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:

1. Heat ghee in a cooking pan on low-medium heat.
2. Add cashews into the pan, and fry them until golden brown. Take the dry fruits out of the pan and keep them aside.
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.

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