Dosa Temple's Semiya Payasam

Semiya Payasam
South Indian Pudding

Semiya Payasam is a dessert made for festive occasions in South India. It is a pudding made with milk, vermicelli noodles, sugar, ghee, raisins, cashews, and cardamom powder.

Ingredients

3 tsp. ghee (clarified butter) or regular butter
1 cup vermicelli noodles
2 tsp. cashews
2 tsp. raisins
5 cups milk
1-1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cardamom powder

Directions

Add 1-1/2 teaspoons of ghee to a skillet. Add vermicelli noodles and, while stirring continuously, cook until golden brown. Pour noodles into a bowl and set aside.

Add the rest of the ghee to another skillet. Add cashews and raisins and cook until slightly brown. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add milk to a deep saucepan. Stir in cooked vermicelli noodles, sugar, and a pinch of cardamom powder.

Add in raisin/cashew mixture.

Ladle into a bowl and serve warm.

Serves: 4 to 6

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Siva Kumar is the Chef at Dosa Temple, a South Indian restaurant in Somerville's Union Square. He shared this recipe with us when he was featured as our guest on Neighborhood Kitchens.

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