This sweet is the favourite of everyone at home, especially the children and is my go-to recipe when I need to whip up a sweet for any festival. GG & BB love it so much that I have to hide some for S, otherwise, he won’t get any when he comes home from work! This is a very easy recipe but takes a little bit of time stirring if you want to get the rich taste.
Semiya/Vermicelli Payasam
Ingredients:
- 1 cup vermicelli
- 1 cup sugar
- 1-litre milk (full cream is the best for taste)
- 10-12 pieces cashew nuts (chopped into half)
- 2 tbsp raisins
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 2 tbsp ghee
Method:
- In a deep bottom pan, heat the ghee and when it warms, fry the raisins till they plump up and keep aside in a kitchen towel.
- In the same pan, fry the cashew nuts until they turn brown and crisp and remove into the same kitchen towel.
- With the remaining ghee, fry the vermicelli till it becomes brown and starts to develop an aroma.
- At this point, pour 1/3 to half a litre of milk and let it come to a rolling boil. Reduce the flame and let the milk and vermicelli boil until the vermicelli is completely cooked. This will take between 15-20 minutes. If at any point, the milk reduces, add some more milk to cover the vermicelli.
- When the vermicelli is completely cooked, add the remaining milk and let it come to a nice rolling boil.
- Now add the sugar and let it boil for a while until the sweet has thickened.
- Add the sugar, cardamom, saffron and the nuts and let it boil for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from the flame and let it cool before serving.
- This sweet is very tasty both hot or cold, but we prefer to drink it cold. A few hours in the fridge really improves the taste dramatically.
Tips:
- If you want to increase the proportions, just remember to put the sugar and vermicelli in a ratio of 1:1.
- I prefer to use a pestle and mortar to grind my cardamom on an ‘as I need it‘ basis. I feel that grinding a whole bunch of cinnamon at the same time makes the smell of the spice go away after a while. You will need the pods from 5-6 cardamoms to make up ¼ tsp of the powder.
Memories and Such 