Soak saffron in two tablespoons of warm milk. Stir and keep it aside.
Boil milk in a thick-bottomed dish. Use full-fat milk to get the desired creaminess. Add cardamom powder, and simmer till it reduces to half the original amount. Keep stirring milk at regular intervals and add back the layer of cream (malai) forming on top to the milk.
Meanwhile, in a frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of ghee. Add nuts like almonds, pistachio, and cashew and fry them till golden. Transfer to a plate. These fried nuts are used for garnishing the kheer at a later stage.
In the same frying pan heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee and add vermicelli. Fry the seviyan (vermicelli) for 2 – 3 minutes over low heat. They will become golden and slightly crisp. Turn off the heat.
Once the milk is thick and reduced to half of the original amount, add ghee roasted vermicelli, sugar, and half of the soaked saffron. Stir to combine.
Stir to combine. Allow the kheer to simmer till the seviyan is nicely cooked and the sugar is dissolved. Add half of the ghee roasted nuts and stir to combine. At this stage taste the kheer, and add more sugar if required. Turn off the heat.
Transfer the seviyan kheer to a serving bowl. And allow it to cool down completely at room temperature.
Garnish with ghee-fried nuts, saffron milk, edible silver leaves, and rose petals.
Serve seviyan kheer warm or chilled.