Seviyaan Vermicelli Milk Pudding Food

SEVIYAAN (VERMICELLI MILK PUDDING)

Steps:

• Wash a saucepan with cold water and shake out the excess.
• Place pan over medium flame and heat the milk, stirring often until it is near boiling (should take 10 minutes). Scrape the walls and base of the pan while heating, to prevent the milk sticking.
• Lower heat to med-low, and cook uncovered, stirring every 5-10 minutes until the milk is reduced by about 1/3 (this should take about 1 hour).
• Add the roasted vermicelli into the reduced hot milk. The vermicelli can be broken into smaller pieces first to make it easier to handle. Roasted vermicelli should be available in packets from Indian or Pakistani grocery stores.
• The vermicelli will soften after 2-3 minutes. Add the ghee (optional) and mix it through. Continue to cook seviyaan over med-low a further 5 minutes.
• Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. You may want to add 1 cup first and taste the seviyaan after the sugar dissolves fully to see if you want the dessert to be any sweeter.
• Stir through the cardamom powder, then let the seviyaan thicken over med-low heat for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the mixture sticking.
• Serve warm in individual bowls garnished with pistachio nuts. If chilling, cover with plastic wrap that is in contact with the surface of the pudding, let cool almost to room temperature and then chill several hours in the fridge.

INDIAN VERMICELLI MILK PUDDING -- SEVIYAN KHEER OR PAYESH

Steps:

• I simmered 1 lit of milk in a pot for at least 20 -25mins. Never bringing it to a boil, but on simmer only so that the water content reduces in the milk and we have a more condensed version of it. After about 15 minutes, I added 4 Tbsp of sugar and kept stirring the milk. After 25 mins, I added 3 pods of green cardamom, 2 bay leaves, and a handful of raisins. Then plopped in the Vermicelli and mixed the ingredients.
• Before adding these, I had fried the Vermicelli, Cardamom and Bay Leaf in a separate pan, with a little bit of Oil or Ghee. I had lightly fried the Vermicelli into a medium brown color.
• I turned off the flame, and added about 50g of brown jaggery Gur , and closed the pan with a lid, to allow the flavor to infuse and the jaggery to melt. With the flame on, the jaggery would have curdled the milk, but this pudding tastes great with the jaggery.
• Transfer into a bowl and add a few pistachios on top. It can be eaten warm, but it tastes even better after chilling for a few hours.

MUZAFFAR SEVIYAN (SWEET VERMICELLI WITH CARDAMOM)

Steps:

• Crush cardamom pods with a mortar and pestle or the side of a chef's knife and remove seeds (discard husks).
• Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove 1 tablespoon of boiling water and use it to steep the saffron. Keep remaining water hot.
• Heat the ghee in a wok or large skillet over medium-high. Add chopped pistachios and cardamom seeds and stir-fry until the cardamom is fragrant and the pistachios begin to lightly brown, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and add vermicelli. Cook, stirring constantly, until vermicelli is browned and toasted, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium low and add boiling water and steeped saffron. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vermicelli is tender and all the water is absorbed, about 8 minutes.
• Stir in sugar until dissolved and cook 2 minutes more. Serve warm topped with the coconut, raisins, almonds, whole pistachios and khoya.