Today is Diwali! Happy Diwali to all that celebrate! It’s a time for celebration, laughter and good food. One thing that makes Indian festivals unique is the abundance of sweets and treats. My favorite has always been semiya payasam. A creamy pudding of vermicelli, seasoned with saffron and cardamom and topped with cashews and raisins. It is so good. But typically, it is made with milk or condensed milk and jaggery. In this version, I opted for unsweetened almond milk as the base and sweetened it with coconut sugar, making it a relatively guilt-free treat!
Substitutions
Non-Dairy Milk
For this recipe, I chose unsweetened almond milk. Feel free to substitute for any non-dairy milk of your choice. Diluted cashew milk would also work very well.
Sugars
To sweeten, I chose coconut-palm sugar. It is a low-glycemic sugar that contains more nutrients than regular sugar. Feel free to sub a sugar of your choice. Other great options would include maple syrup or cane sugar.
Vermicelli
The vermicelli typically used in this dish is known as seviyan, sevai or semiya in different parts of India. It is made from hard-wheat semolina. You can find this in any Indian grocery store. If you are unable to find this, angel hair pasta, rice or brown rice vermicelli would also work. Since I was already making this dish more healthful by choosing almond milk and coconut sugar, I opted for the regular hard wheat semolina vermicelli.
Almond Milk Semiya Payasam (Vegan, Refined Sugar-Free)
Ingredients
- 4 cups unsweetened almond milk (3 cups for thicker payasam)
- 3/4 cup hard wheat vermicelli or vermicelli of choice
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 3-4 strands saffron
- 4-5 cardamom pods
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar or sugar of choice
- 3-4 tbsp raw cashews
- 3 tbsp raisins
- 2-3 tbsp almond flour (optional)
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a pot, heat 2 tbsp coconut oil
- Add cashews and raisins and saute on medium-high until the cashews become golden-brown, careful not to burn!
- Remove cashews and raisins from the pot and set aside.
- In the same pot, add the vermicelli and saute for 2-3 minutes until vermicelli becomes slightly toasted with a golden color.
- Add the almond milk to the pot and cardamom pods,broken open, cardamom powder and saffron strands. Return flame to high.
- Add sugar and a pinch of salt and bring the milk to a boil. Reduce to medium and simmer until vermicelli is fully cooked, around 5-7 minutes.
- The vermicelli will expand as it cooks, but if you would like to make your payasam a bit thicker, add 2-3 tbsp of almond flour or almond meal.
- Remove from flame and top with the browned cashews and raisins.
- Adjust sugar to taste.
Notes
- For a runnier payasam: add more almond milk
- For a thicker payasam: reduce almond milk and add almond meal
