little asafoetida and pour hot oil over it, so it makes that fizz sound.
- Asafoetida/Hing is added to most of the dishes prepared using gram flour/besan to avoid any digestion problems. It is also added to avoid any gastric problems.
- Also, you can add omam (ajwain/carom seeds) in warm water and pour it along with the flour. Its completely optional, but it gives a good flavour and is healthy too.
- Combine well and prepare a soft dough.
- You can also add butter if you want the omapodi to be extra crunchy.
- If the dough is too hard, then it will be difficult to squeeze the dough out of the sev maker or machine. So make sure it is in the right consistency.
Step 2: Preparing the Omapodi
- Apply or grease the sev maker or sev machine with oil or butter. Be a little generous with the oil as besan sticks on the walls of the sev maker.
- Attach the thin holed plate. Make cylindrical shaped dough. Fill dough into the sev maker.
- Heat oil in a kadai. Make sure the oil is hot before you squeeze the dough. [medium-high flame].
- Once the oil heats, start squeezing the dough into the oil in a circular motion.
- Cook until the bubbles reduce and then flip it over. Continue to cook until the bubbles reduce.
- Remove it and transfer to a plate or tissue/newspaper (to drain excess oil).
- Once the oil is completely drained, crush the sev with your hand to make small pieces.
- You may crush it until you get the desired size sev.
Gram Flour in Other Indian Languages
- Gram Flour in English: Gram flour or Chickpea flour
- Gram Flour in Tamil: kadalai Maavu
- Gram Flour in Hindi: Besan ki atta
- Gram Flour in Kannada: Kadle Hittu
- Gram Flour in Malayalam: Katalamaav
- Gram Flour in Telugu: Sanagapindi
Recipe Card: How to Make Crispy Omapodi/Plain Sev
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup gram flour (besan/kadalai maavu)
- 3 tbsp rice flour
- 2 tsp chilly powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cooking soda/baking soda
- 1/2 tsp asafoetida
- 1-2 tbsp hot oil
- water as required
- oil to fry and grease sev maker/machine
- Sev maker/machine
Instructions
- Add gram flour, rice flour, chilly powder, salt, asafoetida, cooking soda and hot oil to a bowl.
- Combine the dry ingredients well.
- Pour water and make a soft dough.
- Apply oil over the dough to prevent it from drying.
- Grease sev machine with oil.
- Take small portions of dough and make cylindrical shape.
- Fill the dough into the sev maker.
- Heat oil in kadai.
- Squeeze dough in a circular motion.
- Cook until bubbles settle, flip-over and continue cooking until bubbles settle further.
- Do NOT burn the sev.
- Once cooked, transfer it to a plate.
- Crush the sev with hand until it breaks into small pieces.
- Once cooled completely, store in airtight jars to keep it crunchy.
How to Store Omapodi? (The Right Way)
store omapodi/sev in an airtight container or jar after it is cooled completely. Always use a dry spoon or hands to take the sev from the container. By following this method, you can keep it crispy until the last bite.
Tips & Tricks:
- Do NOT skip adding rice flour & hot oil while making the dough as it makes the sev crispy.
- Add a little asafoetida for some flavour and easy digestion.
- If the dough is hard and difficult to squeeze, then you can add a little water to the dough and mix well again to make it soft.
- Grease oil in the walls of the sev maker to avoid dough from sticking to it.
- Store omapodi in airtight containers to keep it crisp.
