Vermicelli Pudding

What delightful memories I have of my mother making Vermicelli Pudding for us at tea time.  This version is not liquid-y but more solid because mum served it as a tea-time treat.  Nothing compares to running in after school, dropping your school bags in haste and running to the kitchen to see mum just as anxiously waiting for her brood to come home.
Just the smell in the house would stir up a recognition of good things to come, and we were never disappointed.

Even though mum's cooking days are over, her grandchildren and children still harbor warm memories of all our favorite food being served with a large dose of love.

"I love you mum, as Mother's Day approaches I feel so grateful to have you in my life".

Notes: 

• This recipe was made in the electric pressure cooker and is ideal for any one-pot pressure cooker. 
• You can always add more milk when you are making this if you prefer the vermicelli  swimming in a little more liquid.
• You could make this on a stove top if you do not have a pressure cooker ( Notes below for the stove-top)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of roasted Vermicelli  (see notes)
2 1/2 cups Milk of choice
1/4 cup sugar or to taste
1 level teaspoon cardamon powder

1/4 cup Toasted Slivered almonds and/or raisins for garnish (optional)

If you cannot find ready made Roasted Vermicelli, you can dry roast it (in small batches) on a heated frying pan until it browns, or you can add 2 teaspoons of oil to a pan and when it is hot stir in the vermicelli till it browns. Keep stirring and watch so it does not burn.

Method

Spray the inside of the cooking pot lightly with a kitchen spray.

Add the vermicelli, milk, cardamon and sugar. Stir well.

Cover and lock the pressure cooker.  Hit the button for rice ( 6 minutes) and leave it alone.
Release the pressure when done and give it a good stir.  Taste to see if you need more sugar.  For the consistency I like I remove the contents at this point.

If you like more liquid I would add more milk at this point. Stir well while the appliance is still plugged in and let it sit and simmer for a while depending on how much milk you have added and how thick you like it.

For the stove-top.  Put all the ingredients in a pan on the stove.  Stir well.  Bring to a boil and then lower to simmer until the vermicelli is cooked and the liquid absorbed.

To toast the almonds.  Put the almond in a non-stick frying pan and heat the pan.  Stir or toss the nuts as the pan heats. They will brown quickly so watch and remove as soon as the desired color is reached.

 Approximate nutritional value based on 10 servings and 2 percent milk ( no almonds)

• Calories 165.6
• Total Fat 1.3 g
• Saturated Fat 0.5 g
• Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
• Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
• Cholesterol 3.0 mg
• Sodium 21.7 mg
• Potassium 66.9 mg
• Total Carbohydrate 32.2 g
• Dietary Fiber 1.2 g
• Sugars 8.0 g
• Protein 5.7 g