Vermicelli Kheer
Semiya payasam in the South and seviyan kheer in the North: thin wheat vermicelli roasted in ghee and simmered in milk with cardamom, cashews and raisins. Festival-ready in half an hour.
Prep 5 min · Cook 25 min · Total 30 min · Serves 4
Ingredients
Kheer
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- 12 Cashews, halved
- 1 tbsp Raisins
- ¾ cup Thin vermicelli (semiya), broken into 3 cm pieces
- 1 l Whole milk
- ½ cup Sugar
- ½ tsp Cardamom powder
- 1 pinch Saffron strands
- 1 tbsp Pistachios, sliced
Method
- Fry the nuts. Heat the ghee in a heavy pan over medium-low heat. Fry the cashews until golden, add the raisins until they puff, then lift both out with a slotted spoon.
- Roast the vermicelli. Add the vermicelli to the same ghee and stir constantly until evenly golden brown and toasty. Skip this if your vermicelli is pre-roasted; just warm it for a minute.
- Simmer in milk. Pour in the milk and bring to the boil, stirring. Turn down and simmer, stirring often and scraping the bottom, for 12 to 15 minutes until the vermicelli is soft and the milk has thickened slightly.
- Sweeten. Stir in the sugar, cardamom and saffron and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes more until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat.
- Finish and serve. Stir in most of the cashews and raisins and scatter the rest on top with the pistachios. Serve warm, or chill; it thickens as it cools, so loosen with a little warm milk if needed.
Tips
Add sugar only after the vermicelli is cooked; sugar added early stops it softening. Keep stirring once the milk goes in, as kheer catches easily on the bottom.