“Do everything you have to do, but not with greed, not with ego, not with lust, not with envy but with love, compassion, humility and devotion.” -Lord Krishna
Seviyan Kheer is a popular dessert made in many South Asian households during celebrations and religious festivals. Regionally the names differ, so it also goes by the names dhood wali seviyan, sheer khurma or payasam. Comprised of roasted vermicelli noodles that have been slow cooked with milk, saffron, sugar and dry fruits, it’s one dessert that is a childhood favorite for many.
Every year for Janmashtami I make a milk based dessert, as Lord Krishna was very fond of all things dairy. Janmashtami is the annual festival celebrating the birth of the Hindu deity Krishna. There are thousands of colorful tales sharing the naughtiness and sweetness of Bal (Baby) Krishna. Storybooks are filled with tales of his love for butter and yogurt and how he & his friends would sneak into neighboring homes and devour all their dairy.
Seviyan Kheer is best made in a heavy bottom dish (I used my enamel cast iron pan). I also prefer to use whole milk when making it, as it adds a richness to the dessert.
- 7 cups milk
- ½ cup seviyan / vermicelli noodles (roasted/broken)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cardamom pods
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 6-7 saffron strings
- 2 tablespoon sliced cashews (raw)
- ½ teaspoon rose water
- 1 tablespoon pistachios, sliced for garnishing
- In a heavy bottom pan add milk and warm over medium heat.
- Once hot, add saffron and cardamom pods and bring milk to a boil. Add sugar and seviyan and reduce heat to a slow boil, mixing often to ensure the milk doesn't burn.
- Let the milk simmer for about 20 minutes, until the milk is creamy and reduced to almost half.
- Add the cardamom powder and cashews while letting the seviyan kheer simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, once cooled to luke warm mix in rose water.
- The seviyan kheer becomes thicker in texture as it cools. Garnish with pistachios. Seviyan Kheer can be served chilled or warm.
Enjoy
This looks so amazing Nisha. I’ve made kheer but not seviyan. Wow 7 cups of milk. I wonder how it would taste with Almond Milk. Nice job!