Noodles in India

Re eating noodles with one's hands- iddiyappam are eaten with the hands. The noodles are clumped in rough discs during the production process so you get coherent clumps of noodles which are then broken off and used to soak up the curry.

I'm wondering if the idea behind iddiyappam was an indigenous one, or if it was imported from another part of the world. The noodle dishes of Central Asia are always based on fresh, handmade noodles, which are usually much thicker in consistency than these ones. That, and the fact that noodles are almost non-existent in northern India, suggests that iddiyappam couldn't have originated from the Silk Road.

Well, it is possible that iddiyappam derives from falooda, which uses vermicelli noodles and can be found from Iran to Myanmar, but that's a sweet food and the noodles used in it are not the star ingredient.

Otherwise, I wonder if the concept behind this dish traveled to southern India via sea routes from Southeast Asia during the time in which the ancient Tamils were active in colonizing and trading there?
 
I'm wondering if the idea behind iddiyappam was an indigenous one, or if it was imported from another part of the world. The noodle dishes of Central Asia are always based on fresh, handmade noodles, which are usually much thicker in consistency than these ones. That, and the fact that noodles are almost non-existent in northern India, suggests that iddiyappam couldn't have originated from the Silk Road.

Well, it is possible that iddiyappam derives from falooda, which uses vermicelli noodles and can be found from Iran to Myanmar, but that's a sweet food and the noodles used in it are not the star ingredient.

Otherwise, I wonder if the concept behind this dish traveled to southern India via sea routes from Southeast Asia during the time in which the ancient Tamils were active in colonizing and trading there?

It's part of a complex of rice flour preparations- other related dishes include puttu, which consists of a rough paste of rice flakes steamed under pressure (traditionally in a bamboo container). I'm not sure if there necessarily is much relation to East Asian noodles since there's no tradition of hand pulling dough to make noodles. The rice dough is instead extruded through a perforated screen.

idiappam3.jpg
 
The rice dough is instead extruded through a perforated screen.

Interesting, I think spaetzle is made the same way? Some people push the dough through a sieve while others spread the dough along a cutting board and use a knife to quickly chop and slide thin pieces into a pot of boiling water. The spaetzle dough is usually not as pliable as the dough used for Italian or Chinese noodles.

Actually, now I'm very curious about how South East Asian cultures make the very thin rice vermicelli typical of their noodle dishes. It seems to me like it would be very arduous to make it by hand.
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Nothing to add, but fun to read...

Nothing to add, but fun to read...very intersting snapshot of the membership.

Kind of fun, actually.

Best to all.
 
There's also sevvai (or however else you spell it), which is eaten in the South. Not a particular fan of it, but the parents and grandparents eat it on occasion.

And while noodles weren't historically prevalent in North India, Maggi noodles are a new brand that comes in a bunch of flavours. Tastes pretty good, too.
 
I think in north Europe the lack of a traditional foodie culture I general could be part.
Eating generally is something you take a few minutes break for in order to stave off starvation. Not the big event it is in Other cultures.
In times past it was a bit of a bigger deal than it is now, but still、 north Europeans aren't as into their food as Southern Europeans and pasta is a lot more hassle than just bread and cheese.

Perhaps as cultures get too involved in bread they neglect noodles?
Not my area at all I'm afraid.
 
There is a noodle based snack present in North and South India (in Tamil and Malayalam, it's called muruku) which involves making noodles out of chickpea flour and then deep frying them until they're crunchy.

That looks good. This thread's making me hungry. :eek:
 
The Thais traditionally ate with their hands also, but later adopted the fork and spoon combination. Still they use chopsticks just for noodle dishes.
With the exception of khanom chin, all Thai noodle dishes are based on Chinese noodles. In fact, I can't think of a single Southeast Asian noodle that doesn't originally come from China with the exception of khanom chin, which was adopted by the Thai from the Mon people.
It's part of a complex of rice flour preparations- other related dishes include puttu, which consists of a rough paste of rice flakes steamed under pressure (traditionally in a bamboo container). I'm not sure if there necessarily is much relation to East Asian noodles since there's no tradition of hand pulling dough to make noodles. The rice dough is instead extruded through a perforated screen.

idiappam3.jpg
The process and finished product seem similar to khanom chin, which is made from slightly fermented rice extruded through a sieve.
 
Sawaeyaa is a famous dish made from vermicelli cooked in milk sugar and dry nuts. It is eaten on Diwali, Eid, and other happy occasions in parts of North India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
 
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