Sev Khamani is a delicious Gujarati street food snack made with chana dal and a spicy green chilli tempering. Soft and fluffy khaman is topped with crunchy sev, pomegranate and coconut. It’s bursting with the classic Surti tangy & spicy flavours.
A multi-sensory eating experience that’ll be ready within 30 minutes hands on time!
Note – This recipe has been updated from the archives – first published June 2013. I’ve added new images and helpful content, with recipe changes (highlighted below).
“Surti” means from Surat, a place within the state of Gujarat and if you love Gujarati food, you’ve probably heard of Surti undhiyu too.
Sev khamani is a little bit like dhokla chaat , except here, the dhokla are crumbled.
The base of sev khamani is the crumbled khaman that has been cooked in tempered green chilli water. It’s topped street style with a shower of thin sev, pomegranate, coriander and shredded coconut. I’ve seen variations that also add a sprinkle of chaat masala too.
My Mum first posted this recipe in 2013, and then she made the khaman cake first, whereas I’ve since adapted that recipe to the more traditional method. More on the differences below.
Now this recipe isn’t particularly technical, but good sev khamani should have a soft and fluffy base.
There are two ways to make sev khamani
The ingredients are pretty much the same, but the techniques change. It’s down to preference which method you prefer.
- Soak and grind chana ni dal, steam it like khaman or dhokla to make a “cake”. Let it cool, then crumble the cake, cook in the tempering and add the toppings.
- Cook the chana ni dal mixture directly in a pan until it thickens to become soft and fluffy. Then add the tempering and toppings as usual.
We’ve made this recipe both ways. I’ve found that both yield good fluffy results and the textures are pretty similar. Timing wise, I would say that both are similar too. Steaming the cake is less hands on, but takes longer to cool before crumbling. Cooking the mixture in the pan has more hands on time but you don’t have to wait for cooling.
Recipe details & Ingredients notes
Be sure to check out the full recipe and exact ingredient list below in the recipe card.
The khamani for sev khamani is made with Chana ni dal (split bengal gram) rather than nylon khaman which are made with gram flour.
The chana ni daal needs soaking and then grinding to a medium coarse paste. To it, you add turmeric for colour, sugar for sweetness and eno . The eno helps with the fluffiness. I you don’t have it, use baking soda and citric acid.
The tempering is a pretty standard tempering you find in Gujarati cooking. I start with oil , add mustard seeds, ginger garlic paste, chopped green chillies and sesame seeds .
The toppings I use are nylon sev (I buy mine), finely chopped coriander, pomegranate seeds and shredded coconut . Looking at YouTube videos of sev khamani that is sold on the streets of Surat, these ingredients are pretty accurate.
Serve sev khamani with green coriander chutney , Rajkot ni green chutney or a steaming cup of masala chai .
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
- YouTube
Surti Sev Khamani
Ingredients
Batter
- 1 cup chana dal
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon eno
- salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon hing
- 5 tablespoon oil
- 4 tablespoon sugar
Vaghar (Tempering)
- 3 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 3 green chillies chopped
- 2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Toppings
- sev
- kothmir coriander leaves
- fresh grated coconut optional
- pomegranate
Instructions
- Clean and wash chana dal in clean running water, then soak in fresh water over night or at least 4-6 hours.
- Drain the water and wash chana dal once gain in clean water.
- Add soaked dal in a grinder jar with 1/4 cup water. Use pulse mode to grind the dal to a coarse paste. Make sure ground batter should be not chunky but not fine either. The batter consistency should be just like pancake batter. Pourable but not runny.
- Transfer in a bowl and cover with a lid and set aside for minimum half an hour.
- Add salt, turmeric, hing and eno to the batter and mix well.
- Heat 5 tablespoon oil in a heavy based pan/kadai, add ground dal mixture and stir well. Keep the heat low and cook, keep stirring continuously to prevent sticking and to avoid lumps.
- You may find that dal sticks to the pan, but not to worry, keep scraping and stirring. This step will take around 20 minutes.
- Once dal mixture comes together, cover the pan with a lid and cook another 5-6 minutes on low heat.
- Then stir the dal mixture again and sprinkle some water (2-3 tablespoon) and again cover the pan with a lid and cook the dal for 3-4 minutes.
- At this stage you will see dal becoming fluffy. For test take a pea size mixture and try to make a ball with it. If it doesn’t stick to your fingers and rolls easily, the mixture is cooked.
- Add sugar and mix well.
- In a small pan heat oil, add mustard seeds and allow to crackle. Then add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and sesame seeds. Cook for 30-40 seconds then add 1/4 cup water. Bring it to a boil.
- Pour the vaghar on cooked dal/khaman and mix well.
- Sprinkle over fresh coriander leaves, fresh coconut and pomegranate arils and mix. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle sev on top.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Surti Sev Khamani
Ingredients
Batter
- 1 cup chana dal
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon eno
- salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon hing
- 5 tablespoon oil
- 4 tablespoon sugar
Vaghar (Tempering)
- 3 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 3 green chillies chopped
- 2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Toppings
- sev
- kothmir coriander leaves
- fresh grated coconut optional
- pomegranate
Instructions
- Clean and wash chana dal in clean running water, then soak in fresh water over night or at least 4-6 hours.
- Drain the water and wash chana dal once gain in clean water.
- Add soaked dal in a grinder jar with 1/4 cup water. Use pulse mode to grind the dal to a coarse paste. Make sure ground batter should be not chunky but not fine either. The batter consistency should be just like pancake batter. Pourable but not runny.
- Transfer in a bowl and cover with a lid and set aside for minimum half an hour.
- Add salt, turmeric, hing and eno to the batter and mix well.
- Heat 5 tablespoon oil in a heavy based pan/kadai, add ground dal mixture and stir well. Keep the heat low and cook, keep stirring continuously to prevent sticking and to avoid lumps.
- You may find that dal sticks to the pan, but not to worry, keep scraping and stirring. This step will take around 20 minutes.
- Once dal mixture comes together, cover the pan with a lid and cook another 5-6 minutes on low heat.
- Then stir the dal mixture again and sprinkle some water (2-3 tablespoon) and again cover the pan with a lid and cook the dal for 3-4 minutes.
- At this stage you will see dal becoming fluffy. For test take a pea size mixture and try to make a ball with it. If it doesn’t stick to your fingers and rolls easily, the mixture is cooked.
- Add sugar and mix well.
- In a small pan heat oil, add mustard seeds and allow to crackle. Then add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and sesame seeds. Cook for 30-40 seconds then add 1/4 cup water. Bring it to a boil.
- Pour the vaghar on cooked dal/khaman and mix well.
- Sprinkle over fresh coriander leaves, fresh coconut and pomegranate arils and mix. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle sev on top.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Vegetable Hakka Noodles – stir-fried noodles with crunchy carrots, cabbage, green peppers and onions tossed with a chilli soy sauce. Ready within 30 minutes, it’s perfect as a side for an Indo-Chinese feast.
Make it once, crave it forever!
Note – This recipe has been updated from the archives – first published July 2016. I’ve added new images and helpful content.
Growing up, a drive to Wembley also came with a treat – a takeaway from Sakonis! There were some specials that were always in our order – chilli paneer , dahi sev puri , masala mogo and masala dosa! Every now and then, we’d pick out something new from the menu.
So these particular hakka noodles are inspired by my restaurant visits – full of flavour with crunchy veggies and a lip-smacking sauce! Ultra addictive.
I wanted to recreate the same experience, so I watched many YouTube videos of street vendors cooking hakka noodles to learn their techniques. Generally, they all use the same vegetables and the sauces are pretty simple.
What I’ve also picked up is:
- Use a large pan or wok — crowding the vegetables makes them steam instead of fry.
- Prep everything before you start — once the heat’s on, things move quickly.
With these techniques I get vegetables still with bite, noodles glossy but not greasy, and a sauce that coats rather than pools.
They’re also a little milder in flavour so can be paired with other Indo-Chinese dishes such as vegetable manchurian or chilli tofu . If you’re looking for noodles with more of a flavour kick, then these chilli paneer noodles are bold and fiery!
The Ingredients
Be sure to check out the full recipe and exact ingredient list below in the recipe card.
These Indo-Chinese noodles have some differences to Chinese chow mein . Hakka noodles have the addition of chilli sauce and occasionally chopped green chillies.
Noodles – I’ve used egg-free wheat noodles that have medium thickness.
Vegetables – carrots, green bell pepper, white cabbage and onions . I cut them all match stick size so they stir-fry fast without loosing too much crunch. This takes up the bulk of the recipe time. After all the chopping, the recipe is straight forward.
I also use spring onions which cook with the vegetables and also reserve a little of the green parts to garnish.
To make these Indo-Chinese, I’ve added green chillies . Some recipes add them, others don’t so I guess it comes down to personal preference. I like them because they add a bit of heat.
Aromatics – chopped ginger and garlic . I prefer to finely chop fresh ginger and garlic rather than use a bottled paste as it gives a much more authentic flavour.
Sauce – I use light soy sauce . I’ve found that hakka noodles are lighter in colour and dark soy sauce is a bit intense. However, use whatever you have to hand. The spice comes from chilli sauce . I pretty much use whichever chilli sauce I have in the fridge at the time. Just make sure to use one that doesn’t contain tomato which will give the wrong flavouring. I also add distilled malt vinegar – you can use other white / clear vinegars.
Oil – I’ve used sesame oil which gives extra restaurant style flavour. You can also use any other neutral oil.
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
- YouTube
Hakka Noodles
Equipment
- Wok
Ingredients
- 400 grams dried noodles egg-free
- 2 tablespoon oil
Vegetables
- 1 green pepper thinly sliced
- 1 large carrots thinly sliced
- 1 onion sliced
- ¼ white cabbage sliced
- 3 spring onions chopped
- 2 green chillies slit
- 1 tablespoon garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger chopped
Sauce
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce I’ve used light.
- 3 tablespoon chilli sauce
Seasoning & Oil
- 5 tablespoon sesame oil
- black pepper
- salt
Garnish
- spring onion greens chopped
Instructions
Make sauce
- In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoon white vinegar , 3 tablespoon soy sauce and 3 tablespoon chilli sauce . Leave it aside for later use. 2 tablespoon white vinegar, 3 tablespoon soy sauce, 3 tablespoon chilli sauce
Cook noodles
- In a large pan boil water, add 400 grams dried noodles and boil them as per package instruction.
- When cooked, drain the water from the noodles, add 2 tablespoon oil and mix gently. Set aside.
Stir-fry the vegetables
- Place a wok or large frying pan on the stove on medium to high heat.
- Add 5 tablespoon sesame oil and heat until just smoking.
- Tip in 1 tablespoon garlic and 1 tablespoon ginger , sauté for a few seconds. Then add 1 onion and cook for a minute.
- Now tip in 1 green pepper , 1 large carrots , and ¼ white cabbage and stir-fry for a couple of minutes on high heat.
- Then add 2 green chillies and the white parts of the spring onions. Mix well.
- Now add the prepared sauce, black pepper and salt . Stir well.
- Add cooked noodles and gently mix everything together until the noodles have absorbed the sauce.
- Sprinkle spring onion greens and serve hot.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
