Semiya / Vermicelli is one kitchen ingredient that I love a lot. Yes, in my household, I am the only one who loves semiya upma. Basically, my H is not fond of Semiya at all. I usually buy the smallest pack that is available in the grocery store just for myself. The least I do is semiya payasam or Semiya upma when there are days that I just need to prepare lunch for myself. It really tastes great. Whilst I bought a small packet of semiya, I was finding it very hard to finish it off. About half a cup of it was still waiting patiently at the pantry for my attention. I quickly decided to use it up for a regular Friday pooja and ended up making this Vermicelli/ Semiya Kesari. It can be prepared in a few mins and tastes delicious too. I used roasted MTR vermicelli for this purpose and did not use any food coloring. If you would like, you can go ahead and use orange or yellow food coloring. Instead of the food coloring, I used a spoon of MTR badam mix that I had at home for that extra flavor. Do try this simple and quick Vermicelli/Semiya Kesari and leave your comments.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Measure a cup of vermicelli and set aside. In a thick bottomed pan, allow one and half cups of water to boil. In a Kadai, roast the vermicelli in half a tsp of ghee and set aside.
- In the same pan, roast the cashew in the medium-low flame until golden brown. Set them aside. Meanwhile, check the water. It should have started to boil. Add the roasted vermicelli and cover it with a lid. Let it slow cook until soft.
- This should take about 6 – 8 mins. Open the lid and check if the vermicelli is done. By this time, it should have turned soft and cooked and all the water absorbed.
- Now add the food coloring with the milk and pour it over the cooked vermicelli (If you are adding) and mix thoroughly. I added the badam mix powder at this stage.
- Wait for a minute and add sugar. Sugar starts to dissolve and ooze out the liquid. Keep cooking the Kesari by folding it gently.
- It should begin to tighten within few mins. Keep adding ghee little by little. After some time, the Kesari will start to fold in together. At this stage, switch off the stove and garnish with cardamom powder and roasted cashews. Serve warm.
Notes
- Vermicelli takes in less sugar only. It does not require more sugar as we need for Rava Kesari. So adjust the sugar content accordingly.
- Roasting the vermicelli renders a nice flavor. Do not avoid it.
- Though I didn't add any food color, my Kesari was a bit yellow in color. This is due to the Kesari that was in the badam mix powder I added.