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Recipes
4 Servings
Try this easy ratlami sev recipe for a spicy, crunchy Deepawali snack made with besan, black pepper and aromatic spices. Fried in King's Soyabean Oil, these thin golden strands turn out light, crisp and full of flavour. Whether you serve them on their own with tea, toss them over poha and chaat, or add them to your Diwali faral platter, this ratlami sev stays crunchy for weeks.
Ratlami sev comes from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh and is loved across India, including in Maharashtrian Diwali faral spreads. What sets this ratlami namkeen apart is its bold, peppery heat from black pepper, cloves and red chilli, which is stronger than plain sev. Deep frying in King's Soyabean Oil keeps the strands evenly golden and crisp, so every handful has the right crunch.
This classic sev recipe has a savoury, warming flavour with a sharp kick of pepper, a hint of clove and the earthy aroma of ajwain. Press a firm besan dough through a sev maker straight into hot King's Soyabean Oil and fry over medium heat until the bubbles settle and the strands turn golden and crisp.
Follow these simple steps to prepare this recipe with balanced flavor and texture.
Sift 2 cups of besan (gram flour) into a large bowl so the dough is smooth.
Add 1 teaspoon of crushed black pepper, ½ teaspoon of clove powder, 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder and ½ teaspoon of ajwain.
Mix in a pinch of hing (asafoetida), a pinch of turmeric and salt to taste.
Add 2 tablespoons of hot King's Soyabean Oil and rub it into the flour until it feels like crumbs.
Add water a little at a time, about ½ cup in total.
Knead into a firm, smooth dough that is soft enough to press but not sticky.
Cover the dough and rest it for 5–10 minutes.
Grease the sev maker with a little oil and fill it with the dough, using the fine-hole plate.
Heat King's Soyabean Oil in a deep kadai over medium heat.
Check the temperature by dropping a tiny piece of dough: it should rise to the top steadily with gentle bubbles.
Keep the heat at medium throughout so the sev cooks inside as well as outside.
Press the sev maker over the hot oil in a circular motion, letting the strands fall into the kadai.
Fry for 2–3 minutes, turning once, until the bubbles reduce and the sev turns golden.
Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Cool completely, break into small pieces and store in an airtight container.
For crunchy deep-fried snacks like sev, the cooking oil matters as much as the dough. A good edible oil should heat evenly, stay stable while you fry batch after batch, and leave the snack crisp rather than greasy. King's Soyabean Oil is a dependable choice for Diwali faral recipes, giving a consistent golden colour, a light crunch and reliable frying performance.
Mustard oil brings a sharp, pungent flavour and groundnut oil adds a nutty taste, and both can compete with the pepper and spices in ratlami sev. Soybean oil has a neutral flavour, so the spices stay the star while the sev fries up light and crisp. That makes King's Soyabean Oil a good cooking oil for sev, chakli, chivda and other festive snacks.
