sago payasam
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3
 
Ingredients
  • Milk – 3 ½ cups
  • Sago or javvarisi – ½ cup
  • Vermicelli or semiya – ¼ cup
  • Refined sugar – ½ cup
  • Ghee – 2 tbsp
  • Cashews – 8 to 10 nos
  • Raisins – 6 nos
  • Saffron – 2 to 3 strands.
  • Rose water or essence – 3 drops
Instructions
  1. Soak sago in water for 20 to 30 mins.
  2. Heat a small pan with ghee and roast cashews and raisins until the cashews turn golden brown. Keep it aside. In the same pan roast vermicelli for a minute or so and keep it aside.
  3. Soak saffron threads in a cup with 1 tbsp of warm milk.
  4. Boil two cups of water and add sago. Boil until the sagos turn translucent for about 15 to 20 minutes. Add vermicelli to the boiling water as well and cook for another couple of minutes until they are soft. Drain them.
  5. Heat a sauce pan and boil the milk. When the milk has boiled, simmer and reduce it to half the quantity.
  6. When the milk has reduced to half, add the cooked and drained sago and vermicelli. Mix well and allow them to set for about 5 minutes - Simmer the burner while adding sago and vermicelli.
  7. Add sugar and mix well. Finally add the saffron and fried cashews to the payasam. Switch off the flame and add few drops of rose essence. Refrigerate the payasam and serve the delicious cold Sago-Vermicilli payasam. 
Notes
1.I have read online that cooking sago and vermicelli directly to the boiling milk will curdle the milk. So I boiled them and strained the water before adding them to the milk.
2.Simmer the milk and add the cooked sago and vermicilli. Otherwise the milk will curdle as well.
3.Adding saffron and rose essence is completely optional. I added them just for the flavor.
Recipe by MyEdibleCravings at http://myediblecravings.com/sago-payasam/