Payasam is a rich and creamy pudding from the Indian subcontinent, that is served for almost every special occasion, be it birthdays, weddings, graduation ceremonies, or festivals – basically, any happy event! In North India, payasam is called ‘kheer‘. A ‘sadhya’ (Kerala traditional feast) end with payasam served as dessert. Recently, when I asked people through my Instagram story which their favorite sadhya dish was, the most popular answer was ‘payasam’! So, it would be apt to say payasam is the climax of a sadhya!
Semiya Payasam is the simplest of all payasams, and is made of vermicelli (semiya). It is my go-to payasam for when I don’t have much time to cook. It is a great recipe for Onam and Vishu festivals, when a traditional feast (sadhya) is served on banana leaves. Onasadhya is the biggest meal I have had – it can have more than a dozen dishes! I don’t generally cook that many dishes for Onam, but it is still the largest feast I prepare at home. So, I prefer an easy payasam like Semiya Payasam for sadhya.
Types of Payasam
In Kerala, we have two categories of payasam:
- Sharkara Payasam: Made of coconut milk and jaggery (sharkara), it is light brown in colour.
- Paal Payasam: Made of milk (paal) and sugar, it is white in colour.
Semiya payasam is a ‘paal payasam’. Because we don’t have to extract coconut milk or melt jaggery, it is easier and quicker to prepare than many other payasams.
How to make Semiya Payasam
My recipe source is Amma (my mom). As with most veteran cooks, she doesn’t need to write her recipes down or know exact measurements of ingredients. It’s mostly ‘a little bit of that’, or ‘enough to keep the ingredients immersed in it’, or something of that sort. But, it always come out right. I don’t know when or if I will become like that. Until then, I continue to watch her and note down measurements. If she tells me the recipe through phone, I do trial runs and modify proportions till I get it to taste similar to hers. Semiya Payasam is one such recipe.
Roast vermicelli in ghee till it turns golden brown. These days, you can buy roasted vermicelli from stores. If the vermicelli you buy is already roasted, heat it in ghee for 2-3 minutes should be good enough. Then, add milk and sugar. Boil till the vermicelli is fully cooked, add cardamom powder and dry ginger powder. Garnish with the roasted cashew nuts and raisins.
What type of Vermicelli do we use for Semiya Payasam?
To prepare Semiya Payasam, we use thin wheat vermicelli that is pre-cut into short lengths. For payasam, we usually don’t use rice or mung bean vermicelli.
If you are in India, you’ll get it in any grocery store. If you live in a different country, you should be able to buy it from an Indian store – it may be labelled ‘vermicelli’ or ‘semiya’ or ‘seviyan’ or ‘sevai’ or ‘nylon vermicelli’. It is also available in Persian stores and in some supermarkets.
How can we serve Semiya Payasam?
There is no right or wrong way to serve semiya payasam. It can be served warm, cold or at room temperature.
After a traditional sadhya, payasam is served on the banana leaf. I like how the leftovers of curries from the main meal on the banana leaf add flavor to the payasam. The traditional way to have payasam in a sadhya is by mixing in some mashed banana. Since I am more of a savory-dish person, my favorite way to end sadhya is by ‘thottunakkaling’ (excuse my Manglish ;p) pickle along with payasam. If you are wondering what thottunakkal is, it is Malayalam (the language spoken in Kerala) for taking pickle on your finger and licking it clean. Gross? No way! Why do you think something delicious is called ‘finger-licking good’ in ads?! Go on, try doing it!
Hope you enjoy this semiya payasam as much as we do! 🙂
Some more sadhya recipes, if you’d like to try:
- Mathanga Erisheri (Kerala Pumpkin curry)
- Pineapple Pulissery (Seasoned Buttermilk with coconut)
- Beetroot Pachadi (Spiced Beetroot Yogurt)
- Achinga Payar Thoran (Long Bean and Coconut Sauté)
- Potato Carrot Beetroot Mezhukkupuratti / Stir-fry
- Instant Green Apple Pickle
Semiya Payasam (Indian Vermicelli Pudding)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- 20 nos. Cashew nuts (Adjust to preference)
- 15 nos. Raisins (Adjust to preference)
- 1 cup Semiya / Vermicelli (Broken into small pieces of uniform length)
- 2½ cups Milk
- ⅓ cup Sugar
- ½ tsp Green Cardamom Powder (Elakka podi)
- ½ tsp Dry Ginger Powder (Chukku)
- ¼ tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
Instructions
- Melt ghee in a heavy bottom pot or kadai.
- Toss in cashew nuts and raisins. Fry on medium heat till the cashew nuts turn light brown and raisins swell.
- Remove the cashew nuts and raisins with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
- In the same ghee, roast semiya till it turns light brown. If using store-bought roasted semiya, you need to fry it only for 2-3 minutes, until the raw smell goes away.
- Add milk and sugar to the same pan. Check that the semiya is immersed in milk.
- Cook, stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed. Continue till semiya turns soft. It took me 10 minutes to cook semiya.
- Add cardamom powder, dry ginger powder and salt. Mix well and turn off the heat.
- Garnish with fried cashew nuts and raisins.
Hi Viji, I prepared semiya payasam today for Onam sadhya. It’s so simple to make yet so yummy. Thanks for the recipe.
😀 Soo happy to know you tried this recipe! Even happier you liked it, Pris!
I have to be honest. I’ve never heard of this flavor of pudding before but I’m intrigued. I love the taste of cardamom. This is definitely going on my to try list!
Oh, you should definitely try it then! You’re gonna love it! 🙂
A friend of mine made this a few years ago and it was so great. That was the only time I’d had it and loved it. This looks wonderful, pinning for later.
I’m so glad you’ve tasted it! I’m always happy when I know people have tried South Indian food because not many people know about it. There are so many dishes in India that are not known to most of the world! I hope you like this one just as you liked the one your friend made!
this recipe is a winner!! I love vermicelli pudding and not many people can make it right!! Will give this a try!
Thank you Nancy! Do try this recipe.
wow -this sounds delicious – I love everything in it! Excellent photos as well!
Thank you so much!