Baked Oil-free Sev or Ompudi Recipe

Ompudi or Sev has become ubiquitous in street food today. Sev is a one-size-fits-all topping for all chaats and many other dishes! Here is a healthy and tasty Ompudi or Sev Recipe

Ompudi or Sev has become ubiquitous in street food today. Sev is a one-size-fits-all topping for all chaats and many other dishes!

The problem with fried food is, well, they are fried. First, we extract oil from a nut or seed, losing out on most of the nut’s nutrition. Then, we heat the oil to a high temperature, destroying what little nutrition remains in the oil. Then, we fry something in it. Have you ever tried burning a couple of banana chips? If you haven’t, do try it today. Be sure to hold the chips with a pair of tongs – and place a sheet of paper underneath to catch all the oil that drips from it!

How to make them healthier? Use an oven instead of a frying pan. And, replace oils with whole nuts. That’ll amp up the nutrient quotient significantly.

Here’s an Ompudi or Sev recipe that takes you closer to health while being super yummy too! 🙂

Whole Food Plant Based Baked Ompudi Recipe

Course: Side Dish for Course 3 (Grain Dishes) at Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Indian Recipe
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Servings: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Bengal Gram Flour Besan / Kadale Hittu / Kadalai Maavu
1 cup Brown Rice flour
1/2 Flaxseed Powder
1 Potato
20 grams Ajwain / Omum / Caraway Seeds
2 tsp Black Pepper Powder
4 tsp Miso Paste

INSTRUCTIONS

Ompudi Dough

1. Grind ajwain to a fine powder in a mixie.
2. Mix all dry ingredients together. Filter through a sieve to remove any large particles.
3. Grind potato in a mixie to a fine paste.
4. Mix the dry ingredients and potato paste with sufficient water to make a soft dough. Make sure it isn't watery!

Baking Sev

1. Pre-heat oven to 140 degrees celsius
2. Line a baking tray with unbleached parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Do not apply any oil on the paper or the tray.
3. Use a murukku machine with dotted holes to squeeze out omapudi or sev on the parchment paper. Be careful not to make too many layers, as they will stay soft. Squeeze out a single layer for best results.
4. Bake at 140 degrees celsius. Omapudi or sev will be ready in 15 to 20 minutes! It has a tendency to burn easily, keep a watch to ensure this doesn't happen. Also, ensure that it does get browned too much. See Nutrition Science Highlights for Baked Ompudi Recipe below for details.
5. Once baked, cool completely and use for sev puri, bhel puri, or topping any chaat of your choice!

Nutrition Science Highlights for Baked Ompudi Recipe

1. Why whole grains? Whole grains are healthier than refined grains such as white rice, refined flours, maida, rava, etc., as the bran layer is intact, with all its vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Whole grains have been found to be protective against a whole range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and lifestyle-related cancers.
2. Why cool grains? When cooked grains are allowed to cool on the counter or in the fridge, the starch crystallises to form resistant starch. This can be eaten by our good gut bacteria and also reduces the glycemic index (the rate at which glucose is absorbed), making the whole grain even healthier. For the same reason, parboiled whole grains can be used as well.
3. Why flaxseed powder? Whole grains are super healthy foods, but whole grain flours, not so much. Because of a smaller particle size, the starch from ground up grains gets absorbed much faster than from intact whole grains, causing a glucose spike and insulin spike in the blood. This is why we recommend coarsely ground whole grains as against finely ground whole grains. When we cook dishes using whole grain flours, it is wise to add an ingredient that makes the dish sticky and slows down absorption. Flaxseed is a perfect addition for making rotis. In addition, flaxseed contains high levels of omega 3 fats and cancer-fighting lignans. For the same reason, eating grain flour dishes with pulses and legumes, such as roti and dal, is a great idea too.
4. Why not frying? Oil is a processed food, even if it is cold pressed oil. In whole nuts, the calories from the oil are balanced out with the fiber and nutrients in the nut. For example, peanuts are healthier than peanut oil, sesame seeds are healthier than sesame oil. Hence, a healthy diet excludes oil and includes whole nuts. We can easily achieve a 'fried' effect of different recipes by baking the same dishes instead, like this one!
5. What's wrong with baking? The brown color we get on baking whole grains, tubers, legumes, or nuts is due to the formation of carcinogenic AGE compounds. We can eliminate the formation of these compounds by baking at or below 120 deg C. Up to 160 deg C, the formation of AGEs slower rises, and after that, rises exponentially. It can also be reduced by adding spices and herbs, and in case of breads and cakes, cutting off the crust before serving.