Omapodi, one of the easiest and quickest savory snack which is a popular Diwali Festival treat. This is an easy Sev recipe that is loved by kids and adults.
Diwali festival is around the corner and it is one of my favorite times of the year. You may ask why. I just love making several different sweets and snacks that I mostly have saved only to make during this time.
I miss the festivity that we have back in India, but we have created our own ritual here over the years. Luckily we live in a county where fireworks are legal and we get to do that a lot.
In a good year, we would have a few of our close friends with us for fireworks and dinner but this year it is going to be just us. But that is not going to stop me from making the sweets and snacks that I have planned. Speaking of planning, this year I am looking forward to making Badusha , Ladoo, and Ribbon Thenkuzhal along with Therattipal and the Diwali Lehiyam.
I might add or swap some as we come closer to the festival. But the Lehiyam and Therattipal / Milk Kova is something I will make for sure. I have a lot of childhood memories attached to it.
What is Omapodi
This Omapodi recipe is one of the simplest Sev recipes that we could make. It is so quick to make and can be made in under 30 minutes from start to finish.
It is a crunchy snack made with besan (chickpea flour) and rice flour and is flavored/spiced with Omam or Ajwain also known as Carom seeds.
Ingredients Needed
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes.
- Besan or Chickpea flour - I buy Besan from Indian stores to make all my Indian snacks. Make sure you use a fresh batch for the best-tasting Omapodi.
- Rice flour - I use store-bought rice flour to make the sev. Back in India, before the festival season, families would make Homemade Rice flour. Using homemade rice flour is critical for certain recipes like Thattai and Adhirsam, but for the omapodi, store-bought rice flour works perfectly well.
- Ajwain seeds - Also known as Omam in Tamil and Carom Seeds in English, it is an important component to make this Omapodi. The flavor and the mild spicy tastes come from the omam only.
- Other Spices - We will be using a little asafetida / hing and salt to taste. Other than that we don't need any spice to make this sev.
- Oil and Butter - I use a little butter and a little hot oil in my Omapodi dough. Other than we need oil for deep frying. I used vegetable oil for frying today.
- Apart from the ingredients, we need the gadget to squeeze out the omapodi / sev. It is available on Amazon as well as in Indian stores. Search for murukku press and it will come up.
Step-by-step process
- To make the Omam water / Ajwain water - Dry roast the omam seeds in a hot pan for a couple of minutes until aromatic (1). Grind it into a powder (2)and then add about ½ cup of water to it and grind again. Strain the mixture and repeat the same process again (3). Reserve this water and we will be using this to make omapodi dough.
- Heat oil in a kadai/pan to fry the omapodi.
- Sieve the besan and rice flour in a wide bowl (1). Add salt, softened butter, and asafetida and mix everything together (2).
- Add Hot oil to the mixture and mix it once again.
- Now slowly add the omam water and start making a dough. Add more water, if needed, and make a soft dough (3).
- Use the plate with the smallest holes in the Murukku press to make sev (4).
- Grease the inside of the murukku press and insert the dough needed inside (5 & 6).
- Once the oil is hot, reduce the flame to medium and start squeezing the omapodi (7). Be careful as there will be steam coming out of the oil when squeezing. Do a quick circular motion and squeeze enough dough into the oil.
- The omapodi will sizzle a lot when squeezed and then will become quieter. Flip it once and let it cook and stop sizzling. The omapodi cooks very quickly (8).
- Drain the omapodi into a paper towel-lined tray.
Expert tips and FAQs
- After roasting and grinding the ajwain seeds, we can leave it soaking for a few minutes to get more flavor. I usually don't soak and it works just as well. Make sure to squeeze the ajwain seeds very well after grinding.
- Use fresh besan/chickpea flour for the best flavor of omapodi. Sieving the flour is optional but helps make a smooth dough.
- We use about a cup of water to make the omam water. We might need more water to make the dough or not.
- Make a soft dough as it is easier to squeeze out of the small holes of the murukku press.
- Adding hot oil to the dough is a tip that my mother taught me to get a very crispy omapodi.
- Grease the murukku press with a thin layer of oil. You can thank me later!
More Savory Diwali Snacks
Ribbon Pakoda / Ribbon Murukku
And don't forget to check out 10 Burfis and Pedas for make for Diwali
If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter
Recipe
Omapodi | Easy Sev Recipe for Diwali
Equipment
- Murukku Press
Ingredients
- 2 cups Besan / Chickpea Flour
- 1 cup Rice flour
- 2 tablespoon Ajwain / Carom seeds / Omam
- 1 cup water might need more or less
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida
- 2 tablespoon Butter softened
- 2 tablespoon Hot oil
- to deep fry Oil
- to taste Salt
Instructions
- To make the Omam water / Ajwain water - Dry roast the omam seeds in a hot pan for couple of minutes until aromatic. Grind it into a powder and then add about ½ cup of water to it and grind again. Strain the mixture and repeat the same process again. Reserve this water and we will be using this make omapodi dough.
- Heat oil in a kadai / pan to fry the omapodi.
- Sieve the besan and rice flour in a wide bowl. Add salt, softened butter and asafetida and mix everything together.
- Add Hot oil to the mixture and mix it once again.
- Now slowly add the omam water and start making a dough. Add more water, if needed and make a soft dough.
- Use the plate with the smallest holes in the Murukku press to make sev.
- Grease the inside of the murukku press and insert the dough needed inside.
- Once the oil is hot, reduce the flame to medium and start squeezing the omapodi. Be careful as there will be steam coming out of the oil when squeezing. Do a quick circular motion and squeeze enough dough into the oil.
- The omapodi will sizzle a lot when squeezed and then will become quieter. Flip it once and let it cook and stop sizzling. The omapodi cooks very quickly.
- Drain the oampodi into a paper towel lined tray.
Video
Notes
- After roasting and grinding the ajwain seeds, we can leave it soaking for few minutes to get more flavor. I usually don't soak and it works just as well. Make sure to squeeze the ajwain seeds very well after grinding.
- Use fresh besan / chickpea flour for best flavor of omapodi. Sieving the flours is optional but helps make a smooth dough.
- We use about a cup of water to make the omam water. We might need more water to make the dough or not.
- Make a soft dough as it is easier to squeeze out of the small holes of the murukku press.
- Adding hot oil to the dough is a tip that my mother taught me to get a very crispy omapodi.
- Grease the murukku press with a thin layer of oil. You can thank me later!
Leave a Reply