Vermicelli Tartlets
The traditional semiya payasam taken to the next level, by encasing them in sweet little tartlet cases. It was as sweet and appetizing to taste, as it looks. The perfect blend of ingredients have been used to get the perfect texture for the pastry bases. The delicious semiya strands cooked in creamy milk and cardamom, and finally sprinkled upon by the dry fruits fried in desi ghee...Oh..my.. This Indian dessert is one of its kind. The authentic taste of true India.
And I have made a little effort to bring this Indian flavor with an international twist, by finally baking them on pastry bases to create a fusion dessert.
Ingredients
Ingredients for semiya payasam:
Roasted Vermicelli (very fine pasta strings) - 1/2 cup (crushed lightly)
Milk - 500 ml
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Milk made - 1/4 tin
Cardamom pods - 3
Cashew - 1 tbsp
Almond - 1 tbsp
Raisin - 1 tbsp
Pista - 1 tsp (for garnish)
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Ingredients for the pastry base (tartlet cases):
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Cold water - 1-2 tbsp
Egg - 1
For Preparing the Semiya Payasam Filling:
1. Heat ghee in a pan.
2. Fry the dry fruits.
3. Once done, take them out and keep them aside.
4. To the same pan, add the milk and boil.
5. Once it starts to boil, add in the sugar and vermicelli and cook covered for about 10-15 minutes.
6. Open the pan and add a pinch of salt and the crushed cardamoms.
7. Add in the condensed milk and mix well.
8. Cook for a couple of minutes until you get a thicker consistency than the usual semiya payasam. Because we don't want the filling to ooze out much from inside the tartlets.
9. Add in the fried dry fruits and mix.
10. Switch the flame off.
11. Allow to cool completely.
For Preparing the Pastry Dough:
1. In a bowl, mix together the all purpose flour, salt and sugar.
2. Add in the cold butter and mix with clean fingers, until they form coarse crumbs.
3. Add the beaten egg and 1-2 tbsp of cold water and knead to form a dough. Do not over mix.
4. Wrap in a cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour.
5. After an hour of preparing the dough, take it out of the refrigerator and allow to rest in room temperature for a couple of minutes.
6. Dust the work surface generously with flour.
7. Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1/8 inches.
8. Using cookie cutters/or any sharp round mold, cut out circular disks of the rolled out dough.
9. Lay them on the Tartlet cases.
10. Press gently.
11. Place small circular pieces of parchment paper on the tartlet dough.
12. Place 1-2 tbsp of lentils for blind baking.
13. Preheat the oven to 190 degree centigrade.
14. Blind bake the tartlets for 10 minutes, or until the edges just begin to turn light brown. Do not over bake as we will bake them again with the filling.
15. Allow them to cool.
Assembling and the Final Bake:
1. Fill in 3/4 the of the tartlet cases with the prepared semiya payasam.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degree centigrade.
3. Bake the tartlets for another 10 minutes.
4. Allow to cool completely. Garnish with pistachios.
5. Relish these little wonders filled with the sweet Indian flavors.