Semiya Usli - A Rice Noodle Snack

Time flies. Before I knew it, the lease on my old apartment expired and LWTT and I had decided to move in together. Packing, moving, unpacking, a 3 week trip to India and then finally settling in to our new apartment and more than three months have gone by! Blogging has been at the back of mind through all of this, and today I decided to jump back in!

I had the day off and the apartment all to myself, so perfect for some experimenting in the kitchen I thought. Last month, my parents had visited from India, and had stocked my kitchen with all kinds of stuff. I rummaged through my "pantry" (or one shelf in one of the kitchen cabinets) and saw a packet of semiya (thin rice noodles). I was going make Semiya Usli, a perfect tea time snack! Spicy, salty, crunchy perfect with a cup of steaming hot tea!

Ingredients:

1 onion finely chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup of cashew nuts

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

3 or 4 dried curry leaves

3 dried red kashmiri chilies (typically I would use green chilies, but didn't have any)

2 cups semiya

2 to 3 tablespoons of dried coconut (freshly grated coconut is way better if you have it)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Boil six cups of water in a pan and then add the semiya, stirring and cooking for 5 to 6 minutes. When cooked, drain water and set aside. Then, heat 1 tablespoon oil in pan and add mustard seeds till they start to splutter. Next add the rest of the oil and the onions. Cook on low till the onions are soft and translucent. Next add the cashews, curry leaves , coconut and chillies and stir together. Stir in the cooked semiya and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy as a tea time or any time snack!