Payasam

If someone asks me which is the quickest dish that one could make, the prompt reply would be payasam. I do pooja once a week on Thursdays and make sure that both me and the almighty get to eat something sweet. Payasam is the one that comes to my rescue as i would have to rush to office after finishing up pooja. My son and husband aren't complaining since i share it with them too. If i am really really busy, this is what they get to eat for breakfast. Thank god they don't have any aversion to nuts, ghee or milk ;-)..else am in a fix.

Most of the smaller kind of festivals get to see only Payasam. Okay, festivals except for Sankranti, vinayaka chavithi, Varalakshmi vratam, Deepavali and After i got married to C, Christmas are considered small.. at least in my family.

Ingredients :

Vermicelli - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Milk - 3 cups
Ghee - 3 spoons
Cashew nuts - 10 nos. (Roasted in ghee)
Raisins - 10 nos. (Roasted in ghee)
Cardamom - 2 nos.

Method :

Roast the vermicelli in a spoon of ghee. Nowadays you get toasted vermicelli in the store, if you have this, then you could avoid roasting. Else, roast till the vermicelli turns golden brown. Meanwhile, in an other vessels, bring milk to boil. Once the milk comes to boil, add the roasted vermicelli and the roasted nuts and raisins. Let the vermicelli get cooked for 5 mins. Overcooking will result in gooey mass rather than payasam ;-) ... At this stage add powdered cardamom and turn off the heat. Add sugar at the end. Note that some times due to the chemicals added to sugar to remove the impurities, the milk could curdle. Hence, add it at the end. Serve Hot/Cold.