Semiya Payasam

Cooking time: 45 min

In Kerala there are variety of payasams either made from coconut milk or milk. The ingredients range from rice, semiya (vermicelli), lentils, bananas, jackfruits, ada(flat pieces made from rice) etc.
Jaggery usually goes with coconut milk and sugar with milk. They have 2 distinct colours brown and white respectively. My kids call it simply brown & white payasam.

This dish does not suffice in my list frequently because my husband isn't very keen with sweet dishes but this is one of mine & my kids favourites. They prefer the white ones than the brown.

Ingredients
Semiya (vermicelli)-1cup
Whole milk-4cups
Water-1cup
Sugar-1cup
Green cardamom-3
Raisins-10
Cashew nuts-10
Ghee-3tbsp

Method
Heat a thick bottom vessel, add the ghee and fry the cashew nuts & raisins until the cashews are brown and raisins are fluffy. Keep it aside. Now in the same ghee, roast the semiya until golden brown. Add the boiled milk and water and cook on medium flame until the semiya is soft (this may take about 20-30 min). Stir in the sugar and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the powdered cardamom, cashew nuts and raisins and let it boil for about 5 minutes.

It can be relished hot or cold.



Note: I usually use whole milk to have a rich & creamy taste. You can vary the consistency of the payasam according to your liking. The consistency thickens as the payasam gets colder. (you may add diluted milk in this case).