Every Thursday I make this Instant semiya payasam in a pressure cooker easily for my Guru Pooja naivedyam / prasad. It takes just 15 minutes to prepare it. I started making vermicelli kheer in pressure cooker after hearing from my friend Shalini. Once she shared her vermicelli payasam recipe in instant pot. I thought of making the same in our Indian pressure cooker and it was a huge success in my home. But there are few points to be remembered while making this payasam in cooker to avoid curdling. I have shared all of them in this recipe.
I have shared a Kerala style semiya payasam recipe in pressure cooker but this version is much more easy and less time consuming too. For variations, you can add condensed milk / Milkmaid instead of sugar. It tastes even more rich. Ok friends, lets check out this easy semiya payasam recipe in cooker with step by step pictures and video.
Pre Roasted semiya / Roasted Vermicelli - 1/2 cup (I used MTR roasted vermicelli)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Raw, unboiled milk - 2 cups
Water - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cashew nuts, dry grapes – few
Salt – a pinch (optional)
HOW TO MAKE SEMIYA PAYASAM IN PRESSURE COOKER
Wash and clean the pressure cooker, lid and gasket properly. Let it dry.
In the pressure cooker, take the roasted vermicelli, sugar, milk, water and cardamom powder.
Mix well. Pressure cook under low flame for two whistles.
Remove the lid after the steam is released naturally.
Heat ghee in a kadai and roast the cashews till golden in color. Add the raisins and roast till its puffy.
Add to the semiya payasam. Mix well and enjoy !
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Take a medium or big sized pressure cooker. Wash it well. Wash the lid, gasket properly and wipe it dry. This is the first step that helps to avoid curdling of payasam.
In that pressure cooker, take roasted vermicelli, sugar, unboiled milk, a pinch of salt, water and cardamom powder .
( TIP: Addition of both water and milk helps to prevent curdling of payasam). If you have unroasted vermicelli, roast it in a tsp of ghee till golden in color. Then add water, milk, sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well.
If you are using small sized cooker, keep in small sized burner. I used my 2 liters cooker and used my medium sized burner.
Add a small spoon or a plate in the bottom of cooker. It helps to reduce the splashing of milk while the cooker whistles. This step is optional though.
Close the lid and keep the cooker in high flame till steam comes out. lower the flame completely and then put the weight valve. Cook for two whistles in very low flame and switch off the flame. It takes nearly 8 to 10 minutes to whistle.
Let the pressure release naturally. Now open the cooker lid and mix well.
Heat ghee in a kadai and roast the cashews. When it starts to turn golden in color, add the raisins and roast till its puffy. Switch off the flame and add this to the semiya payasam.
Mix well and serve hot or cold by refrigerating it for an hour. Semiya payasam thickens after it cools down completely. To make it drinkable, add some boiled milk before serving, adjust sweetness by adding more sugar, mix well and serve it. Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of sugar as per your taste.
For variations, you can use condensed milk instead of sugar.
You can add some saffron threads too.
Do not add milk alone. Add some water to prevent curdling.
Do not add ghee along with milk. While cooking, fat separates from the milk and gives a curdled look to the payasam.
If you want to make payasam without pressure cooker, first cook the vermicelli in water. Then add milk, sugar, cardamom powder. Boil and garnish with roasted nuts.
Try this easy, instant semiya payasam in pressure cooker and enjoy !
My aachi and mom makes semiya javvarisi payasam / sago vermicelli kheer adding nylon javvarisi very often. It can be prepared instantly without soaking and it cooks quickly too. She makes this yummy Indian dessert recipe for all the celebrations, occasions, festivals at home and specially for guests. I have never seen them making semiya payasam without javvarisi. My mom says addition of sago in semiya payasam helps to give more yield and also gives an appealing look to see the transparent tapioca pearls swimming with vermicelli in milk. You would have seen this kind of watery payasam in marraige feast and hotels. They serve in a small cup in drinkable consistency. In my house, both aachi and amma use nylon javvarisi (crystal, small sago) which is commonly found in Tamilnadu. But I have never tried kheer in this combination as I don’t get nylon javvarisi here. I can get white, big, pepper sized sago which we call as maavu javvarisi in Tamil. I thought javvarisi semiya payasam can be prepared only with small sized javvarisi.
Recently when I was talking to my mom and MIL, they told me to try semiya javvarisi payasam using this white sago itself. They told me the method and measurements clearly along with some tips. So I prepared it yesterday for my Thursday Guru pooja. Usually I make white, big sago payasam by soaking it at least for 4 to 8 hours or overnight. But yesterday I prepared this payasam by soaking the sago in hot water for just 15 minutes. It came out so well. I was so happy with the end result. Soon I will try to share this payasam recipe in a pressure cooker easily. For variations, you can use condensed milk / milkmaid instead of sugar.
Friends, now you too can make this yummy semiya javvarisi payasam irrespective of the sago variety by following this recipe with step by step pictures. I have also taken a video but iam yet to edit it. I will try to add the video soon.
Semiya javvarisi payasam
Semiya javvarisi payasam / sago vermicelli kheer in Tamilnadu style.
Water – 2 to 2.5 cups ( to cook javvarisi and semiya)
Boiled Milk at room temperature – 2 cups
Sugar – 3/4 cup
Cardamom -3 (crushed)
Cashew nuts - 5 (whole)
Dry grapes - 10
Ghee - 1 tbsp
HOW TO MAKE SEMIYA JAVVARISI PAYASAM
Wash and soak javvarisi in hot water for 15 minutes.
In the mean time, heat 1 tbsp ghee in a kadai.
Roast cashew nuts and dry grapes till golden. Remove in a plate.
Roast semiya for 2 minutes. Remove in a plate.
Roll Boil 2 cups of water in a vessel. Add the soaked javvarisi.
Cook in medium flame for 10 to 15 minutes till its semi transparent.
Add the roasted semiya and cook for another 10 minutes.
Both semiya and javvarisi will be well cooked, soft and transparent.
Add sugar, cardamom powder, roasted nuts. Mix well and boil till sugar melts.
Switch off the flame once payasam becomes thick.
Add boiled milk at room temperature to the hot payasam. Add half the quantity of milk for thick payasam.
Mix well and serve!
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Take a bowl and add the sago (I used white ones). Add hot water till 1 inch above the sago. Soak it for 15 minutes.
In the mean time, heat 1 tbsp ghee in a kadai. Roast cashews till light golden in color. Add the dry grapes and roast till bulgy. Remove cashews and dry grapes in a plate. Set aside.
Add semiya / vermicelli to the remaining ghee. Roast for 2 minutes. If you use unroasted semiya, roast till it turns light golden in color. It takes 5 to 7 minutes in low flame. I used roasted semiya. So I did it for 2 minutes.
Take 2 cups of water in a pan. Let it roll boil. Add the soaked sago pearls. Mix well. Let it cook in low to medium flame for 10 minutes. You can cover and cook it. Stay nearby and keep an eye on it. Stir it twice in the middle to avoid sticking to the bottom of pan. Cook till it becomes semi transparent. You should see less white parts in sago.
Once the sago is 3/4th cooked, add 1/2 cup more water and add the roasted vermicelli. Cover and cook till its done. It takes another 10 minutes in low to medium flame.
After the semiya and javvarisi are well cooked, add sugar and crushed cardamom. Mix and boil till sugar melts. Payasam becomes thick. Now switch off the flame.
Add boiled milk at room temperature to the hot payasam. Add milk according to the consistency you like. Do not boil the payasam after adding milk. It may give a curdled look. For thick, spoonable payasam add 1 cup milk. For thin, drinkable payasam, add 2 cups milk. Lastly add the roasted nuts. Mix well and set aside.
This payasam will remain in the same consistency for few hours. It won't become thick as we are adding milk at room temperature. It will thicken if you add hot milk or less milk. I made in a drinkable consistency like the ones served in marriages and hotels. You can enjoy drinking hot or refrigerate and serve cold as per your wish. Enjoy !
Note
For less sweetness, add 1/2 cup sugar.
Do not add more javvarisi than the mentioned quantity because adding more sago gives a porridge look to the payasam I feel.
While cooking javvarisi, stay nearby and keep checking it else javvarisi dissolves in water.
If you are using nylon variety sago, you have to dry roast it till puffy and white. Then cook it along with semiya because it takes lesser time to cook than the white, big sago.
Do not roll boil the payasam after adding milk. If you want to heat it, do in very low flame.
For variations, you can add a tbsp of badam milk powder at the end.
Try this easy, yummy semiya javvarisi payasam and enjoy !
In this post, I have shared the list of different types of kozhukattai recipes / kozhukattai varieties that can be made for Ganesh chaturthi / Vinayagar chaturthi and other festivals like Varalakshmi vratham, during Tamil month Aadi, Karthigai deepam and other occasions at home. For Ganesh chaturthi, people make varieties of kolukattai / mothagam / modak across South India and North India as Lord Ganesh loves modak and he is fondly called as Modakpriya /Mothagapriyan.
In Tamil nadu, it is called as kozhukattai. we make mothagam @ kolukattai as the major naivedyam recipe for Vinayagar chaturthi. Other than kozhukattai we make sweet appam, sundal, payasam and ladoo too. Kozhukattai varieties like sweet poornam kozhukattai, uppu kozhukattai / ulundu kolukattai and ellu kozhukattai is offered for Ganesh chaturthi.
Some people also make paal kolukattai and thengai poorana kozhukattai instead of kadalai paruppu pooranam kozhukattai. Apart from the traditional kozhukattai recipes, beginners can easily try ammini kozhukattai in sweet and spicy versions.
In North India, Ukadiche modak and fried modak are very popular. Apart from this Khoya modak, dry fruits and nuts, khajoor modak can also be prepared. In this post, I have shared all the traditional kolukattai recipes and few beginner friendly kozhukattai recipes with no cook stuffing. I have also shared some links on different methods of making kozhukattai / modak dough along with some useful video links.
Hope you find this collection helpful for making kozhukattai varieties for this Ganesh chaturthi.I will try to add more kozhukattai varieties like peanut kozhukattai, vegetable kozhukattai, ilai kolukattai in future and update this list. Ok, lets move on to the list of kozhukattai recipes.
Check out my full Ganesh chaturthi recipes collection HERE !
Here is a detailed video of making 3 different types of Poorana kozhukattai
Hope you find this list helpful to choose and prepare kozhukattai for this Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Do try and have a great celebration. Share your feedback too !
When I was planning to share some kozhukattai varieties for Ganesh chaturthi, I came across this sugar free, dry fruits kozhukattai recipe using dates and nuts. The stuffing/ pooranam for this kozhukattai is prepared without jaggery and sugar. So this kolukattai recipe would be ideal for people who look for healthy options. Dry fruits pooranam is easy to make too. Just roast and grind, stuffing would be ready in minutes.
In North India, people make dry fruits and nuts modak by shaping it directly using a modak mould instead of stuffing in the kozhukattai dough. Its a no cook version. They call it as Khajoor modak. I made one and shared the picture below. So, you can make this kozhukattai without cooking or by stuffing in the kozhukattai maavu as shown in the description with pictures. Choice is yours.
Ok, lets see how to make easy, healthy dry fruits and nuts kozhukattai for this Vinayagar chaturthi festival with step by step pictures.
Below is the picture of dry fruits and nuts modak without stuffing in rice flour dough. You can eat this as such without steaming / cooking.
Dry fruits kozhukattai / Dates and nuts kozhukattai
Dry fruits kozhukattai without jaggery and sugar for Ganesh chaturthi festival
Store bought Kozhukattai flour or idiyappam flour - 1 cup
Water - as needed
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Gingely oil - 1/2 tsp
HOW TO MAKE DRY FRUITS KOZHUKATTAI
Heat 1 tsp ghee in a kadai. Roast the nuts till golden. Grind coarsely.
Collect in a plate. In the same kadai, roast the dates and cool down.
Grind to a smooth paste without adding water. Add the paste to the ground nuts.
Mix well to make the dry fruits pooranam. Make small balls and set aside.
To make kozhukattai dough, roll boil 2 cups of water adding few drops of gingely oil.
Take the store bought idiyappam / kozhukattai flour in a wide bowl. Add salt and mix well.
Add the water gradually. Mix with a ladle. Cover and rest for 5 minutes to become warm.
Knead it well using greased hands. Make a smooth dough.
Take a ball shaped dough. Shape it using a modak mould.
Keep one dry fruits ball in the center of mould and cover the kozhukattai with the dough.
Remove the kozhukattai gently and steam in a greased idli plate.
Kozhukattai becomes shiny after cooking. Switch off the flame.
Rest for 10 minutes. Remove the modak and serve hot !
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Heat 1 tsp ghee in a kadai. Roast the nuts in medium flame till slight golden in color. Cool down and grind to a coarse powder. Remove in a plate.
In the same kadai, roast the dates. Cool down and grind to a paste without adding water.
Mix the dates paste with powdered nuts. Dry fruits stuffing / pooranam is ready. Make big gooseberry sized balls for stuffing the dough and set aside.
This modak can be prepared in two ways. One is a no cook version. To make this, take a portion of stuffing and press it in the modak mould to shape it. Remove gently and keep in a plate. Follow the same for the remaining stuffing. You don’t have to steam this modak. You can serve and eat as such.
For the second version, make kozhukattai dough with store bought kozhukattai or idiyappam flour. To prepare kozhukattai dough, roll boil 2 cups of water adding 1/2 tsp of gingely oil.
Take the store bought rice flour in a wide bowl. Add little salt and mix well. Add hot water gradually and make a smooth, non-sticky dough. Cover and rest for 5 minutes to become warm. Grease your hands with oil and knead the dough for few minutes.
Cover the dough with a wet cloth to prevent drying. Now take the kozhukattai achu/ modak mould and grease with oil. Take ball shaped dough and press it inside the mould to spread it well. Make a dent in the center and place a dry fruits stuffing ball.
Take a small portion of dough and cover the stuffing. Press it well and open the mould. Remove the kozhukattai gently. Arrange in a greased idli plate.
Make the remaining kozhukattai in the same way and arrange in the plate. Roll boil water in an idli pot. Place the idli plate with kozhukattai and cover with the lid. Steam it for 10 minutes in high flame and switch off the flame.
Do not remove the kozhukattai when hot. It will break. Rest it in the idli plate for 5 minutes and then remove it gently. Offer to God and enjoy !
Note
Sweetness of dates is enough for the stuffing. So I didn’t add jaggery or sugar. You can add it based on your taste.
If you need more yield for the stuffing, add 1/2 cup of grated and roasted coconut to the nuts. In that case, add more dates for adjusting the sweetness.
I have not used cardamom here. You can add if you like.
Try this healthy dry fruits kozhukattai recipe and enjoy !
