Lemon Sevai | Lemon Flavored Instant Rice Vermicelli

5 from 10 votes

Lemon Sevai - vegan and gluten-free lemon flavored Instant Rice Vermicelli recipe with instant store-bought sevai mix.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Breakfast, tiffin

Cuisine: South Indian, TamilNadu

Keyword: instant lemon sevai, instant rice vermicelli, lemon sevai recipe

Servings:

Calories: 186kcal

100 g Instant rice vermicelli
4 cups Water
1 tsp Sesame Oil
¼ tsp Salt - ¾ tsp
2 tsps Coconut Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
1 tsp Channa Dal
1 tbsp Chopped Cilantro
5 Curry leaves or 6
2 Green Chilli
3 tbsps Lemon Juice or half the medium-sized lemon - see notes for the lemon variety
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Hing

Cook the sevai as per the package instructions and this is what I did.
Bring 4 cups of water to boil by adding ¼ tsp of salt and one tsp of sesame oil.
When the water boils, turn off the heat, add the vermicelli and cover the pot with a lid and let it sit for 3 to 4 minutes.
Then drain the water and sprinkle some cold water on top and set it aside. Make sure you remove the water thoroughly.
Heat a pan or kadai and add coconut oil.
When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, hing, curry leaves and green chili.
Then add the salt and turmeric powder and stir it before adding the cooked sevai.
Now reduce the heat to low, and add the cooked sevai and gently mix it.
Turn the heat off and add the lemon juice and mix again gently.
Finally, garnish it with chopped cilantro and serve hot with chutney or sugar.

Adding a little bit of oil while cooking the sevai helps in non-sticky sevai.
If there is moisture content in sevai, then it will stick. I know its tricky but make sure that you drain the water as much as you can.
Mixing the sevai over low heat and gently helps for non-sticky sevai. I was hurrying this time and you can see a lot of small sevai pieces and that got to stick together.
I always add salt and turmeric powder before adding the vermicelli and mix it in oil.
Adjust the salt and spices as per your preference.
Coming to lemons, every lemon variety is different. If using Meyer lemons, you might have to add one entire lemon to get that tangy flavor. So try tasting a drop of lemon juice and then depending upon the tanginess, you can add.
Instead of coconut oil, you can use any regular oil.