Every year, plastic tubs filled to the brim with what look like puffy full moons make their appearance in Triplicane during Ramadan. Called rumani semiya , the fine vermicelli goes into the making of sheer khurma , a dessert that’s part of the meal that breaks the fast on Eid. Men and women selling the vermicelli can be seen squatting on the pavement by the Big Mosque. They make it at home using a dough made of maida , salt, and water. A little beyond, in Zam Bazaar, one can also find machine-made versions.
“Machine-made vermicelli cannot be compared with its handmade counterpart, but there are customers for the former, too,” says G Prabhakaran of PGP Industries, that has been making the vermicelli at its unit in Kaladipet at Thiruvottriyur for over 30 years. While Prabhakaran makes vermicelli throughout the year, he makes the rumani variety for just one month to cater to the demand during Ramadan.
CHENNAI, 12/05/2019 : For City Desk : A traditional sweet dish Sheer khurma prepared by muslims made from rumani is one of the main desserts consumed during Iftar. It is the shape of the vermicelli that makes it different from the regular one, with the strands being rolled into roundels,People busy in making vermicelli at Kaladipet in Chennai on Sunday. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam / The Hindu
He has three specially-trained women coming in to make rumani semiya every year. “P Shakeela, M Latha, and R Vijaya together make around three tonnes of the vermicelli for Ramadan,” explains Prabhakaran, adding that he also makes longer vermicelli for the festive season.
CHENNAI,04/07/2014: For City: People busy making (Rumani) vermicelli, popularly known as semiya that is used in the preparation of Sheerkurma, a traditional sweet dish prepared by muslims during the holy month of Ramzan, A picture taken at Thangal in Chennai on Friday. Photo:B.Jothi Ramalingam
“Some people prefer to make payasam with it rather, than with rumani ,” he says. At the terrace of his unit in North Chennai, freshly-spun vermicelli, still damp from the machine, are let to dry in the sun. They are suspended from poles like strands of silk thread, and his employers run their fingers through them once in a while to ensure that the vermicelli is knot-free.
CHENNAI, 12/05/2019 : For City Desk : A traditional sweet dish ‘Sheer khurma’ prepared by muslims made from ‘rumani’ is one of the main desserts consumed during Iftar. It is the shape of the vermicelli that makes it different from the regular one, with the strands being rolled into roundels,People busy in making vermicelli at Kaladipet in Chennai on Sunday. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam / The Hindu
For rumani semiya , however, the method is different. The women fold tufts of the vermicelli into roundels while it is still damp. “They are then dried in the sun for two days,” explains Prabhakaran. “In between, one of them turns the roundels over so that they are evenly dried.”
CHENNAI, 12/05/2019 : For City Desk : A traditional sweet dish ‘Sheer khurma’ prepared by muslims made from ‘rumani’ is one of the main desserts consumed during Iftar. It is the shape of the vermicelli that makes it different from the regular one, with the strands being rolled into roundels,People busy in making vermicelli at Kaladipet in Chennai on Sunday. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam / The Hindu
The vermicelli is then packed and sent to shops in Triplicane, Royapettah, Saidapet, and Kothawal Chavadi, apart from Zam Bazaar. As fine as strands of hair, it will then take the form of sheer khurma . Each roundel is deep-fried in ghee and added to thickened milk that’s simmered with sugar and finely chopped nuts such as cashews, almonds, and pistachios fried in ghee.
