Sev, Sev and more Sev

Be it Poha, Upma, Salads etc etc, Sev is used everywhere in Pune's eateries as a garnishing agent. Just like "Mr. Gus Portokalos" in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", who uses cleaning liquid for cleansing all sorts of stuff, Pune chefs use Sev in their food items. This phenomenon is not just restricted to Pune cooks, Kala Namak is one ingredient that the Northie cooks use quite liberally. Also aalu is another ingredient used during the making of any kind of sabzi, infact its very rare to see a unique sabzi. It has to be Aalu-Mattar, Aalu-Gobi, Aalu-paalak, etc etc. Enough of me cribbing about West and North Indian foods, there used to be a time when i would give a mouthful to my Mom, if she didnt use coconut shreds as a garnisher.