Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Kheer (Semiya) for Janmashtami

Pic courtesy: Google search

Childhood stories tell us that Lord Krishna was partial towards milk, so befitting this occasion, I made kheer. But are there any guidelines for making ‘prasad’? Oh! Everyone knows what NOT to use, but who actually decided that He likes x,y,z dish? God embraces everything and every act of devotion be it ever so humble. So kheer it is!
Take a moment to consider this, does one need a reason to make Kheer? Any occasion, festival day, birthday.. or or the matter guests for dinner ! Kheer can me made from vermicelli, farina, sago, rice, carrots... if there are any more variations, I am not aware of them.

Janmashtami, in childhood meant NO school and Dahi Handi !!! We (my gang of friends) would run thru our colony where we stayed to check which building had the ‘handi’ at the highest level/ floor and who would break it. We would also sing ‘ mach gaya shor saari nagari re, aya Biraj ka banka, sambhal teri gagri re’ Gazing in wonder at the human pyramid trying to reach the ‘handi’ on the fourth floor level, we would go ‘oooohaaaahhhhhh’ and laughing uproariously when they fell and yell, ‘areyyyyy Govinda padla rey!!!!
I have also had my share of breaking a ‘handi’ when I was in a day care and the lady in charge had a small ‘handi’ set up for us and waaaaaaaaaaaaay back then, I was wiry and somewhat of a monkey so I had the chance to sprint up everyone’s backs and try to break the handi!!! ~sigh~ small and wiry!!! That’s the way I wanted to be all my life!!! But we are digress from the topic.. this ~ahem~ can be taken up at a later date…
Growing up, I never tasted kheer.. reason... a marked dislike for the 'malai' in the kheer! It is only recently that I have started making and eating it, of course, without the 'malai' dangling in every spoonful!

Here's how I make it:


~6 tbsp Semiya /vermicelli (I have used the Bambino variety , which is a bit thick)

3 Cups Milk

1/2 tsp Ghee

6 tbsp Sugar ( +/- on how sweet you like it, the sugar I have is not as sweet so I have used 6 tbsp, otherwise 5 tbsp is good enough)

1 cardamom powdered

Pinch saffron

6-7 Cashews

4-5 Almonds sliced thin/ slivered

7-8 Raisins


Heat the ghee in a wok. On medium heat , frythe semiya, nuts and raisins till they turn a nice light golden brown. Add in the milk and saffron. Bring this to a boil (this is where I keep a watch like a hawk for the malai and remove it!). Cook till the semiya is soft and the milk thickens a little. Once cooled, the semiya will further thicken it, so over cooking/ boiling will result in a thick mass that needs extra milk to make it look like kheer (and then tasting to check if sugar is ok... )
Once almost cooled, add sugar and cardamom powder.Serve!
Now isn't that the easiest thing!!!??!!
Sending this off to The Yum Blog as my entry for the Janmashtami event.

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34 comments:

Suganya said...

Was that fun or what..I have a feeling that we sigh at most of the things that we thought were insignificant. Even the naps i took during afternoon college hours make me sigh!!!!

Anonymous said...

Vermicelli kheer is my go to desert make the all the time for quick dessert. I am glad you like milk kheer now. don't they taste awesome.
Manasi about the query you can add basmathi rice, i have used it couple times before, it will be good too. Will be waiting to see you dosa recipe.

Swapna said...

Masta distey kheer.I can imagine a small and wiry Manasi climbing the mini-handi:)

Eduardo Waghorn said...

Greetings from Chile.
Your blog looks very "delicious":)

Manasi said...

Hi Suganya, I sigh alright!!

Hi Madhu, i'm glad I like kheer now! But I'm still a bit wary when I am at someone else's place for lunch/dinner! Thanx for the prompt response, i will try the dosa!

Hi Swapna, Aga naav ka badal las? I wish i was wiry now! Ata asa vichar ala tari jagbud hote!!! LOL!!!

Shammi said...

I'm exactly like you - the malai in milk, kheer, whatever, makes me gag! :) I remove all traces of it when I make kheer.

Tee said...

kheer karayala kahi pan kaaran chalta na ;)Kheer masta distiye...vaati uchlun pyavishi vaatat aahe :).
I love shevayachi kheer, especially the one with Ganesh Shevai, if you know that brand.
I would have loved to be a part of your little dahi handi group, of course , when I was little and people could bear my weight :))

Rajitha said...

mansi... small and wiry.. yep! that is my dream too girl he he
nice story and yummy kheer

Sreelu said...

Manasi, Kheer that would make kanhai drool.Being from south I never experienced breaking of handi. well watched it in tons of movies and seems like such a fun.
Happy Janmastami

Prajusha said...

Manasi,
love semiya payasam.
this looks yummy yummy

Latha Narasimhan said...

Nice story and kheer! I think all girls say no to Kheer in their teens! and after 30 feel like having!

Raaga said...

Lovely kheer... you forgot Badam :-) in the varieties list. Aren't you still wiry??? Look at me and you'll change your opinion of yourself.

Sia said...

LOL...ur post took me down the memory lane where i too was a cheeky monkey of our class ;) i miss all that fun these festivals bring. wonderful post mansi..

FH said...

Manasi,it is lovely to read all the Mumbai style Janmashtami.In K, we don;t have anything like that,just cooking and eating!:))
Kheer is yum,enjoy.

Richa said...

mach gaya shor...that sure gets everyone going :)
kheer looks delicious, like all kinds of kheer.....

Anonymous said...

Hi manasi,
Kheer looks delicious. Kheer and pooran are the two necessary things for festival lunch and mahanaivedyam.
Kulkarni

Kumudha said...

I love kheer. I recently made kheer with soy milk, and it was delicious.

I also saw the fried rice and it is looks so yummy!

TheCooker said...

You actually climbed over the other kid's backs to break the handi! Must've been fun.

Suganya said...

Hi manasi....
This is my fav....Looks great.... Hope u had a great janmashtami....

Sharmi said...

wish you belated Janmashtami. thanks for the delicious Kheer!

Anonymous said...

this is my all time fav kheer, since I am craving now, I will go home after work and make it for sure.

Laavanya said...

I used to love this kheer as a kid but now I'm more partial to the paal payasam (made with rice). Yours looks very yummy.

Cynthia said...

I made this a couple of weeks ago for dinner and just watching your makes me yearn for it all over again.

amna said...

looks yummy! i love kheer and payasam!

archana said...

Kheer looks nice. I am like yiu when it comes to malai:)
I avoid having tea/coffee, curds and kheer in others houses just for this reason :D))

Padma said...

hey that song "Mach gaya shor" brought back all those fond memories
I think we are attached to the place where we grew up so much that we start missing even the street, even the tree right there....Nice prasadam for Krishna

Manasi said...

Hi Shammi, Yep, makes me gag too!

Hi Tee, Thanx! Ho na kheer karaycha kahi karan nasla tari karte, agdi doodh sampavaychay, he hi!!

Hi Rajitha, I do wish our dream comes true!!

Hi Sreelu, Dhai Handi is fun, especially the 'all fall down part' ;)

Hi Prajusha, Thank U dear!

Hi Latha, U r soo right there!!;)

Hi Raaga, Nope, not within miles and miles of being wiry! I have seen ur pic, but I dare not reveal my latest snap!

Hi Sia, aha!! so u know how it feels to be a monkey of the class !! those r truly the wonder years!

Hi Richa, Thank u very much!

Hi Anon. (Kulkarni) , Thank u very much for the info. will make pooran for Ganpati!!!

Hi Kumudha, I have never tried soy milk, thanx for the idea!

Hi Cooker, Yep I did!! in those tender years i was all for climbing trees, hills, falling on my soft part!!I was a total tomboy, people called be 'dada' in those days!! Ah! those were the days!!

Hi Sharmi!! Thanx Dear!!

Hi Shankari!! Thanx Dear!!

Hi Laavanya,Yep love pal paayasam too!!

Hi cynthia, Yum! and its so easy to make too!

Hi Nags, Thanx Dear!

Hi Archana, hehehe! i do the same.

Hi Padma, U r so right!! I still dream of the house I was born and brought up in!!!

Finla said...

Hey funny poàst.
Hope you still have a little bit of monkeyness left in you.
I love semiya kheer.( in kerala we say payasam)
I just can tast the spoonfulls just slipping mmm..........

Sig said...

Lol, u were a little monkey weren't you? Kheer looks great, glad u eliminated the malai... I used to hate that too!

ServesYouRight said...

Lovely memories and recipe! Dahi handi days are so fun!

Smita

Bindiya said...

this is one of my favorites,lovely kheer manasi,and love ur fried rice too.

Kajal said...

Delicious Kheer.........Vermicelli Kheer is my fav my dear. Happy weekend.:)

Sia said...

common girl, now its atime u posted ganesh chaturthi recipes ;) its been ages since we celebrated janmashtami;)

SeeC said...

Enjoyed your story. Vermicelli kheer is our all time fav.
Looks delicious.

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