Vegan Shevyachi Kheer

My Vegan co-worker wants to learn some Indian cooking with me. So I am trying to veganize some of my recipes. Before we actually cook together, I would like to make those dishes, taste them, take notes and be confident that they would work for my friend. So this is my first attempt at making a Vegan dessert by replacing milk with non-dairy milk.

When thinking about Vegan Indian desserts - without tweaking anything - I can think of Puran PoLi and Ukadiche Modak which are totally vegan. Of course they are served with clarified butter/toop/ghee, but if you hold that off, these are vegan desserts. But I don't think that we have that much time to make Puran PoLi or Modak. So I thought of tweaking my Shevyachi Kheer recipe.

I went to the Whole Foods to check out the "non-dairy" milk. There were plenty of options which made me dizzy. Rice Milk, Soy Milk, Almond Milk, Hemp Milk, Oats Milk. Finally I decided to use "Almond Milk" thinking we use almond slivers in many Indian desserts so it may work ok.

When I tried the recipe, I was pleasantly surprised to see the result. I was feeling a bit adventurous that day so instead of sugar, I used "Agave Nectar".

Vegan Shevyachi Kheer
Vegan Vermicelli Pudding
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup roasted vermicelli
• 3 cups almond milk
• 2 tbsp agave nectar (or sugar if you desire)

Crush to powder
3-4 Green Cardamoms, peeled

Method
1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, roast vermicelli lightly on a low flame.
2. Add almond milk. Bring to boil while stirring continuously.
3. Add agave nectar or sugar and crushed cardamom powder.
4. Simmer for few minutes.
5. Serve warm.

Note -
1. If made too much in advance, vermicelli may soak up all the almond milk. In that case, add some more almond milk and adjust agave nectar/sugar accordingly.
2. You can use more agave/sugar if you want your kheer to be sweeter.
3. I like to keep some liquid in my kheer. But if you want you can decrease the amount of almond milk and make thick pudding.
4. If you like, you can also add some raisins and almond slivers. Roast them before roasting sevya and let them plump up in the almond milk.
5. 1 tsp sugar =  1 1/4 tsp Agave Nectar. So use it accordingly.
6. For making Indian desserts, I buy vermicelli from the local Indian stores.

Source: Enjoy Indian Food