Recipe of the month: Chitranna Shavige

Yes I know....I haven't been blogging as frequently as I usually do *sighs* but sometimes it is simply inevitable and I just brush aside the guilt and get on with my life. This is a post I had been saving for a rainy day. Sometimes, due to time constraints or prior commitments,  I find myself unable to post new content and those are the times that I frantically scour through my drafts folder for posts like these 😊

If you have been following my blog, you would probably remember that the last time I was holidaying in India, my atthe (MIL) had prepared Otthu Shavige/Semige (hand pressed rice noodles) for my blog. Preparing homemade shavige is a cumbersome procedure so whenever this task is undertaken, a gargantuan batch of shavige is prepared so that everyone gets almost a week's worth of it and thus, don't feel the need to demand it again for quite sometime *grins*

One of the popular makeovers of plain shavige is chitranna shavige, a simple preparation of shavige tossed with tempering, onions, chillies, lemon juice, curry leaves and nuts thrown in for crunch. Another one would be shavige oggarane which is shavige tossed with tempering and a coarse mixture of fresh coconut, mustard seeds and dry red chillies. The process of making chitranna shavige is exactly like the ubiquitous chitranna aka lemon rice, the only difference being that instead of cooked rice, we use prepared shavige....quite obvious no? This dish (which has also been prepared by my atthe), is really simple and you can get it ready on the table within 20 mins. It is light and flavourful and reheating it in a microwave makes it taste as good as freshly made so it makes for an ideal dish to pack in the lunch box too. 

Here is the recipe. This is how my atthe and my mom make it at home. Try it and you will be pleasantly surprised by how much this simple dish has to offer. 

I

Chitranna Shavige

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Serves: 2

Recipe category: Breakfast\South-Indian

Recipe level: Easy

Recipe source: My atthe (MIL)

Ingredients:

4 cups prepared otthu shavige/semige or 200 grams instant rice vermicelli, cooked according to package instructions

a sprig of fresh curry leaves

1 tsp urad dal

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 large red onion, finely chopped

2 green chillies, finely chopped (adjust according to spice level)

a handful of groundnuts

juice of 1/2 a lime

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp grated fresh coconut

1 small bunch chopped fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method:

1. In a wide-bottomed pot, heat the coconut oil and when hot, add the groundnuts and fry for a few mins until the groundnuts get crunchy.

2. Add the mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves and let them sizzle. 

3. Once the urad dal starts to turn light brown, add the chopped onions and chopped green chillies. Fry until the onions are translucent. 

4. Add the salt, sugar, turmeric powder and lemon juice. Give everything a quick mix and add in the prepared shavige. Mix well until all the ingredients are well incorporated. 

5. Add in the grated fresh coconut and coriander leaves and mix one last time.

6. Serve hot as it is or accompanied with coconut chutney or a simple raita.

Notes:

• If you don't have coconut oil, you can use ghee or vegetable oil 
• If you don't have fresh coconut, you can either skip it or use dessicated coconut 
• If you don't want the chitranna shavige to be too spicy, just slit the green chillies vertically instead of finely chopping it 
• You can use cashews instead of groundnuts in this recipe 
• Avoid mixing the shavige too much otherwise you will end up breaking the long noodle strands 

Cheers,

Megha