Semiya Kheer | Vermicelli Kheer
Semiya Kheer is a popular and easy to make Indian Dessert made by simmering Milk and adding roasted Vermicelli, topping it with ghee roasted cashews and raisins. It is flavored with cardamom and saffron.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 cups Organic Valley Whole Milk
- 3 tbsp Organic Valley Ghee
- 3/4 cup Vermicelli (Unroasted/ Roasted)
- 1/2 cup Organic Brown Sugar You can use regular white sugar.
- 5 strands Saffron
- 3-4 Crushed Green Cardamom I use Mortar and pestle to crush 3-4 green cardamom pods and remove the skin (or) You can add the skin and remove it before serving.
- 10-12 Cashews Chop the cashews into small pieces.
- 20 Golden Raisins Can be substituted with green raisins.
Instructions
Soaking Saffron
- Take 3 tbsp of cold milk and soak the saffron in the milk for 20 minutes to release the flavors.
Roasting Vermicelli
- In a wide bottomed pan or heavy bottomed pan add 1 tbsp of Organic Valley Ghee and let the ghee melt on low-medium heat.
- Add 3/4 cups of vermicelli and stir continuously to roast the vermicelli.
- Roast till the color changes to golden brown.
- Transfer the contents to a bowl to cool.
Ghee Roasted Nuts
- Heat 1 tbsp Organic Valley Ghee in a small kadai/ pan, wait for the ghee to melt.
- Add the chopped cashews to the melted ghee and mix with a spoon/ spatula.
- When the cashews begin to change color, add the raisins.
- Mix till the raisins start bubbling up.
- Remove from flame immediately and set aside to cool.
- Note: This step can be carried out before you begin the process of cooking (or) you can roast the nuts while you wait for the milk to boil - After Step 3 in recipe "Making Vermicelli Kheer".
Making Vermicelli Kheer
- In the same pan used for roasting vermicelli, add 4 cups of Organic Valley Whole Milk. Mix well.
- Add crushed cardamom to the milk. Mix well.
- Simmer the milk on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally.Optional: While the milk is boiling, start preparing the toppings as listed above.
- In 5-7 minutes, the milk will start to boil. Add the 3/4 cup roasted vermicelli to the boiling milk and mix well.
- Cook the vermicelli kheer mixture for about 2-3 minutes until the vermicelli begins to soften and milk starts to thicken.
- Add 1/2 cup of sugar and mix well. Cook for about 2-3 minutes and taste the mixture. Add additional sugar, if needed.
- Add the saffron milk and mix well for about 2 minutes.
- Add the ghee fried nuts and mix well.
- Switch off the flame. The contents will thicken as you let it cool. Best served hot or warm (or) it can be refrigerated and served chill.
Notes
- Full fat milk and ghee bring out the best flavors in this Semiya Kheer recipe.
- Organic brown sugar enhances the flavor of the Kheer.
- Semiya Kheer will thicken when you turn off the flame.
- If you prefer Milky Semiya Kheer, make sure not to thicken the milk too much (Step5 in recipe "Making Vermicelli Kheer") and make sure to measure the quantity of vermicelli.
- If you like Thick Semiya Kheer, thicken the milk by cooking the mixture 2-3 minutes longer. (Step5 in recipe "Making Vermicelli Kheer")
- You can make this recipe simpler by using Roasted Vermicelli and skip out the section "Roasting Vermicelli".
- Optional: You can top off the Semiya Kheer with Rose Petals and/or Slivered Almonds.