Recipe: Semiya Payasam

We will start with a delicious sweet once again. Though most of us are familiar with semiya payasam, I have found that the payasam just doesn’t taste as good. My beautiful and talented niece says, “Athai’s payasam tastes just like ice cream.” Our sons say, “ammas special payasam, nobody else makes it as delicious and lip smacking.” Enough about self glorification. Let’s go straight to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Semiya (Vermicelli) : ¾ cup
Full cream Milk: 1 litre
Sugar: ¾ cup
Ghee: 2 tbsp.
Cashew nuts: 8 nos.
Raisins: 1 tbsp.
Cardamom powder: 1 tsp.

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp. of gheee in a wide mouthed, thick bottomed pan. Break the cashew nuts into small pieces and fry them in the ghee to a golden color, remove. Add the raisins fry them until they are fluffy, remove. Add the remaining ghee and fry the vermicelli to a golden brown. Add ½ litre of milk and boil, stir occasionally so that the milk doesn’t get burnt nor boil over. When the vermicelli has absorbed all the milk, add some more milk and allow the vermicelli to cook well. It will take approximately 20 minutes. When the vermicelli is cooked (it should be mushy in consistency), add the sugar and remaining milk. Boil for some more time until the payasam is thickened. Remove from the stove and add the cardamom powder. Garnish with fried cashew nuts and raisins.Yummy and delicious semiya payasam is ready. The whole process of preparing takes about 30 minutes. When you have unexpected guests and you want to serve them a delicacy, this IS THE DISH.

ENJOY!