Payasam is the pudding that gets made when someone passes an exam, moves house or turns up unannounced. Vermicelli, milk, sugar and ghee are all cupboard things, so it can be on the table before the guests have taken their coats off.
Made with full cream milk powder you control the richness, and it will not catch and scorch at the bottom of the pan the way fresh milk does over a high flame.
Ingredients
- 75g Annam Roasted Semiya Vermicelli 200g
- 6 tbsp Nestlé Nido Full Cream Milk Powder 400g, whisked into 700ml warm water
- 3 tbsp KTC Pure Butter Ghee 500g
- 20 Fudco Cashew Nuts 100g
- 2 tbsp Fudco Brown Sultana 250g
- Seeds from 5 pods, or 1/2 tsp Fudco Cardamom Seeds 75g, crushed
- 90g sugar, or to taste
- A pinch of salt
Method
- Melt the ghee in a heavy pan over a medium flame. Fry the cashews for a minute until they colour at the edges, then the sultanas for 20 seconds, until they swell. Lift both out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Tip the vermicelli into the same ghee and toast for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until it turns the colour of straw and smells nutty. Roasted vermicelli from the packet still benefits from this, and it is what keeps the strands separate.
- Pour in 300ml of water, bring to the boil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the vermicelli is soft but still has a little bite. It carries on cooking in the milk.
- Lower the heat and add the milk. Simmer gently for 5 minutes without letting it boil hard, stirring now and then to stop it sticking.
- Add the sugar and the pinch of salt and stir for 2 minutes until dissolved. Stir in the crushed cardamom and half the fried nuts and sultanas.
- Take it off the heat and leave it for 5 minutes. Scatter the rest of the nuts and sultanas over the top and serve warm or cold.
Cook's notes
Payasam thickens a great deal as it cools, because the vermicelli keeps drinking milk. Make it looser than you want to eat it, and loosen cold payasam with a little warm milk before serving. Jaggery can stand in for the sugar, but melt it separately in a splash of water and stir it in off the heat, or the milk may curdle.
Questions
Why did my semiya payasam go thick?
The vermicelli keeps drinking milk as it stands, so payasam thickens a great deal as it cools. Make it looser than you want to eat it. To bring back cold or leftover payasam, stir in a little warm milk until it pours again.
Do I need to roast already roasted vermicelli?
Yes, give it 2 to 3 minutes in the ghee anyway, until it turns the colour of straw and smells nutty. That short toast keeps the strands separate in the milk and adds depth that the packet roasting alone does not give.
Can I make semiya payasam with jaggery?
Yes, but melt the jaggery separately in a splash of water and stir it in off the heat. Added straight to hot milk, jaggery can make the milk curdle. Taste as you go, since jaggery varies in sweetness from one batch to the next.
Can I use milk powder for payasam?
Yes. Six tablespoons of full cream milk powder whisked into 700ml of warm water gives a rich payasam, and you can add more powder for extra richness. It is also less likely to catch and scorch on the base of the pan than fresh milk.
