Things have been quiet over here, but I have a good reason for that – I went to Memphis for the SAVEUR Blog Awards and I won!!! (Best New Voice/Readers Choice). The last time I was so excited to win something was with 9 years, when I won a huge plushie wild boar at the local Beer Festival. Priorities change with age.
Winning this renowned award meant a lot to me, as blogging still feels new and until recently I was often too shy to tell people about it. Many thanks to everybody here who voted for me, it did make a difference and I so very much appreciate your support!!!
Going to Memphis was not only quite a thing because of the blog awards, but also because it was the first time for me in 3 years doing something on my own and being without my little son. Although I travelled half the world on my own before, it suddenly felt a bit difficult to not have the little weirdo around. Strange world. I often think becoming a mother shot me on some other planet and I’m still trying to figure out the different view from there..
However, before I get sentimental, lets go to the recipe. I made some milk noodles or semai payesh/vermicelli kheer. There are many names for this dish in India, but basically you cook tiny, roasted noodles in milk till they turn into a very comforting, sweet milky treat. It’s similar to rice pudding, but doesn’t take as long to prepare. If you wanna treat someone or yourself, but are a bit hurried, that’s the dish to have up your sleeve.
Traditionally it’s spiced with cardamon, but I added a bit of lemon peel and honey as this was the mood of the moment. Like this it feels lighter and fresher, like sunshine on a crisp winter morning. But please make it with cardamon if you feel so.
It also works nicely with almond milk, but you should use a thick homemade one, the store bought ones are normally to watery. You should get the right noodles in any Asian shop.
Milk Noodles with Lemon and Honey
For 3 - 4 people.
Ingredients
- 60 gram broken vermicelli
- 600 ml milk
- a handful of raisins
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 - 4 tablespoons mild honey (per taste)
- A few drops orange blossom water (optional)
- A few crushed pistachios, for decoration (optional)
Instructions
Roast the vermicelli in a thick bottomed pan, stirring constantly, over medium high heat. They should turn light brown and smell pleasantly. Once the vermicelli are nicely roasted, add the milk, raisins and lemon zest and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Reduce the heat slightly and let it simmer for a few minutes while stirring from time to time. Once it hast the consistency of a thick soup it’s done (it continues to thicken upon cooling, so you should stop a bit before it has the desired thickness). Add honey and orange blossom water (if using) as per your taste. Fill in little bowls and sprinkle with a few crushed pistachio seeds. You can eat it hot, warm or cold from the fridge, it’s all nice.
Notes
You can buy Indian vermicelli (seviyan) noodles probably in any Asian shop. They are very thin wheat based noodles, broken into 2 - 3 cm pieces. Sometimes they come pre-roasted already.
But you can use any fine noodle from any ordinary supermarket. You might have to break them into small pieces though.
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