Dining and Cooking
Chefs’ Collections

Sweet Vermicelli With Cardamom (Muzaffar Seviyan)

Desserts made with seviyan — toasted vermicelli noodles — are popular all over South Asia. Sumayya Usmani, who writes the food blog My Tamarind Kitchen, remembers eating this particular dish, Muzaffar Seviyan, every year in Pakistan, where she grew up, to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the feasting holiday that signifies the end of Ramadan. Toasting the broken noodles in butter until they smell nutty is the key to the dish’s depth; the next layer of flavor comes from cooking them in spice-scented milk or syrup; finally, nuts and dried fruit provide crunch and chew.

Ingredients

  • 4 to 5 green cardamom pods
  • ½ teaspoon saffron
  • 2 tablespoons ghee, clarified butter or high-fat butter
  • ½ cup chopped pistachios, plus 1 tablespoon whole pistachios
  • 6 ounces vermicelli noodles, broken into 1-inch pieces (about 1½ cups)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sweetened or unsweetened flaked coconut, for serving
  • 1 tablespoon raisins, for serving
  • 1 tablespoon slivered almonds, for serving
  • 1 cup khoya (thickened milk solids) or heavy cream, for serving
  • Nutritional Information
    • Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

      343 calories; 10 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 58 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 34 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 10 milligrams cholesterol; 2 milligrams sodium

      • Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.

6 to 8 servings

Preparation

  1. Crush cardamom pods with a mortar and pestle or the side of a chef’s knife and remove seeds (discard husks).
  2. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove 1 tablespoon of boiling water and use it to steep the saffron. Keep remaining water hot.
  3. Heat the ghee in a wok or large skillet over medium-high. Add chopped pistachios and cardamom seeds and stir-fry until the cardamom is fragrant and the pistachios begin to lightly brown, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and add vermicelli. Cook, stirring constantly, until vermicelli is browned and toasted, 3 to 4 minutes.
  4. Reduce heat to medium low and add boiling water and steeped saffron. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vermicelli is tender and all the water is absorbed, about 8 minutes.
  5. Stir in sugar until dissolved and cook 2 minutes more. Serve warm topped with the coconut, raisins, almonds, whole pistachios and khoya.

20 minutes

Related Posts

Dining and Cooking