Forgotten Sindhi Recipes: Seyun Patata Featuring Vermicelli Aloo Sabji Recipes
Seyun patata is one of the traditional Sindhi recipes that tends to be a breakfast dish, combining two contrasting elements: one sweet – roasted vermicelli (seyun) – and one spiced – fried potatoes (patata). It is widely prepared in Sindhi households for everyday breakfasts as well as for festive and ceremonial occasions, and is especially popular for its lightness and for taking little time to prepare. The vermicelli is typically roasted in ghee and cooked with spices in milk, while the potatoes are deep-fried and seasoned separately.
There is a custom associated with this dish: on the day after a couple’s wedding, the bride’s parents send a lavish meal to the bridegroom’s house. Among the various breakfast items, which tend to feature lovingly cooked aloo sabji recipes, there’s also this vermicelli dish. The Seyun Patata is sent in a decorative dish garnished with nuts and sent over. Sheer khurma shares a similar recipe to vermicelli. The dish also represents abundance and celebration, and its preparation is quite symbolic.
What makes Seyun Patata distinctive is that, unlike many wet and dry dish combinations like misal pav or dahi vada, this is one of the few Sindhi recipes where the wet vermicelli is served separately with the ‘kurkure’ masaledar potatoes. They might be on the same plate, but they aren’t mixed together, making for a really unusual dish in terms of flavour, when you compare it with either mildly sweet breakfast dishes or the savoury ones Indians are used to.