Shavige uppittu

Shavige in kannada means vermicelli or kind of thin noodles. Most commonly used one is akki shavige which means rice vermicelli. We make different dishes like shavige uppittu or upma or bath, shavige payasa (kheer). Shavige uppittu is served as a breakfast item in most of the houses in south india. I use the shavige/vermicelli that we get in the market. Homemade shavige tastes best and I believe making shavige/rice noodles is an art and 1 has to have lots of patience to achieve good results.

I remember Upahara Darshini was the 1st among the restaurants to serve this scrumptious dish along with chutney and there used to be such heavy rush irrespective of the day/time. It was the fastest way to get a meal nearer to homemade ones.

We prefer Shavige uppittu as our dinner item as its quite healthy and filling with varieties of vegetables of our choice, not oily at all and of course can be made colourful in no time:)!

Ingredients

Shavige/Rice noodles – 100gms
Chopped carrots – 1 cup
Chopped beans – 1 cup
Green Peas – ¼ cup
Grated ginger – 1 tsp
Spring onions cut into circles for garnishing
Chopped green chillies -1
Finely chopped onion – 1
Handful of curry leaves
Oil – 4tspn
Mustard – 1/2tsp
Chanadal/Kadale beLe – 1tsp
Urad dal/ Uddina beLe – 1tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1tsp
Turmeric powder -1/4tsp
Asafoetida - pinch

Method

• Microwave carrot and beans in a MW safe bowl with some amount of water for 3-4min and keep aside.
• Cook rice noodles in boiling water for 5min and once done, transfer all of the rice noodles into a colander & run under the tap water (this is a tip to avoid the stickiness of the rice noodles)
• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Next add chana dal, urad dal, turmeric, asafoetida, green chillies, grated ginger and curry leaves.
• To this add the finely chopped onions and sauté. Then add the boiled vegetables along with green peas and fry for some time. Add salt and mix well.
• Next add the cooked shavige or vermicelli to the above vegetable base and mix well on low flame.
• Lastly take off from the heat and enhance the freshness with some zesty lemon juice. Generally chopped cilantro or coriander leaves is used for garnishing but I like garnishing with spring onion circles which gives a fiery effect:)!!!

Have a colourful week ahead and ciao all soon!