Semiya kheer or Shavige payasa (in kannada) is a popular Indian dessert commonly prepared during festivals and celebrations. Preparing this delicious traditional dessert is easy; it takes hardly 20 minutes. It is a preparation made from vermicelli or semiya, whole milk, ghee, sugar, dry fruits, and cardamom. In this recipe, I have also made use of saffron strands (optional) – it adds great color and taste to the kheer.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Yield: 3 servings
ingredients:
150g semiya/ vermicelli
750ml whole milk
100g sugar(or sugar to taste)
2 tablespoons ghee
A pinch of saffron strands
2 green cardamom, crushed
2 tablespoons almond, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons cashews
procedure:
- Heat ghee in a cooking pan on low-medium heat.
- Add cashews into the pan, and fry them until golden brown. Take the dry fruits out of the pan and keep them aside.
- Add vermicelli into the same pan and roast until it turns golden brown. If you are using roasted vermicelli, then fry for just a minute.
- Pour whole milk and mix everything. Allow the milk to come to a boil on low-medium heat while occasionally stirring(to prevent milk from getting burnt).
- Continue cooking and stirring the kheer until vermicelli softens and the milk starts to thicken. Then add sugar, combine and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add crushed cardamom and saffron strands. Combine and cook on low-medium heat for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the kheer to cool.
- Finally, garnish with the fried cashews, some finely cut almonds. Enjoy it warm or chilled.

note:
- You can tweak the quantity of each ingredient as per your taste and preference.
- Apart from almonds and cashews, you could also use raisins, pecans, and other dry fruits of your choice.
- Semiya kheer can be consumed warm or chilled.
- You can store semiya kheer in the refrigerator for up to a day.
Did you try this recipe? Let me know how you liked it! 🙂
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Happy cooking and happy eating ❤