Semiya payasam recipe, very easy to prepare to go with any south Indian meals or as a dessert! With step by step pictures and detailed instructions.

Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous NEW YEAR 🎉!! 2012 has been a great year for this blog, has come a long way with all you support.
Thank you friends for your continuous support and all your comments, suggestions, appreciations. Let me start this new year with a sweet post – Semiya Payasam/ vermicelli Payasam.
Check out my other payasam recipes.
Jump to:
I already have a microwave version of vermicelli payasam. But wanted to post this basic recipe in my blog for a long time. So made and clicked this last week.
I have given the basic recipe here, but we can do a lot of improvisations to this to make it in your own style.
Refer the Notes section for some ideas. And as of now you all would have noticed the change in the looks of my blog, yes!
I gave a NEW look to my blog for this New year😊. Thanks to Vj who made this possible.
I still have few changes to make, which I will do slowly one by one.
My notes
Depending on the semiya brand or variety, the water quantity may vary. If it is too thick before it gets cooked, add more water.
You can add more milk to make a richer payasam.
For variation, use 2 tablespoon condensed milk along milk. In that case, reduce sugar.
If you can get evaporated milk, you can add ¼ cup evaporated milk along milk for more creamy and rich taste. It adds a mild caramel flavor. It's my favorite hack when I have guests.
Top tip
Some issues beginners face while making semiya payasam
- While roasting, semiya gets burnt - Always use heavy bottomed pan. Don't let ghee smoke/ over heat the pan.
Roast in low or medium flame and don't leave un attended. it gets browned quickly towards end.
Same has to be followed while roasting nuts. - Payasam getting thick as it cools down - The payasam gets thicker always as it cools down.
This is because the semiya absorbs and gets bloated as it is cooked/ gets soaked.
Always cook the semiya well. while switching off, make sure to check consistency.
Let it be on runny side keeping in mind about getting thicker later.
If you are serving later, you can either make it runny or if you serve immediately as well as save for later, keep a cup of boiled milk with 1 tablespoon sugar dissolved in it.
Use it to dilute to get desired consistency for serving.
I also have Semiya payasam recipe in Tamil here.
Recipe card
Semiya payasam recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup Semiya Vermicelli
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 cups Water
- ½ cup Milk
- 2 teaspoon Ghee
- 6 Cashew nuts
- 12 Raisins optional
- 1 Cardamom crushed
- Salt - a pinch
Instructions
- Heat a pan firstly, add ghee and fry cashews into golden in colour. Make sure the flame is low to avoid burnt cashews.
- If using raisins, fry them as well in ghee until it fluffs up. Keep aside.
- After that, in the same pan, roast vermicelli in Medium-low flame with constant stirring.
- The vermicelli should turn golden here and there. Set aside.
- Cook semiya in 2 cups water with pinch of salt, for 5 minutes or until soft. Do it in low or medium flame.
- Add sugar. Powder cardamom and add to it. The cooked vermicelli turns transparent at this stage. Boil for 2 minutes. Add the milk.
- Bring to boil. Boil for a minute and switch off the stove. As it cools down, it gets thicker. Garnish with fried cashews and raisins.
Video
Notes
- The payasam recipe given here will give you a ‘Spoonable’ Payasam. As it cools down, it gets thicker. So if you want ‘Drinkable ’payasam, add more milk accordingly.
- You can serve hot or cold.
- The ratio for cooking vermicelli in water for this payasam is 1 : 4. That is if you take one cup of vermicelli, boil and cook in 4 cups of water (just a guideline for beginners)
Method
1. Heat a pan firstly, add ghee and fry cashews into golden in colour. Make sure the flame is low to avoid burnt cashews.
If using raisins, fry them as well in ghee until it fluffs up. Keep aside.
After that, in the same pan, roast vermicelli in Medium-low flame with constant stirring.
2. The vermicelli should turn golden here and there. Set aside.
Cook semiya in 2 cups water with pinch of salt, for 5 minutes or until soft. Do it in low or medium flame.
3. Add sugar. Powder cardamom and add to it. The cooked vermicelli turns transparent at this stage. Boil for 2 minutes. Add the milk.
4. Bring to boil. Boil for a minute and switch off the stove. As it cools down, it gets thicker. Garnish with fried cashews and raisins.
The evergreen semiya payasam is ready! I love it both hot and cold. Pure deliciousness!
Hamaree Rasoi
Delicious and yummy looking kheer. Perfect start to 2013.
Deepa
prathibha Garre
Happy New Year Raji!! thats a cool layout,love the purple color anytime-very girlish!! and loved the logo wid the coffee inside,too good..Nice n yummy kheer..
APARNARAJESHKUMAR
i love the new look ! gr8 and wishing ur family a very happy new year
siyer
what is the salt for???? and when to add it???
Veena Theagarajan
great way to start 2013! love the cups also.. Happy new year to you and ur family Raji
http://great-secret-of-life.blogspot.com
Nagalakshmi V
love the new header and especially the colours. happy new year raks 🙂
RAKS KITCHEN
Oops, forgot to mention it, will edit to add. Its added to enhance the sweetness.
Kaveri Venkatesh
Love the new look of your space Raji! A very happy new year to you and your family..Delicious pasayam
Priti S
happy new year to you too ....nice fresh lay out
Dipti Joshi
Happy new year! Love the new look and the preparation.
Pavithra Elangovan
Lovely Layout Raji.. Great start for the new year !!! Delicious payasam !
Kadhyaa
Raks its been ages that i had this payasam..you have tempted me so much 🙂 looks perfect
Bhavani Anand
Hi Raji, Wish you a great new year ahead! 🙂
The website design is cool!
Cheers - Bhavani
Shylaja Praveen
Happy new year Raji. Nice layout.
Laavanya
Happy New Year Raks!
divya
looks so tempting dear...
Wishing you and your family a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year:)
Home Cooked Oriya Food
awesome....
happy new year to you too!
Nivedhanams Sowmya
delicious and so authentic Raji!!! love your logo and the new header!!!!
Sowmya
Ongoing Event - SYF&HWS - Ginger
WeR SAHM
yummy traditional payasam .... loved your new header and purple color logo.... very neat....
Sanoli Ghosh
Very inviting and you start this year with yummy payasam. Happy new year to you.
today's recipe:
http://sanolisrecipies.blogspot.in/2012/12/uzhunnu-vada-methu-vada-urad-dal-savory.html
Vidhya Manohar
Very Yummy looking payasam!
Vidhya Manohar
hai all please do visit my blog and leave your comments ...to keep my blog rolling i need your encouragement and support....
http://vidhyaskitchen.blogspot.sg/
M D
Gosh! I've just had my dinner and am craving for some delicious semiya payasam now! Beautiful clicks.
Shama Nagarajan
delicious and tempting...Ongoing event : Fast food - poha and Know your dairy- Milk events in my blog
Jay
absolutely awesome...wish you a fantastic 2013..:)
Tasty Appetite
Priya
Love this payasam very much,inviting.
Happy new year wishes to you and your family.
Janani
happy new year raks love the new look.
Sangeetha
Wow...the new header looks great, this is my fav payasam...looks delicious!!!
Wishing U a very happy & prosperous 2013!!
Sudha Sabarish
Web design is good.Payasam looks yummy.Happy New Year.
Archana
Wow. God I had to type wow twice. Looks like I am eating alphabets too now.
Sharmilee! :)
Anytime fav payasam...Nice layout and colors too ! 🙂
Jeyashrisuresh
Super tempting payasam and beautiful layout of the blog. Happy New year to u all
fabie
thanks for all your recipies and especially this one. The only time I can eat payasam is when my husband buy a ready mix packet. I'm a French woman married to an Indian coming from Pondicherry. He always refers to special dishes but he never makes them because either he didn't watch his mother do them, or his mother just bought them ready made.
your blog is going to be very useful to me.
Thanks again
Thanks again
fabie
thanks for all your recipies and especially this one. The only time I can eat payasam is when my husband buy a ready mix packet. I'm a French woman married to an Indian coming from Pondicherry. He always refers to special dishes but he never makes them because either he didn't watch his mother do them, or his mother just bought them ready made.
your blog is going to be very useful to me.
Thanks again
Thanks again
ushi
hi Raks yummy Payasam. Thanks for the Recipe. I have a Question. Do we need to follow 1:4 (Semiya:Milk) ratio if we boil Semiya in Milk? after boiling, Do we need to add more milk at end? Please Clarfy. Thanks
Regards,
Usha
Aswathy Dhanesh
kanditt kazhkan thonnanu...
Aswathy Dhanesh
can you send me the recipie to ma mail?
RAKS KITCHEN
What's ur mail ID? You can also subscribe all the recipes to your mailbox by clicking on the mail icon on the top right and enter ur mail ID.
Revathi
Truly delicious pasayam and i like all ur recipes. When u r free please have a look into my blog.thanks
Viju Kumar
I'm a newbie at cooking n am awed by making all the rasam, sambhar n stuff. While Amma helped with all tha stuff initially, with patience n practice I am now able to handle the evryday cooking. However, my husband's request for palak paneer sent me scuttling towards goggle n thats when i stumbled upon ur blog. Well suffice it say that ur's is now a bookmarked page on my laptop.
Well today is my hubby birthday so I decided a very traditional sweet for the ocassion, n have made the semiya payasam. Well in my husband's words it is perfect, the texture n the sweetness too. So thank you very much.
Well i a qus i.e why the salt in end n a request is plz plz plz put up a recipe for peas mushroom I kinda dint get the other recipe right bt truly i like ur way of cooking so much so plz.
P.S. The palak paneer was a hit so much so that my mum who has hardly (once) made paneer recipes now wants to try it she was impressed. Thank You
Nuri Pucca
i tried it, its so nice taste, i love it , especially the one who made it so lovely person, one more (love it, love The chef) 😀
Nuri Pucca
i tried it, its so nice taste ,,, i love it , especially the one who made it so lovely person , 😀
Priyanka S
Hi Raks,
Can you tell me what quantity of condensed milk is to be used instead of sugar ?
Raks anand
1/2 cup might be enough, but taste and adjust accordingly
Priyanka S
Hi Raks,
Can you tell me what quantity of condensed milk is to be used instead of sugar ?
shells
Hi,
I tried this out today and it came out perfect. Thanks!!
karthika krishnan
Hi,
Good food and awesome clicks. I jus wanted to know what vessel it is. It looks like glass. But it doesn't conduct heat know??????? Enlighten me pls.
Preethi G
Hi, how come half cup milk enough? Have u mentioned wrong in ur ingredients list??
Raks anand
I have cooked the semiya in water and adding milk over that, so 1/2 cup is fine. If you want you can cook the whole thing in milk and make it more rich.