Food Stories is a column in which Best of Vegan community members share recipes from their cultures and personal stories connected to those dishes. Today, Priya Narayanan of @spices.and.spoons shares five of her vegan Diwali recipes, including this Vegan Payasam (Kheer).
This recipe was featured in this week’s Culture Tuesday column. Click here to see the full article.
Payasam, also known as, ‘kheer,’ is a creamy pudding typically made with milk, condensed milk, sugar, vermicelli, ghee, saffron, and roasted nuts.
For this vegan version, oat milk and condensed coconut milk are mixed to mimic the creaminess of the more conventional dish, and coconut oil is used so the final dish has a similar texture to that created from the use of ghee.
Text, recipe & photography by Priya Narayanan (@spices.and.spoons).
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp cashews
- 2 tbsp black raisins
- 2 cups vermicelli
- 3 cups oat milk
- 1 cup coconut condensed milk
- 3-4 strands saffron
- ½ cup brown sugar - or less
- 2 cardamom pods - pounded
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat coconut oil and fry the cashews until slightly brown.
- Add in the black raisins and cook until they puff up. This takes about 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cook.
- To the same pan, add the vermicelli and sauté them until they turn light brown. This process is to ensure they do not stick or become mushy when cooked.
- Stir in the oat milk and coconut condensed milk. Followed by saffron, brown sugar, and fresh pounded cardamom seeds.
- Let the vermicelli cook on low to medium heat until the mixture gets thicker. Occasionally stir to ensure the vermicelli does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Check the taste and adjust sweetness and consistency as needed by adding more sugar and oat milk.
- Remove from the heat and garnish with roasted nuts and pounded cardamom seeds.
- Serve.
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