Semiya Payasam - Vermicelli Kheer - Festive Recipes

Semiya Payasam is super-quick to make and hence, this post will be a short one as well :-) My sis loves Semiya Payasam always and I totally licked the cup clean this time when amma made it during Navartri. She never adds Condensed milk to any Kheer she makes, as it's high in calories and definitely unhealthy. Yet her payasam was yum-yum-yummy and I asked her if she did the Pressure-cooker method that she taught me to get the perfect Pal Payasam easily everytime.  No, no pressure-cooker needed for Semiya Payasam, all you need is a pot to boil milk and water. Here's how :-

Semiya Payasam / Vermicelli Kheer

What Amma Uses -

• Semiya / Vermicelli - 1 cup
• Milk - 1 and 1/2 cups
• Water - 2 and 1/2 cups
• Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
• Nutmeg powder (jadikkai) - 1/4 tsp
• Sugar - 2/3 cup (Use 1/2 cup if you prefer slightly lesser sweetness)
• About 12-15 Raisins roasted in 1/2 tsp Ghee

How She Makes the Yummy Kheer -

1. Boil water in a pot and when ready, add the semiya/vermicelli to the boiling hot water and let cook. There will still be water remaining after vermicelli has cooked well. Don't fret.
2. Boil about 2 cups of milk in a pot or milk cooker (follow your usual method;  in Singapore, I would just microwave milk for 3-4 minutes, thats it) and keep aside.
3. Add sugar and cardamom + nutmeg powder to the cooked semiya/vermicelli. Stir gently to uniformly mix. Keep on sim/low flame for 5-7 minutes.
4. Take cooked vermicelli off the stove and pour 1 cup milk first.  Add the roasted raisins. Voila! :-) Tasty Semiya Payasam is ready for neivedhyam! :-) Add another 1/2 cup milk later, just before serving.

Notes :

• Never ever boil milk and sugar together, it would get spoilt easily.
• This payasam tastes awesome both warm and cold. 
• Ratio of vermicelli to water is 1: 2.5 and you can start with equal quantity of milk (as that of vermicelli) to begin with and then add some more milk as required.
• Add some more milk (boiled and cooled) if all the milk gets absorbed over time.

Semiya Payasam/ Vermicelli Kheer

Here are other yummy Kheer / Payasam Recipes for Navaratri and other festivals -

Click on the pictures to read the entire recipe.

Palada/ Rice Ada Payasam - Famous in Kerala 

Palada Payasam / Rice Ada Kheer

Aval Payasam - Kheer with Poha/ Flattened Rice 

Aval Payasam / Kheer with Poha/ Flattened Rice

Carrot Kheer - Yummy Dessert drink full of goodness of carrots!

Carrot Kheer/ Payasam

Bring on the festive spirit! :-)

Minty Mango Smoothie - Breakfast Drink

Mint has a lot of health benefits in addition to bringing fresh breath and helping in digestion. It relieves cold and flu symptoms. Although consumed in small quantities, the anti-oxidant properties of Pudina helps to protect the body against cancerous cells. So, why not add some fresh mint to ripe mangoes and enjoy delicious smoothies!!!
 

Minty Mango Smoothy

I Used -

2 Mangoes, Ripe (Medium Sized)
About 12 Mint / Pudina Leaves (Washed)
4 tsp White Sugar
3 tsp  Brown Sugar
A drop of Vanilla Essence
2 cups water / Equivalent Ice cubes

How To -

• Wash Mangoes, Peel the skin and Cut up the juicy flesh into pieces.
• Add Mango pieces and Mint leaves in an electric blender and pulse about 3 times.

Mango pieces and Mint leaves in the blender

• Now, add the Sugars plus a drop of Vanilla and blend well until smooth. 
• Add 1 cup water first and blend well until everything is incorporated together. Taste the smoothie and judge whether it's sweet enough for you and your family.
• Adjust sugar and add some ice cubes (or a cup of water) and blend well using your juicer. 

Voilà! Your healthy smoothy is ready! :)

So refreshing!

Note - The final consistency should be kinda thick, like that of a milkshake (although, we don't add any milk here).

Cheers!!!

Milk with Palm Sugar Candy/ Jaggery - Masala Milk ~ Great remedy for Cough and Cold

This is not going to be an elaborate post. I'm gonna share a home remedy that my mom gives us when we suffer from cough and cold. It's very simple to prepare and is extremely relieving and soothing to the throat.

Milk with Palm Jaggery

Palm sugar is the main ingredient here. It comes from Palmyra Palm trees.  Here is another useful page on Palm Sugar.

What You Need -

Palm Jaggery (Panam Kalkandu) - about 5 or 6 small candies.

Palm Sugar Candy

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Milk - 1 glass (200 ml)

For Masala Milk, also add -

Dry Ginger (Chukku / Sukku ) - 1/4 inch piece
Pepper corns - 2
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 2

Blanched almonds (Badam) -  2, chopped into very small pieces

How To -

• Take a milk pan and boil milk with palm sugar candies and turmeric powder. Add the rest of the ingredients, if you like to, but these two are really vital.

• You don't need sugar. Palm jaggery is the sweetener here.

• Stir with a ladle and make sure the palm jaggery mini-rocks are fully dissolved. 

• Once the milk boils, filter using a tea strainer. This is to make sure the impurities, if any, in the palm sugar are filtered out.

Masala Milk

Milk with Palm Sugar Candies

Drink it when still HOT (Important!) and your throat will thank you (and me!)

You can also eat these candies as such. That's also quite therapeutic, for cough and cold.

Dates and Nuts milkshake (No sugar) - Healthy Breakfast Drink

This is my mom's recipe. She always uses as little ingredients as possible, yet her creations are wonderful. She's also very swift and whips up a complete meal for 4 in just an hour or less. God! Why haven't I inherited this attribute from amma? I console myself, when I learn that a lot of my friends too feel that way and some seniors tell me that it will happen automatically with practice. I hope so.

Let's get on to the recipe...Dates milkshake is absolutely healthy with no added sugar. It makes a refreshing drink on a Saturday afternoon (actually anytime!), when you're exhausted after cleaning up the house!

Dates milkshake

You Need -

Dates (seedless) - 150 g
Warm water - 200 ml 
Milk - 200 ml
Honey ~ 2 tbsp (optional)
Raisins - about 12 (optional)
Cashewnuts - about 12 (optional)

How To -

• Soak dates in warm water for about 20 minutes. 
• Strain water and save it in a bowl.
• Blend the soaked dates in an electric mixer. Add some of the water if required.
• When it is completely beaten well, add 100 ml milk and blend again.
• Repeat again with the remaining milk. If too thick, blend with a little water.
• Blending in steps is important to get a smooth milkshake consistency.
• Take a sip and taste for sweetness. I did not add sugar as Dates is sweet by itself. You could add 1 to 2 tbsp of honey for extra sweetness. 
• Soak raisins and cashewnuts in separate bowls with warm water (just enough to soak them) for about 15 minutes. 
• Blend them well and add to the dates milkshake and blend together once again. 
• You could save some chopped cashewnuts (without soaking) and add them to the milkshake to give it a crunchy texture.

Serve it chilled, if you prefer that :) I will not add ice cubes though.

Chocolate- Banana Smoothie (No sugar required!)

This is such a simple, nutritious drink that both adults and kids would love :) Makes a fulfilling breakfast! I have used honey instead of sugar, and it tasted really yummy :) Bananas being innately sweet, don't require too much extra sweetness added.

Chocolate-Banana Smoothie

What You Need -

• 2 Bananas (Use 3 if they are small)
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Honey - 2 tsp
• Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
• Milk - 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup
• Ice cubes (optional) 

How To -

• Peel off the skin of bananas and cut each of them into 6-7 pieces. 
• Add cocoa powder, honey and vanilla essense and blend well using an electric mixer. Do not add milk yet.
• When there are no more pieces/lumps of bananas seen, add milk (and ice cubes, if you like) and give it another whip until everything is incorporated together. Be careful and hold the lid well so that the smoothie does not spill over the blender jar :-)

Chocolate-Banana Smoothie

Enjoy and have a great day ahead!

Paladai Payasam (Rice Ada Kheer)

This is yet another recipe I learnt from Sudha mami, my aunt.  It's just so yummy and yet so simple!  This is a typical Kerala fare. Folks who like paal payasam will just loove this too :)  Before I left Madras, my mom bought some rice ada to take with me to Singapore.  I decided to give the traditional recipe a mild twist, by adding a little of cocoa powder and it was well received by my guests! ^ ^

What You Need -

Milk - 1 litre (You can use 800 ml milk and 200 ml water, unless you're going with low-fat milk)
Rice Ada - 200 g
Sugar - 100 g

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp  => for flavor
Cocoa powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Cashews - 10-15
Ghee - 1 tsp
Condensed milk - 1 tbsp (optional)

How I Made It -

• Cook Rice Ada with Milk in a pressure cooker for about 5-6 whistles. This helps to reduce the time you need to cook it on the stove later.
• If you don't have a pressure cooker, use a slow cooker or cook in a sauce pan for about 45 minutes.
• Once the pressure subsides, empty the cooked rice ada with milk into a wide-mouthed flat-bottomed vessel.
• Add sugar, cardamom powder and keep stirring. This will take about 15-20 minutes.
• Add 1/4 tsp (~2 pinches) of cocoa powder and continue stirring for another 10 minutes.
• Finally, add 1 tbsp of condensed milk and mix well for 5 minutes. The final product will be of the same consistency as paal payasam, i.e., thicker than milk but not as dense as condensed milk.
• Garnish with ghee-roasted cashewnuts :)

 Enjoy it hot or cold :) Ummm...Absolutely heavenly! :)

Carrot Kheer (Sweet Carrot Drink with Milk and ground Cashews)

Bored of making pal payasam (rice kheer) and semiya payasam (vermicelli kheer)? Try Carrot kheer for a change and wow your guests! :) It makes a delicious dessert!

Thanks to Geetha chithi (husband's chithi/aunt) for the wonderful recipe. I love carrots and I love sweets :) If you're like me, you're sure to love this!

What You Need -

Carrots - 3 medium
Milk - 750 ml
Water - 1/2 litre
Cashewnuts - 10 to 12
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Sweetened Condensed milk (Milkmaid) - 2 tbsp (optional)
Sugar - 3 tbsp (if not using Condensed milk)

How To -

• Peel the skin of carrots and cut them into big chunks.
• Pressure-cook carrots, cashewnuts, half a litre milk with half a litre water, for atleast 2 whistles.
• Alternatively, cook on a slow-cooker or in a sauce pan for about 45 minutes. 
• Once cooled, drain the milk and save it aside in a bowl. 
• Blend the cooked carrots & cashews (with very little milk) in a food processor to a smooth paste.
• Take a pan, pour the milk, add this paste and add the remaining milk and bring to a boil. Keep on low/Sim flame for 10-12 minutes and let them all come together well.
• Add cardamom powder and condensed milk for added flavor! 
• Add sugar if you need. Carrots are sorta sweet by themselves and condensed milk is sweetened too. You might need 3-4 tbsp of sugar if you choose to skip condensed milk.

The final consistency should be frothy and like that of a milkshake.


You can enjoy it at room temperature or refrigerate and drink it cold. Just tastes heavenly! :)

Kiwi Lassi (Indian Yoghurt Drink)

I was surprised to learn from my Chinese/Singaporean/Indonesian friends that, outside the Indian community, it is not a common practice to make curd/yoghurt at home. The concept of consuming curd with rice drives them crazy as yoghurt is viewed as a dessert! For many, yoghurt is a luxury because a litre of yoghurt costs about S$6-7, so it's not an everyday item. For those who are wondering how to make plain yoghurt at home without the lactic acid bacteria, here's a one-line recipe: Microwave 2 cups of full-cream milk for 4 minutes, stir in 1 tbsp of store-bought yoghurt and do not disturb it for 8-10 hours. Voila! Your home-made yoghurt is ready! :) Remember to refrigerate after 10 hours so that it doesn't turn sour.

That's about yoghurt, now, what's lassi? Lassi is a blended smoothie of milk and yoghurt with sugar and a little salt. We can mix in the pulp of fruits like Mango, Strawberry or Kiwi  to make fruit-flavoured lassi. This is a super-easy recipe that can be made in minutes and enjoyed fresh at home, so you don't have to wait for your next trip to the Indian restaurant in your town.

So, what made me make Kiwi Lassi instead of Mango Lassi? I discovered Kiwi recently and not only does it taste awesome but also contains a high amount of Vitamin C (more than orange), as much potassium as bananas and a good amount of Beta-carotene. And I didn't make up Kiwi lassi on my own ...We had been to Sentosa a few weeks back and dined at Samunder, an Indian restaurant and I chose to go with Kiwi lassi, in lieu of Mango lassi, for a change. The combination was fantastic and I wanted to try it again, hence this attempt!

What You Need:

Kiwi fruits - 2
Milk - 150 ml
Yoghurt - 150 ml
Sugar - 4 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp
Crushed Ice (optional)

3 Steps to Kiwi Lassi:

1. First, get the pulp of kiwis using a hand blender or an Indian mixie.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients together and blend together to a smoothie consistency. 
3. You can add some water if it is too pasty/thick. I needed to add water as I had to avoid ice to protect my sore throat.

 Pour into glasses and enjoy!