Sevai is typically served in Tamil Nadu and other South Indian communities as a breakfast or tiffin dish, but also served as a dessert such as payasam when cooked in milk with cardamom or other spices and sugar. The cuisine of Kongu region in Tamilnadu has a variation of this with a name Santhagai and included in wedding ceremony rituals of the region. In the Malnad region of Karnataka, it may be served with chicken curry, rather unlike how it is usually served in other parts of South India.