Aloo Seviyan

Also called ‘sayun patata’, this is one of the most popular breakfast dishes of the Sindhi culture ~ seviyan (or seyun) are simply toasted vermicelli, usually made from whole wheat flour. They are cooked in a sweet fragrant sugary syrup flavored with creamy saffron and cardamom and eaten with crisp spiced (aloo) potatoes. Not having much of a sweet tooth, I made the seviyan just mildly sweet.

ingredients

Seviyan

1 cup vermicelli

2 tablespoons ghee

2 tablespoons sugar

Generous pinch of saffron

2 cups whole milk

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Pinch of sea salt

1/4 cup sliced nuts (almonds or cashews) and seeds (sesame, pumpkin or poppy seeds)

Aloo

1 pound baby potatoes, previously boiled and cooled

2 tablespoons ghee

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons amchur

Fresh herbs for garnish (such as mint or cilantro)

Serves 2 to 4

instructions

Soak the vermicelli in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain.

In a small saucepan, combine the milk, ghee, sugar, saffron, cardamom, and salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the drained seviyan and cook on medium to low heat until the seviyan has soaked up all the milk and is almost dry. Turn the heat off and add the nuts and seeds.

To prepare the aloo, heat the ghee in a frying pan. Add the boiled potatoes and cook them on high heat tossing them frequently until they are golden brown on most sides.

Add black pepper, turmeric, and salt and cook for another minute.

Turn the heat off and add the chili powder and amchur. Serve warm with the seviyan and fresh herbs.

notes & variations

• To make a plant based version, replace milk with coconut or almond milk.

• Most recipes for seviyan will call for much more sugar so adjust to taste.

• The seviyan or roasted vermicelli can also be eaten in a stir fry or pilaf.

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