Vermicelli Payasam
- 1 teaspoon Ghee or unsalted butter, recipe follows, plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup angel hair pasta, broken into 3/4-inch pieces
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup golden raisins (sultanas) or dark raisins
- 1/2 cup broken raw cashew nuts
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter
- In a large frying pan, heat 1 teaspoon ghee and pasta over medium heat until all pieces have lightly brown and give off a toasted aroma.
- Set aside.
- In a 3 quart heavy saucepan, heat milk and water on medium high.
- As soon as the mixture boils, reduce heat to medium and add fried pasta.
- Continue to simmer for 6 minutes, or until pasta is well cooked.
- Add sugar and simmer 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
- When the mixture is done, it will have a creamy consistency.
- While the milk simmers, in the frying pan used for the pasta, fry the raisins and cashews in 2 teaspoons of ghee until lightly browned.
- Add the fried raisins and nuts and the cardamom to the milk, stir, and remove from the heat.
- Cover and chill for a few hours or more.
- Serve warm, reheating if necessary.
- In a heavy skillet, over medium to medium low heat, heat the butter until it is completely melted.
- Watch as the butter boils, first with large bubbles and white milk solids floating on the surface, then with only a fine white foam filling the entire surface.
- Stir occasionally.
- Soon, small patches of golden brown will appear on the surface, and the overall color of the butter will change from yellow to golden.
- Push aside the foam periodically to check the color of the sediment.
- When the sediment turns light brown, remove from the heat.
- (see note)
- Decant into a jar with a tight lid.
- Warm, if desired, for serving over rice.
- Note: If you heat until the sediment turns dark brown, the ghee will lose it's flavor and taste like vegetable oil.
- Yield: 1 cup
butter, angel hair pasta, milk, water, sugar, golden raisins, nuts, ground cardamom, butter
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/vermicelli-payasam-recipe.html (may not work)