Vermicelli sweet dish - Semiya Payasam

Hello there. Today's recipe is that of a much loved and famous sweet dish of South India - Semiya Payasam. 

You just can not imagine a happy occasion or any kind of celebration in Kerala without involving the Payasam - it just makes any and every happy moment even more sweeter. It's easily made and involves just a few ingredients. There are various types of Payasams made in India and the easiest of them all is the Semiya or Seviyan payasam. Hmmm, what are we waiting for -  Let's just get to it :)




So What Do We Need?

Now I used a regular coffee mug to measure out some of the ingredients and it's a 350 ml cup.

• 1 cup Vermicelli - about 350 gms

• 3 litres of Full fat Milk  - Full fat milk ensures that you end up with a rich and creamy Payasam. Using low fat milk will leave the Payasam a bit runny and wet.
• Sugar about 1/2 a cup + 3 tablespoon  - You can increase or reduce the quantity as per your preferred level of sweetness.
• About 2 tablespoons of Clarified butter (ghee) / unsalted Butter
• 1 - 2 teaspoon Cardamom Powder  - Again add less or more depending on how much of the cardamom flavor you like in your Payasam. You can always use crushed cardamom if not the powder - maybe about 4 of them.
• Condensed Milk (Optional) -  I added about 1.5 tablespoon of condensed milk to my Payasam just to make it extra creamy and thick.
• 10 - 12  Cashew nuts - Fried till golden brown in ghee or butter (I didn't fry the cashew nuts for my Payasam.)
• 10 - 12 Raisins - Fried in ghee or butter till they puff up like a ball. (I didn't add raisins to my Payasam only because I don't enjoy it.)

Let's Do This

Roasted Vermcelli

• First of melt some butter/ ghee in a heavy bottom pan and then tip in the vermicelli. Over a low to medium flame - roast the vermicelli till it turns a nice golden brown shade. Then take it out of the pan and keep it aside.

• 

  Milk brought to a boil

  Now to the same pan, add the milk and bring it to a boil over a medium to low flame. It's important to gently stir the milk every now and then, making sure that you sort of scrap the bottom and the sides of the pan gently with a wooden or silicon spatula so that the milk doesn't stick to the pan and burn. 

• 

  Add sugar and cardamom

  Once it's brought to a boil you can add the sugar, condensed milk and cardamom powder and just give it all a good mix.

• 

  Add roasted vermicelli

  Then add in the roasted vermicelli and mix it well and let it cook till the vermicelli has softened. This should take about 10 - 15 minutes. Stir gently scrapping the bottom and the sides of the pan with your spatula to avoid it from burning.
• At this point I give it a taste to check the sweetness and the flavor of the Payasam. And now if required I will add a bit more sugar or cardamom powder.
• I let the Payasam cook for another 10 minutes. In doing so, the consistency of the Payasam becomes thick and creamy. The further you cook it the more thicker the milk added gets. So once the vermicelli softens you can either stop cooking right away and turn of the gas or you can continue cooking it till you reach your desired consistency. Bear in mind that the Payasam will get thicker as it sits and cools down after you are done cooking. And again when you keep it in the fridge. So cook the mixture accordingly. Do remember to keep stirring the mixture gently scrapping the bottom and side of the pan with the spatula till you are done cooking it. 

Getting thicker

And thicker

... And thicker :)



• Once you get the Payasam to the desired consistency - turn off the flame and pour the Payasam into a serving dish and decorate the top with the cashew nuts and raisins. And that's it - your Semiya Payasam is ready. You can have it hot or you can let it cool and chill it and then have it cold. Either way it tastes divine.

Enjoy !

Notes

•  Now if you find that your Payasam has become too thick - don't worry. You can always adjust the consistency by adding some more milk even after you are done cooking. Same with the sweetness. If you find later on that it isn't as sweet as you would like it to be - you can mix in some more sugar.
• Another way to create a rich and decadent Payasam is by replacing the sugar with condensed   milk. You can add a whole tin of condensed milk and if required add a little sugar incase you find you need a more sweetness. Condensed milk makes the Payasam really creamy.

Try it out and I am sure you will love it :) Please do check out my other recipes as well and share with friends and family if you like them.


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