Aanapakaya shegala paasham, or Sorakaya semiya payasam is a divine and delicious pudding of bottle gourd chunks and homemade vermicelli. The homemade vermicelli, bottle gourd cooked to perfection in milk and sweetened with sugar and added nuts for crunch. This is also known as LAUKI KHEER in northern part of India. Perfect dessert to make at any festive or small occasions. A simple, easy, comforting and delicious recipe.
And if you ask any Indian about their favorite Indian dessert, every 9 out 10 would definitely say KHEER/PAYASAM, it’s an all-time favourite, kheer is something that every person wants to enjoy on a festival or special occasions. Contrary to the name that may sound boring, Lauki Kheer/Sorakaya payasam/Aanapakaya shegala paasham is an interesting and delicious dessert recipe. Trust me even people who hate bottle gourd will start loving this pudding.
More about Payasam!!
PAASHAM is the term we use in Telangana dialect, original term is the Payasam.
Traditional Indian desserts play a huge part of the festival in India. If you want to make a dessert that is not just empty calories and contains some nutrition as well, this is one of those desserts, Aanapakaya shegala paasham/Lauki kheer could be your pick. And we make this payasam specially during Navratri, offered to Goddess Gowri devi as Naivedyam. As a kid, I used to look out for dessert for everyday during Navratri as Amma used to make an offering to deity daily.
ORIGIN OF PAYASAM??
Payasam is a dessert that is a must on all special occasions. Commonly known as kheer in the northern parts of the country and payasam in the south has many interesting legends and myths associated with the origin of this dessert. So, this dessert is there from the ancient times, evolved and adapted to its current time. It is the star dessert in Indian homes and is made during all occasions.
Vermicelli Payasam is an authentic South Indian recipe. This classic dessert recipe is made using milk, vermicelli and dry fruits and is relished at various special occasions, pujas and festivals. This traditional dessert recipe needs no introduction and you can add your own twist to this recipe as per your palate preference.
Checkout the history of Payasam here.
WHAT ARE SHEGALU OR HOMEMADE VERMICELLI??
In Telangana region, we make homemade vermicelli using Ultra fine all purpose flour, milk and a pinch of salt. Kneading the dough to a smooth pliable dough in a way that, when you stretch to make ultra thin noodles with help of using two fingers it shouldn’t break, that is the reason why we use ultra fine all purpose flour/maida. We make a huge batch of vermicelli during Diwali every year, sundry them for upto 7-10 days and later store them up to an year.
Do Checkout these traditional desserts as well SHEGALA PAYASAM, NUVVULA POLELU, KOBBARI LADDU, THALIKALA PAYASAM
Some authentic Telangana recipes here.
Also checkout this recipe I made using Bottle gourd
LAUKI PALAK PAKORA KADHI,
AANAPAKAYA SHEGALA PAYASAM/ BOTTLE GOURD VERMICELLI PUDDING
Ingredients
- 1 cup Vermicelli
- 2 cups Whole milk / Full fat milk
- 1 cup Bottle gourd peeled and chopped
- 10 Cashews
- 1 pod Cardamom
- 1 cup Sugar
- 4 tbsp Ghee/Clarified butter
Instructions
- Heat the saucepan and add tbsp of ghee, once it's hot add split cashews and roast until they turn golden brown. Later transfer them to a plate and keep aside
- Now add in vermicelli/homemade semiya and roast until they turn golden brown.
- Now add in finely chopped bottle gourd and fry for 2-3 minutes on low flame until the raw smell goes away
- Add in milk and a cardamom slightly opened and keep stirring, let the semiya/vermicelli cook on medium flame until the milk is reduced by 60% of its original volume.
- Now add in sugar and cook until the sugar is completely absorbed and milk is reduced by 80% of its original volume.
- Finally add in roasted cashews cook for 2 minutes and serve chilled/warm as per your liking. Dig in and enjoy
Notes
- You can substitute the sugar with any other sweeteners like Jaggery/honey/date syrup etc.,
- You can add in almonds, pistachios, raisins for more crunch and richness.
- If you want to skip out the ghee, you can dry roast the semiya and then add in milk.
- To make it vegan, use gluten free semiya, plant based milk and skip out using ghee and dry roast the semiya instead.
