Here is a traditional sweet recipe that has probably been around for decades but still very popular today. Vermicelli kheer is a common dessert in most parts of south east Asia. This delicious and easy dessert is cooked in milk and sweetened with sugar. Everyone has their own take on making this dessert by adding extra ingredients like dried fruits and nuts. I like to keep mine simple like the traditional shemai recipe which is made in Bangladesh. I flavor my shemai recipe by adding ground cinnamon and that really gives it a whole new taste which is very appetizing. A lovely warm cinnamon flavor and aroma to the overall dessert.

Vermicelli the main ingredient is a long type of pasta. It can also be described as a very thin type of noodle. Vermicelli noodles are cooked in a whole range of ways all over the world and like I mentioned in South East Asia this ingredient is most commonly used in sweet dishes/kheer. In Bangladesh the sweet dish is called shemai which I will be making. As well as shemai being a popular dessert it is also very commonly eaten with paratha’s for breakfast in Bengali homes. I personally love to eat shemai with paratha it really is a perfect combination. Tasty, smooth and milky shemai with toasty paratha’s, it’s a classic.

More about the ingredients

This recipe requires very little ingredients and most of them will probably be in your kitchen accept for the vermicelli noodles. These ingredients include butter, ground cinnamon, milk and sugar. Using a good quality butter will really bring out the flavors and give the shemai that great taste. I like to use Anchor butter when I’m in the UK and here in the States when I’m cooking or baking with butter then Kerrygold butter is my go-to butter for all my recipes.

Vermicelli noodles are available in Indian groceries and now you can also find them available in most supermarkets too. They are sold in clear packets and one pack usually goes a very long way. This recipe yields 4-6 servings so I will be using 60 grams. Before you open the vermicelli packet up it will be a good idea to break the vermicelli noodles up while they are still in the packet, just by crushing the packet up. This just makes it so much more easier and avoids the noodles from going everywhere as they are so thin and tend to fly off when you break them outside of the packet.

Cooking procedure

Melt up some of the butter in a medium sized saucepan and add in the vermicelli noodles. This is probably the most important part to this recipe, roasting the vermicelli noodles. It’s key to roast the vermicelli until you see a slight change in color and a smell fragrant aroma. Remember not to burn the vermicelli, you just want to get some color and roasting for 2-3 minutes on a medium flame should help to achieve this. Also stirring all the time so there will be a even distribution of color. Roasting the vermicelli in butter will add to the overall flavor.

Once roasted you can add in the ground cinnamon, 1/4 of a teaspoon is required and then mixed in well with the vermicelli on a medium low flame.

Now it is time to add in the milk, use whole milk to get a better taste. Turn the flame all the way to low to avoid everything from bubbling up. Once the milk has been added, stir well incorporating all the ingredients together and let the mixture come to a boil. Then simmer on low flame for 5-8 minutes.

Add in the sugar and stir well, again simmer on low flame for an additional 3-4 minutes. Take the saucepan off the heat.

The shemai is cooked. Serve and enjoy warm as a dessert or with paratha for breakfast. You can also have this dessert cold.

Any leftovers can be stored in a airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Easy Shemai, Seviyan, Vermicelli Kheer Recipe

Recipe by Shema Course: DessertCuisine: BangladeshiDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4-6

servings

Prep time

2

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Easy Shemai, Vermicelli Kheer Recipe

Ingredients

• 20 grams butter
  

• 60 grams broken up vermicelli noodles

• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  

• 2 and a 1/2 cups of whole milk

• 90 grams of sugar

Directions

• Melt up the butter in a medium sized saucepan and add in the vermicelli noodles(break the vermicelli noodles up while they are still in the packet
• Roast the vermicelli noodles on a medium flame for 2-3 minutes until you see a slight change in color and smell a fragrant aroma
• Add in the ground cinnamon, 1/4 of a teaspoon, mix in well with the vermicelli on a medium low flame
• Turn the flame all the way to low and add in the cold milk, stir well incorporating all the ingredients together, then turn the flame to medium high and let the mixture come to a boil
• Then simmer on low flame for 5-8 minutes
• Add in the sugar and stir well, again simmer on low flame for an additional 3-4 minutes
• Serve and enjoy warm as a kheer/pudding or with paratha’s for breakfast. You can also have this dessert cold.

Notes

• Any leftovers can be stored in a airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.