Sevai chopped hard on a hot griddle with onion, tomato and a splash of salna, the strands shortened and caramelised at the edges the way kothu should be.

Ingredients

From the TrooFoodz pantry

• Sprouted Little Millet Vermicelli 1 pack (180 g)

Fresh

• Onion, finely chopped 2
• Tomato, chopped 2
• Ginger-garlic paste 1 tbsp
• Green chillies, chopped 3
• Carrot, grated 1
• Curry leaves 2 sprigs
• Chilli powder 1 tsp
• Coriander powder 2 tsp
• Garam masala 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
• Groundnut oil 4 tbsp
• Vegetable salna or thin gravy 3/4 cup
• Coriander leaves, chopped 3 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Cook and cool

   Boil the vermicelli three minutes, drain and cool completely. Cold strands chop cleanly; hot ones smear.

2. Get the pan hot

   Use a flat tawa or a wide heavy pan and get it properly hot. Kothu is a griddle dish, and a crowded kadai will steam instead of sear.

3. Fry the masala

   Cook the onion in the oil until the edges brown, add ginger-garlic paste, green chilli and curry leaves, then tomato and the ground spices until the oil separates.

4. Add the carrot

   Stir in the grated carrot and cook two minutes so it softens and sweetens into the masala.

5. Chop it in

   Add the sevai and the salna, then work two flat spatulas or a heavy knife across the pan, chopping and turning continuously for four to five minutes.

6. Let it catch

   Press the mixture flat for thirty seconds between turns so the base browns, then scrape it up. Those caught bits are the point of kothu.

7. Finish and serve

   Check salt, fold in the coriander, and serve hot with extra salna on the side.

Why this works

The chopping does two things at once: it shortens the strands so they hold masala, and it repeatedly exposes fresh surface to the hot griddle, which is where the browning comes from. The salna supplies moisture that evaporates as you work, concentrating the masala onto the sevai. A dry pan and a hot one are both essential — this dish fails the moment it starts to steam.

Make it your own

• Sprouted Little Millet Vermicelli → Sprouted Barnyard Millet Noodles Sturdier strands that survive heavy chopping; boil them a minute less.
• Vegetable salna → Thin tomato gravy with a pinch of fennel powder Quicker to make and close enough in profile for a weeknight.
• Carrot → Crumbled paneer Richer and more filling; add it in the last minute so it does not toughen.