RICE NOODLES

RICE VERMICELLI NOODLES

During this lockdown, trying the old recipes with new fondness is something that I'm ravishing at. One such recipe involves Rice Noodles.

It is an iconic breakfast from my childhood days when my late grandmother used to be the Show-Stopper in the kitchen, as she pulled out her precious "Sev Sancha", a heavy brass noodle maker-a prized possession then.

She made noodles from scratch and, it involved two people at least with my mum being her right hand.

The cooking show began with pre-cooking the rice noodle dough to some consistency- which only she perfected it and then by carefully passing the hot dough into the greased mould.

My mum would then press the dough with the Sancha onto the greased Thaalis, the big-serving plates and there came out those white stringy bits from the round disc plates with holes which we now call noodles. Perfect.

My job was to take these Thaalis out into the direct sunlight and to keep a watchful eye on birds.

Now with times changed and with lifestyles altered, I prepare this recipe with the store-bought noodles for an easy dinner.

It is gluten-free and can be easily adapted to vegan. Here is the recipe.

RICE VERMICELLI NOODLES

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS: 
250 gms rice noodles
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 tbsp ghee, sub with any plant-based oil for vegan
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves
1 dry red chilli broken into 2 pieces
1 tsp of black pepper powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt as desired
1 cup hot water, and more as needed
2 sprigs of fresh coriander, chopped

METHOD:
1) In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Reduce the heat and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves followed by the broken chilli. Allow the seeds to sizzle.

 2) Next, put the onion and saute until translucent. Then add the rest of the vegetables and stir fry for about 3 mins. Add the salt and the pepper.

3) Now add the rice noodles into the skillet with 1 cup of hot water and stir. Ensure the noodles are immersed in the water and have enough to cook. If the noodles look undone, sprinkle some more water and cook the noodles until al dente, just to the bite.

Kind Notes:

1) Since rice noodles cook faster compared to the other noodles, I prefer to cook them straight out of the packet by stirring them into the cooked vegetables with hot water rather than pre-cooking or pre-soaking them. This way the rice noodles absorb all the flavours and won't go mushy or overcooked.

2) As rice noodles have no protein or fat content by themselves, I prefer to cook them with any vegetables available and serve as a hearty and healthy dinner.

3) You can even use frozen vegetables, shredded meat or boiled eggs instead.

4) You can cook them for a quick and heavy carbo-loaded breakfast by omitting the vegetables.

Serving suggestions:

• Toss the noodles with lemon juice just before serving.
• Garnish with freshly chopped coriander and serve hot. Try it!

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TRIED MAKING THIS RECIPE?

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❤️Hasin