An Indian Pad Thai

[Monica Bhide]

I had dinner with some friends last night and the conversation turned to Pad Thai.. a favorite with the group.

So someone turns to me and says -- do you make it at home. I do in the traditional Thai way with a recipe I picked up from a chicago newspaper a long time ago.

What would an indianized version of Pad Thai be was the next question--

so tell me what do you think it would be?

[Swati]

What is a Pad Thai?

[Peppertrail]

What would an indianized version of Pad Thai be was the next question--

so tell me what do you think it would be?

Sevaka

Rice Noodles Sautéed with Green Chilies, Ginger

Mustard Seeds, cashews and Toasted Dals

Sevaka is seasoned rice noodles - south Indian style. Dehydrated rice noodles, available in Indian and other Asian grocery stores, may be substituted for sevaka noodles made from scratch. Dehydrated noodles must be soaked in hot water for a couple of minutes to make them pliable. Then steam them for 10 to 12 minutes and then break the cooked noodles with a spoon into 1/4 inch to ½ inch pieces. Sevaka is served as a snack; it also makes a good brunch dish.

½ pound rice noodles, steamed and broken into small pieces

2 tablespoons of corn, vegetable or canola oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1-teaspoon urad dal

1-teaspoon channa dal

1 table spoon toasted cashew nut pieces (or peanuts)

2 hot green chili peppers, thinly sliced (reduce for milder taste)

1 or 2 hot red chili peppers, broken into pieces

or ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

A few curry leaves

1 table spoon chopped cilantro leaves

In a heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add the mustard seeds, urad dal, and channa dal. When the dals start turning golden brown and the mustard seeds start spluttering, stir in the cashew nuts, green and red chilies and the curry leaves and fry for a couple of minutes. Reduce the heat to low, combine the broken rice noodles and stir. Remove from the stove, sprinkle cilantro leaves on top. Serve with coconut chutney.

Makes 4 to 6 Servings

Variations:

1. Thayir Sevaka: Mix the steamed noodles with one and a half cups of thick yogurt before combining with the above spice mix.

2. Lemon Sevaka: After combining the cooked noodles with the spice mix, sprinkle three tablespoons of lemon juice on top and mix well.

3. Puli Sevaka: Another variation is to combine a tablespoon of tamarind paste with 1 cup of water and salt to taste and boil the mixture until it is reduced to ½ cup. Mix the steamed noodles with the cooked tamarind juice before combining with the above spice mix.

To make sevaka noodles from scratch: Soak two cups of long grain rice for 4 to 5 hours and drain. In a blender, pulverize it with just enough water to make a very fine batter. Heat a heavy pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Pour in the batter, add salt to taste, and reduce the heat to low. Stirring continuously, cook the batter until it thickens and starts leaving the sides of the pan, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the batter cool. At this point the batter would have turned into a dough-like consistency.

Heat about 3 inches of water over medium heat in a pot fitted with a steamer insert. Line the steamer insert with clean, wet cheesecloth. Fill a snack press fitted with the thin-holed sev disc with the cooked dough. Press the dough onto the cheesecloth in the steamer insert. Move the press around in a circular motion over the cloth so that the noodles are distributed evenly. Steam for 10 to 12 minutes over medium heat until the noodles are cooked. Remove the sevaka from the heat and let it cool. Break the cooked noodles with a spoon into 1/4 inch to ½ inch pieces.

[Episure]

3. Puli Sevaka: Another variation is to combine a tablespoon of tamarind paste with 1 cup of water and salt to taste and boil the mixture until it is reduced to ½ cup. Mix the steamed noodles with the cooked tamarind juice before combining with the above spice mix.

To make an Indian Pad Thai I would add some scrambled egg to Ammini's version # 3. With lots of ginger, green chillis, spring onions, veggies and optional chicken or seafood.

[Edward]

Interesting topic..... would any of you ever consider adding fish sauce to any of the Indian noodle dishes just discussed? I wonder what would happen?

When you think about it, some of the Burmese noodle dishes fall right smack between Thailand and India(I guess they all do geographically!) when it comes to flavor. Indian style spices, but with fish sauce or soy sauce. That goes for malaysian as well. Things like curry mee.

Maybe with an Indian-style pad thai you could do a really subtle fusion by just adding a few curry leaves or some popped mustard seeds and see where that takes you.

[gingerly]

hmm ,let's see..i think i'll stay on the west coast-a little goan recheiado(sp?)masala and some prawn balchao in my mix.this is beginning to sound really good-maybe this weekend!maybe appropriate some sri lankan seasonings for good measure.

[Behemoth]

When you think about it, some of the Burmese noodle dishes fall right smack between Thailand and India(I guess they all do geographically!) when it comes to flavor. Indian style spices, but with fish sauce or soy sauce. That goes for malaysian as well. Things like curry mee.

That's exactly what I was thinking! A Burmese place in Philly did beautiful fried breads, curries, rice with coconut milk and a wonderful spicy/crunchy yellow lentil salad that seemed to be almost a perfect marriage between indian and thai cuisines. It might be fun to look up some Burmese noodle dishes for some direction...using turmeric in the sauce for example might be a first step.

[Episure]

What is a Pad Thai?

Pad Thai

[Pan]

I Googled for "Burmese recipes" and found some links that might interest some of you:

Myanmar.net recipes (Scroll down to avoid the flashing ad.)

Oh, here we go: DeliciousGlobe.com South East Asia If you click on "Recipes From Burma @," you get a clickable list of various websites with different Burmese recipes.

Have fun!

[FaustianBargain]

Sevaka

Rice Noodles Sautéed with Green Chilies, Ginger

Mustard Seeds, cashews and Toasted Dals

Sevaka is seasoned rice noodles - south Indian style.

ahh..yes...the infamous sevai..i remember building biceps on friday mornings in the kitchen as my grandmother, the slavedriver, gave us the job of churning out the sevai...

how about sesame/red chilli sevai...sesame rice was usually assigned for saturdays..(to please some mighty planetary god, i remember)...since rice and sevai can usually be substituted, sesame sevai is a must try...do you remember the recipe for sesame rice?

[Peppertrail]

how about sesame/red chilli sevai...sesame rice was usually assigned for saturdays..(to please some mighty planetary god, i remember)...since rice and sevai can usually be substituted, sesame sevai is a must try...do you remember the recipe for sesame rice?

Lalitha:

Here is a recipe for ellu saadam. Haven't tried the recipe with sevai.

Ammini

Ellu Saadam

1 cup long grain rice

For spice mixture:

1/3 cup sesame seeds

4 to 6 hot red chili peppers

1 teaspoon urad dal

For seasoning:

2 teaspoons of corn, canola or vegetable oil

4 teaspoons of ghee

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon urad dal

1 hot red chili pepper, broken into pieces

A few curry leaves

One tablespoon dry- roasted cashew nut pieces

Salt to taste

Cook one cup of rice, spread in a glass or metal baking pan and let it cool. Dry roast the ingredients for spice mixture. Remove the skillet from the stove once sesame seeds start to pop. Cool and grind into a coarse powder. Combine the oil and ghee in a skillet and heat. Add mustard seeds, urad dal and red chili pepper. When mustard seeds start spluttering, add curry leaves and remove from the stove. Pour the seasoning over the rice, sprinkle salt, powdered spice mixture and cashew nuts on top. Mix well.

[Monica Bhide]

Ammini - I really like your recipes. i am hosting a huge dinner on Sunday and this is on the menu now. I will surely let you know how it works out ( after your return I guess from your trip!)

[Monica Bhide]

Sevaka

Rice Noodles Sautéed with Green Chilies, Ginger

Mustard Seeds, cashews and Toasted Dals

Sevaka is seasoned rice noodles - south Indian style. 

Ammini _ i adapted your recipe a bit and made this last night for a dinner I hosted.. it was a huge hit!! I added steamed sprouts and sliced spring onions to the dish and just before serving topped it with crushed red pepper

YUM