If you’ve ever reached into a bowl of Indian snacks and pulled out a handful of thin, golden strands that hit you with a warm rush of pepper and clove, there’s a good chance you were eating Ratlami Sev. It’s one of those snacks people tend to either already love or fall for on the very first bite.
For all its popularity, though, Ratlami Sev often gets lumped in with every other kind of sev on the shelf, which does it a slight disservice. It has its own history, its own spice blend and its own distinct character. This guide walks through what Ratlami Sev actually is, how it differs from the other sev varieties you’ll come across, and why it has such a loyal following, both in India and among snack lovers here in the UK.
Chandra Foods has been making traditional Indian snacks in the UK since 1985, so we’ll use our own version as a reference point along the way.
What is Ratlami Sev?
Before we get to Ratlami specifically, it helps to know what sev is. Sev is a classic Indian namkeen, a dry savoury snack, made by pressing seasoned gram flour (besan) dough through a perforated press to form fine strands, which are then fried until crisp and golden. It’s eaten by the handful, scattered over chaat, or stirred into snack mixes, and it has been part of Indian food culture for centuries.
Ratlami Sev is the bold, spicy member of that family. Where a lot of everyday sev is mild and light, Ratlami Sev is thicker, crunchier and built around a distinctive blend of warm spices. Our own Ratlami Sev is made with gram flour, rapeseed oil and a seasoning of black pepper, cloves, red chilli, cumin, ginger, carom seeds and a pinch of asafoetida. That clove-and-pepper backbone is what gives it its unmistakable aroma and its signature kick.
Where the name comes from
The “Ratlami” part isn’t a flavour description; it’s a place. Ratlam is a city in Madhya Pradesh, in central India, and it’s the home of this style of sev. Like a lot of great regional foods, it started as a local speciality and gradually travelled far beyond its origins, carried by families, traders and, eventually, the wider diaspora. Today you’ll find it in Gujarati and Indian households across the UK, a long way from where it began, but made to the same bold recipe.
What’s actually in it
At heart, Ratlami Sev is a gram-flour snack, which quietly makes it more interesting than it first appears. Gram flour is naturally higher in plant protein and fibre than the refined wheat behind many mainstream crisps and savoury snacks, so a handful of sev delivers a little more than pure indulgence.
Our version keeps the ingredient list honest: gram flour, oil and real spices, with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. It’s also entirely plant-based, with no dairy, eggs or meat, and Vegetarian Society approved, which makes it an easy choice for vegan and vegetarian snackers. It is, of course, still a fried snack, so it’s best enjoyed as part of a varied diet rather than by the bagful.
How Ratlami Sev is different from other sev
Line up a few types of sev side by side and the differences become obvious quickly. The three things that really separate them are thickness, texture and heat.
Nylon sev sits at one end of the range. It’s named for its ultra-fine, almost weightless strands, and it has a mild, lightly seasoned flavour that makes it endlessly versatile. It’s the sev you scatter over bhel puri or dahi papdi chaat, or nibble straight from the pack when you want something light.
Ratlami Sev sits firmly at the other end. The strands are thicker, the crunch is more substantial, and the flavour is spice-forward rather than gentle. It’s less of a background topping and more of a snack in its own right; the kind you keep eating because each piece carries a proper hit of clove, pepper and chilli.
A quick way to picture the two extremes:
- Nylon sev – very thin, delicate and mild; ideal for topping chaat and everyday snacking.
- Ratlami Sev – thicker, crunchier and boldly spiced with clove and pepper; satisfying enough to eat on its own.
Between those two you’ll find middle-ground options, including finer but still spicy sev and rounded masala varieties that balance crunch with a warm, everyday seasoning. It’s worth exploring the full sev range if you want to taste where Ratlami sits against its relatives.
People sometimes ask how Ratlami Sev compares to bhujia, too. Bhujia, the Bikaneri style in particular, is usually finer and often blends moth-bean flour into the besan, giving a softer bite. Ratlami Sev is defined far more by its clove-heavy spicing and its firmer, crunchier texture. Both are delicious; they just do different jobs in the snack bowl.
Why Ratlami Sev is so popular
Plenty of snacks are pleasant. Ratlami Sev is memorable, and that’s a big part of why it has stuck around for so long.
The first reason is flavour. That clove-and-pepper seasoning is genuinely distinctive; it’s warming rather than simply hot, and it lingers in a way that makes you want the next handful. In a market full of samey savoury snacks, something with this much character stands out.
The second is versatility, which we’ll come back to below. Ratlami Sev is happy on its own, but it also lifts all sorts of dishes, which means a single bag rarely sits idle in the cupboard.
Then there’s nostalgia. For many people in the UK’s Indian and Gujarati communities, the aroma of Ratlami Sev is tied to evenings at home, festival tables and cups of chai with family. A good spicy sev doesn’t just taste of spice; it tastes of somewhere. That emotional pull is hard to manufacture and impossible to fake.
Finally, there’s the gram-flour factor. Because it’s besan-based and made without artificial additives, Ratlami Sev feels a touch more wholesome than the average crisp, which appeals to shoppers who are reading labels more carefully than they used to. It travels well, keeps its crunch, and pairs with almost anything, all of which help explain why it remains a snack-cupboard staple decades on.
How to enjoy Ratlami Sev
One of the joys of Ratlami Sev is how many different ways there are to eat it. A few of the best:
- With chai. The classic pairing, and for good reason. A handful of spicy sev with a hot cup of tea is a small, reliable pleasure.
- Over poha or upma. Scatter it across your breakfast for an instant crunchy, spicy finish that wakes the whole plate up.
- As a chaat topping. It adds crunch and heat to bhel puri, sev puri and dahi puri, pulling the flavours together at the end.
- Stirred through curd or yoghurt. A spoonful of sev in chilled curd gives you a quick spicy-creamy snack with contrasting textures.
- In a homemade snack mix. Combine it with boondi, papdi and peanuts for a fast, Bombay mix-style bowl to share.
- As a desk or lunchbox snack. Portion a little into a tub for an afternoon pick-me-up that’s far more interesting than a packet of crisps.
Buying Ratlami Sev in the UK
The simplest way to keep Ratlami Sev on hand is to buy it on its own, so there’s always a bag ready for tea time. Because it’s made in the UK to a traditional recipe, you get the authentic spice profile without waiting on an import.
If you’re a heat-seeker who likes more than one bold snack in the house, Ratlami Sev also features in the Spicy Crunch Combo, which pairs it with other spicy favourites like thikhi sev, thikha gathiya and masala papdi for people who take their crunch seriously.
And if you’d rather sample it as part of a wider selection before committing to a full bag, it’s one of the nine snacks in the Best of Chandra Combo, sitting alongside gathiya, fafda, chakri and a sweet para. That’s an easy way to see how Ratlami Sev fits into a proper Indian snack spread.
Ratlami Sev: quick questions
- Is Ratlami Sev vegan?
- Yes. It’s made without any meat, dairy or eggs, and it’s Vegetarian Society approved, so it suits both vegan and vegetarian diets.
- Is it gluten-free?
- Ratlami Sev is made from gram flour, which is naturally gluten-free. However, it’s produced in premises that also handle gluten, so anyone with coeliac disease or a serious gluten allergy should check the allergen advice on the pack before eating.
- How spicy is it?
- Bold, but balanced. The heat comes mainly from black pepper, clove and chilli, so it’s warming and aromatic rather than sharply fiery. Most people who enjoy a well-spiced snack find it very moreish.
- How should I store it?
- Keep it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, and reseal the pack after opening to protect that all-important crunch.
Shop the Products Mentioned in This Guide
You can order bhel puri mix, boondi and nylon sev from Chandra Foods, with free UK delivery on orders over £40.
