Semiya Payasam

Fine wheat vermicelli (semiya) fried golden in ghee, then simmered in sweetened milk with cardamom until the strands soften and the milk thickens into a creamy, fragrant payasam — finished with ghee-fried cashews and raisins. The quickest payasam to make, semiya payasam is the everyday festival sweet of Tamil Nadu and Andhra households — on the table within twenty minutes, ladled out warm at every celebration.